Bible Study (week 5)

 
This week has been crazy. I don't know where to start.

Early in the week (I can't remember what day... all the days seem to mush into one), me and my companion were knocking on doors in the far south part of town. Me and my companion were listening to the promptings of the spirit and making the other knock the door to start the conversation. In The Oklahoma Mission we have a tracting method called "The Gift of Prayer" where we ask the resident if we can offer a gift of prayer to their family and home. I asked my companion to knock a door, and no one answered. He then asked me knock the door of a pink house that he "felt prompted" for me to knock. I went up and knocked on the door. I heard big footsteps and the door swung open. Low and behold stood a stout man, maybe it was the Tennessee football jacket or his rough complexion, but he reminded me of a football coach. I introduced myself and told him we were representatives of Jesus Christ. I asked him if we could offer a prayer with him to his home and family. with a loud booming voice he said we were just about to have prayer come on in. I was surprised and had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. My companion and I walked in to the living room to see 3 ladies sitting in the room, one of which was 95. The man introduced us to the ladies and explained that we were missionaries from the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and that we were serving two year missions where we leave behind our families and previous lives to serve the Lord. I was shocked how much he knew about us. It appeared that we had come to their house the very day and hour they had bible study. The man talked to us about the Rapture and asked us kindly about our faith. All of the people in the room seamed to have gathered from different faiths to pray and read the Bible. One of the ladies said it was hard to go to certain churches because they taught things that didn't feel right. I shared with her part of Joesph Smith History and told her about Joseph seeking for truth. We really didn't get to teach them a full lesson, but we had a really cool bible discussion.

After an hour of talking, I offered a prayer. As I began to offer the prayer they started to moan and loudly say "mmMmmm, Praise Jesus!" "Yes he does!" and, "Glory to him!" It was very distracting, and I tried not to grin. Overall it was a crazy experience.

Things have been going really well with D~. He has kinda stopped drinking (he says if he stops cold turkey he will die). We taught him the Plan of Salvation, and he loved it. I have never seen him more attentive. We showed him the lay out with laminated pieces of the Plan, and it made complete sense to him. He was so happy to know where his grandmother (the one taking care of him) was going after this life. We set a baptismal date with him for the 16th of November.

This Sunday D~ came with us to church, but we had to drive him home at the very end of sacrament meeting because he was feeling really sick. His health is really poor because of his drinking, but he is doing much better, considering that he made it to church.

We have a new investigator this week named J~, who has similar problems as D~. He has bad depression and  is also an alcoholic and smokes. We have known J~ for awhile, but it was hard to meet with him and teach him a full lesson. He grew up knowing a very nice LDS family that treated him very well. Since they moved 10 years back, he hasn't heard from them. He has a really strong desire to become a member of the church, but he is scared that he won't be accepted because he and his girlfriend are living together and aren't married yet. We taught him the Restoration and The Word of Wisdom. He is striving to become better. We set a baptismal date with him for the 30th of November.

Last Saturday, we went to the Buckley's property to do service. We helped move fire wood and made a bonfire with huge branches of oak and pine. We had a lot of fun. I've noticed something about the people here in OK - they all have at least one dog, and in most cases they have four. They had some beautiful Irish and Australian Shepherds. Also, check out this legit donkey.

Things are going well and the members down here are awesome at feeding us (we basically get fed every night). I'm gaining weight or at least I'm trying to...

It's starting to get too cold to bike, so that will most likely help my efforts.

Sincerely, Elder Watkins