Elder Bell has been transferred out of the city! He is now serving in
the Yorktown Ward, which is Upstate. Elder Hill has been transferred
down to be my companion from the Newburgh area, which is also Upstate.
It will be a good experience to be with Elder Hill for his last 2
transfers here in the city.
As we were walking past one of the many bars outside the Yankee
Stadium we passed a guy who called for us. He stopped us to get a
picture as he was apparently a member, although we were very doubtful
that he was active. Then about 3 stores down we passed another bar and
this time two guys who walked out of the store said, "Elders!" This
was a sure sign that he was a member because only members call us
Elders. Most people just say Mormons or Jesus People. Well this guy
was not a member: when asked, his response was, "Haha nah, I've just
seen the Book of Mormon play." Go figure. Only in New York would
people call us by our proper titles and then have it turn out to be
because of knowledge from a Broadway Play.
I really enjoy these verses in the Book of Mormon. "And he said unto
me: Knowest thou the condescension of God? And I said unto him: I know
that he loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning
of all things." The reason I like this so much is because it's such a
simple thing, but it holds so much meaning. Nephi doesn't need to know
all things, but he does need to know that God loves him. That
knowledge provides so much more. It allows us to start to understand
why He's given us all that we have. I really can't explain how this
scripture makes me feel, but it is marvelous.
So President Smith invited us over for an FHE with him at the mission
home on Sunday night. It was very surprising because Elder Bell and I
were missionaries in the city, and the mission home is upstate. So
long story short, we got to go and spend the night in the mission
home. We even got up earlier to play basketball with President Smith
and his son, William. It was really really fun and they were really
nice and tasked with us for a long time
It's been blazing hot lately, it's honestly just ridiculous. We're
outside all day working hard with no success so far, but it's alright
because we're doing our best. It's just been terrible in these
clothes, certainly some of the most uncomfortable times of my life. We
are dying out here, but it's alright because "There is no rejection at
the door or on the street that can dim [our] enthusiasm. [We] are
willing to pay the price of repeated rejection for the hope of a
single conversion". I've been thinking about this lately: we work so
hard and are so tired at the end of every day, but we are yet to see
anyone truly progress. We keep going for one reason; in the hopes that
we help one soul come unto Christ. Each day I am reminded why I'm
doing this. Every time we study the scriptures, every time we go to
church, every time we testify of Jesus Christ, we have the opportunity
to feel God's Love for us. We want others to be able to feel the same.
We spend hours, days, weeks and even months exhausting ourselves all
for the hopes that someone we converse with will have the opportunity
to feel of their Heavenly Father's love. We know it won't be easy, we
didn't sign up for something easy. But it will be worth it. We hope
and pray every day that someone will able to be influenced by us. We want
to have the opportunity to be the vessel for the Holy Ghost. After
days of utter rejection and disappointment, we have one good
experience with a single child of God, and it makes all those bad
times feel as though they didn't exist. For a single moment we get to
feel as though we have helped someone be happier. We will keep going.
We will find those who've been prepared to meet us. We will continue
to serve our Heavenly Father because He loves us and we love him.
Quotes:
"If the thought is good, it is from God".
"Make it a great day".
"My sheets are starting to get Elder Turner disease".
"People Magazine".
"For 1 hour and 12 minutes, I smoked that thing Bro!"
"Oh! I thought they was cops".
"Repentance is more important than your mission."
"One on one pleading with the Lord is not a substitute."
"This is not an event on learning a language, it's a journey of loving
the people".
"But this time we're reloading the chamber with even more firepower".
"Every day I read the Book of Mormons! Every night before bed."
"You know Jesus is fake right?"
"Behold, who can glory too much in the Lord?"
Scriptures:
Mosiah 18:26
Alma 26:16
Matthew 11:28-30
Keep on Truckin
-Elder Daniel West
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| Mission Home |
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| My Zone - Pre transfers |
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| Apartment - post transfers |
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