Sincerely, Elder Watkins: Gangsters (Week 16)

This week has been good and I'm grateful that the holidays have finally passed, now we can meet with people. We have found a ton of people to teach and its all starting to pick up again.

This was on a door by our apartments

We had a pretty interesting experience the other day while we were tracting in the south part of town (aka the "ghetto"). We were actually just heading back to our car after knocking a couple or doors when a black man in his 50s hollered at us from up the street. He ran up the lawn of the house we were walking in front of. "Hey, come knock dis' door wit' me." Me and my companion exchanged glances. We had never taken an investigator tracting, let alone a stranger. We followed him to the door. "Dis is my friend Lenard's house, he's a good man but he jus' won't get out of bed."

I reached out my hand and asked him what his name was, and he shook my hand and replied, "I'm a gangster."
"Gangster" knocks the door. KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK! "LENARD!"
From inside the house: "... WHAT?!"
"OPEN UP! I HAVE TWO FRIENDS HERE THAT WANT TO SEE YOU!"
"HUH?!" *Door opens* "UH UH!" *SLAM*
"COME ON, LENARD!" turns to us "Y'all got any literature?"
We hand him a book of Mormon "THEY HAVE A BOOK FOR YOU!"
KNOCK! KNOCK! "LENARD I'M GOING TO OPEN YOUR DOOR!" *creak* "WE WANT TO SAY A PRAYER WIT YOU!"
*Awkward silence*, then from the back of the house, "Alright, go ahead."
"Gangster" points to me and I nod and begin to pray.
It was so strange and hilarious at the same time. After I finished praying, the man closed Lenard's door. "TAKE CARE LENARD! GOD BLESS YOU!"
We talked to "Gangster" and he told us his name was P~. We had a small discussion with him about the Book of Mormon and once I handed him one, he gave me a hug. He thanked us for our service and said he looks up to us. He invited us to go back and visit him on a later day.

We have also started teaching a young man we tracted into while we were Christmas caroling last week. We taught him a first and he said he has never been part of a church and he seemed really interested in the Book of Mormon. We have 2 months to baptise him before he joins the navy. This next week is going to be legit. Sorry this letter is short.