Hey y'all,
Nothing very noteworthy happened this week except for Saturday. It was full of ups and downs, like a crazy roller coaster.
First thing in the morning as we were doing companion study, we got a knock on the door. I thought to myself it may be the Elders, but it was a strange time of day for them to knock on our apartment door. So I got up and looked through the peephole, and saw two women. I instantly knew that it was Jehovah's Witnesses. We had one JW lady come by last week and give us their little magazine. Anyway, I answered the door and they started talking with me. I don't think they saw my name tag because my still-wet hair was covering it, but they did notice that I had "Jesus the Christ" in one hand (since we got interrupted during study) and they thought it was the Bible. Soon after talking with them for a few minutes, they learned that we were Mormon missionaries. I had a a nice time talking with them. We talked about a few things Christ did, and completely agreed with one another. Despite difference of beliefs and denomination we can still find commonalities and show love towards one another. That's what I try to do...as I'm willing to give them a few mins of my time, I hope that other people, as we ourselves go out tracting, will give us some of their time.
After studies were done, we set out to go visit a less active. We had been warned by a member that their driveway was a bit tricky, and so we proceeded with caution as we started down the dirt road leading to their house. We probably could have continued driving, but it was a little bumpy in some places, and I didn't want to get our little Chevy Cruze stuck. So we parked the car in an area to the side of the road, and continued on walking. Fairly soon we came across a little bridge which didn't look very intimidating until you realized how far apart the rails were and that it was a bit of a good drop down. We thought to ourselves that we could turn back, but we were either going to see this less active or not, so we proceeded. Making it past the bridge, we continued walking. Finally we were able to see the house peeping out from behind the trees, and at about the same time there were dogs, three from what we could see, in the front yard barking at us. We stood there for a moment, not knowing whether to continue at that point or not. A lot of people in the country have dogs out here and you have to be cautious. Before we knew it, the dogs were coming our way and running pretty quickly at us. There was a big one and two smaller ones. I immediately whipped out my pepper spray, because from the looks of it we were going to get bit. We knew running wasn't a good idea so we just stood still. The big dog came running at us, and Sister Pyrah let out a little scream. The dog circled around us, but after a few seconds we could tell that he was friendly and just overly excited to see new people. And in the process of excitedly coming to meet us, the big dog gave Sister Pyrah a pretty big scratch all the way down her shin. The other dogs weren't quite as boisterous as the big one. Our hearts were pounding, and at about the same time, the less active we had come to see was walking down the road our way to see what all the ruckus was. As she approached, one of the smaller dogs (which was a pit bull) suddenly got defensive and started growling fiercely at us. I had my pepper spray at the ready and the less active told us to just stand still, until she finally got a hold of the dogs collar and held him. We were able to introduce ourselves and exchange numbers her, and then left and started back down the road. You can imagine that we were a bit shaken up from the experience, but everything turned out okay, except for a scratch!
After that, we headed down the road and picked a neighborhood to go tracting in. We happened to knock on a door of some people who wanted so desperately to bash our religion. They have done all their research on the internet, so of course everything they said was correct (because everything on the internet is true, right?). Having a conversation with someone that only wants certain answers from you, will disregard everything else you say, and is out to bash your faith, is a little hard. I've had experiences like this before, and it just completely takes the spirit away. I've learned that all you can do is try to find commonalities, bear testimony, and then leave---which is what we tried to do, although they just kept on going and we were there for a while talking with them. Finally we were able to end the conversation and leave, and after these kind of situations I always have to take a moment to say a prayer and invite the Spirit back, because getting bashed by someone always brings a negative spirit. Contention is of the devil!
After both of these experiences, Sister Pyrah and I were physically and emotionally exhausted. So we headed home for lunch and some rest. Luckily there was the Women's Broadcast that night at 7, which we were able to go to and get spiritually fed!! It was great! Our investigator Charlotte also came for the broadcast and loved it. It focused on women, and family, divine natures, and Christ. I really love our Church's outlook on our natures---because while it's true that we are human, that we have the natural man, it's also true that we are children of God, and that he loves us, and that we have divine potential. We have more of a positive outlook on ourselves and our future than other views I've heard.
Anyway, this was how our Saturday went! Some experiences are hard, some are a little frightening (like when you have dogs running at you), but all in all they turn into learning opportunities and great memories. It reminds me of the trials we have in life---although they may suck (for lack of a better term) to go through, they in the end will give you experience, help you to learn, and continue on your progression in life. If we didn't have the bad, we couldn't appreciate the good. So remember that as you go through the trials you are dealing with right now.
