Jet Set Brunette: R-E-S-P-E-C-T!

This past week has been a good one! Lots of different experiences! Here are some of my favorites:

We were at the mall with our investigator Rachel (who is also our dear friend!) She told us about how there was a guy she knew from school (or somewhere) that had seen her there. This guy was about 18, and dressed a little like a gangster. He told her, "Hey, come here", and she went up to him and they started talking. He was being all kinds of disrespectful (checking her out), and didn't have the least bit of good intentions on his mind (to not get into the details.) Apparently he was still at the mall when Sister Bailey and I got there, and to say the least, my feathers were ruffled. I wanted to talk with this guy. Rachel ended up spotting him, and pointed him out to us. And I marched myself right up to him, with Sister Bailey right behind me. We introduced ourselves politely, and I asked him if he believed in Jesus Christ. He mumbled something, so I moved on to ask him if he believed in respect. I then told him that we knew what he did, and that he better respect women, and I told him why. I was nice, but quite firm. My heart felt like it was going to jump out of my chest, but afterwards I felt good that I stood up for Rachel, and hopefully poured some sense into that boy. Respect for women is important!

And then there's Freddy. Sister Bailey and I were out tracting yesterday, and we came upon Freddy, a 24 year old guy who was sitting outside his house. We introduced ourselves, and started talking. He told us about how he's been out in the streets, and has been around drugs, and how he's on probation now, but that he's recognized God's hand in his life. He has a desire to lead a better life. He was very respectful of us, and our message, and told us that he thinks God sent us to him that day. And he also said that, as missionaries, even if we affect one persons life it will be worth it. How very touching that was! I thoroughly enjoyed our conversation with him. We gave him a pamphlet, invited him to church, and he said he'd been there next Sunday.

A few nights ago we were in Barnes & Noble. We started talking to a 50-year-old guy, and our conversation started because he saw we were missionaries and told us to make sure to be safe on the streets. We found out that's he a member of "The Church of Christ", and I asked him to share some of his beliefs and where their church came from. Long story short, before I even knew what was happening, I was in the middle of a mild Bible bashing! We were all minding our manners, but the guy admitted towards the end that he was "trying to convince" us of "the truth." It was definitely interesting to talk with him, but I consciously decided not to get into a situation like that again, if I can help it. It's fine expressing each others beliefs, but it needs to be a conversation that doesn't leave you frustrated, which is what happened, on both ends I think!

A great thing that has happened this past week is that I read "Our Search for Happiness", by M. Russell Ballard. It is a book in the missionary study set. I recommend that everyone read it. It goes over the doctrine of our Church in a simple way, but with depth. I specifically liked where it talked about eternal marriage, overcoming adversity, and many other awesome things! As far as overcoming adversity goes, have you ever wondered why bad things happen to good people? What we need to realize is that everyone has agency, and that God honors and highly respects our agency. The ability to choose lets us make both good decisions and bad decisions. And we know that when a person makes bad decisions, it can affect others personally and physically. God still upholds that person's agency, even if it does have negative effects. Our job it to get through those negative waves that come crashing our way. That is part of life. We have trials and hardships not to make us weaker, but to make us stronger. That's why we're here on Earth. Our purpose is to learn and grow, and a majority of that experience comes through hardship. Be strong in your trials, they are "all but a moment." Remember to have the right perspective, and that things will work out and God will answer your prayers in His own due time!

Teaching is going well, and we still spend a ton of time trying to contact people. I also got to ride my bike for the first time recently, and what a thrill! I love to ride bikes, whether on the streets of Tuscaloosa or in the jungle of Yangshuo, China. You get to experience a place on a whole new level while riding a bike! Now, learning how to do it in a skirt, that takes skill. Talking about China, there's a plethora of Chinese people here. I think the majority of them go to the university. So you can imagine how excited I am to talk with them!

Keep your hearts centered on Christ,

Sister Griffith