God loves you,
Sister Griffith
Nothing very noteworthy happened this week except for Saturday. It was full of ups and downs, like a crazy roller coaster.
First thing in the morning as we were doing companion study, we got a knock on the door. I thought to myself it may be the Elders, but it was a strange time of day for them to knock on our apartment door. So I got up and looked through the peephole, and saw two women. I instantly knew that it was Jehovah's Witnesses. We had one JW lady come by last week and give us their little magazine. Anyway, I answered the door and they started talking with me. I don't think they saw my name tag because my still-wet hair was covering it, but they did notice that I had "Jesus the Christ" in one hand (since we got interrupted during study) and they thought it was the Bible. Soon after talking with them for a few minutes, they learned that we were Mormon missionaries. I had a a nice time talking with them. We talked about a few things Christ did, and completely agreed with one another. Despite difference of beliefs and denomination we can still find commonalities and show love towards one another. That's what I try to do...as I'm willing to give them a few mins of my time, I hope that other people, as we ourselves go out tracting, will give us some of their time.
After studies were done, we set out to go visit a less active. We had been warned by a member that their driveway was a bit tricky, and so we proceeded with caution as we started down the dirt road leading to their house. We probably could have continued driving, but it was a little bumpy in some places, and I didn't want to get our little Chevy Cruze stuck. So we parked the car in an area to the side of the road, and continued on walking. Fairly soon we came across a little bridge which didn't look very intimidating until you realized how far apart the rails were and that it was a bit of a good drop down. We thought to ourselves that we could turn back, but we were either going to see this less active or not, so we proceeded. Making it past the bridge, we continued walking. Finally we were able to see the house peeping out from behind the trees, and at about the same time there were dogs, three from what we could see, in the front yard barking at us. We stood there for a moment, not knowing whether to continue at that point or not. A lot of people in the country have dogs out here and you have to be cautious. Before we knew it, the dogs were coming our way and running pretty quickly at us. There was a big one and two smaller ones. I immediately whipped out my pepper spray, because from the looks of it we were going to get bit. We knew running wasn't a good idea so we just stood still. The big dog came running at us, and Sister Pyrah let out a little scream. The dog circled around us, but after a few seconds we could tell that he was friendly and just overly excited to see new people. And in the process of excitedly coming to meet us, the big dog gave Sister Pyrah a pretty big scratch all the way down her shin. The other dogs weren't quite as boisterous as the big one. Our hearts were pounding, and at about the same time, the less active we had come to see was walking down the road our way to see what all the ruckus was. As she approached, one of the smaller dogs (which was a pit bull) suddenly got defensive and started growling fiercely at us. I had my pepper spray at the ready and the less active told us to just stand still, until she finally got a hold of the dogs collar and held him. We were able to introduce ourselves and exchange numbers her, and then left and started back down the road. You can imagine that we were a bit shaken up from the experience, but everything turned out okay, except for a scratch!
After that, we headed down the road and picked a neighborhood to go tracting in. We happened to knock on a door of some people who wanted so desperately to bash our religion. They have done all their research on the internet, so of course everything they said was correct (because everything on the internet is true, right?). Having a conversation with someone that only wants certain answers from you, will disregard everything else you say, and is out to bash your faith, is a little hard. I've had experiences like this before, and it just completely takes the spirit away. I've learned that all you can do is try to find commonalities, bear testimony, and then leave---which is what we tried to do, although they just kept on going and we were there for a while talking with them. Finally we were able to end the conversation and leave, and after these kind of situations I always have to take a moment to say a prayer and invite the Spirit back, because getting bashed by someone always brings a negative spirit. Contention is of the devil!
After both of these experiences, Sister Pyrah and I were physically and emotionally exhausted. So we headed home for lunch and some rest. Luckily there was the Women's Broadcast that night at 7, which we were able to go to and get spiritually fed!! It was great! Our investigator Charlotte also came for the broadcast and loved it. It focused on women, and family, divine natures, and Christ. I really love our Church's outlook on our natures---because while it's true that we are human, that we have the natural man, it's also true that we are children of God, and that he loves us, and that we have divine potential. We have more of a positive outlook on ourselves and our future than other views I've heard.
Anyway, this was how our Saturday went! Some experiences are hard, some are a little frightening (like when you have dogs running at you), but all in all they turn into learning opportunities and great memories. It reminds me of the trials we have in life---although they may suck (for lack of a better term) to go through, they in the end will give you experience, help you to learn, and continue on your progression in life. If we didn't have the bad, we couldn't appreciate the good. So remember that as you go through the trials you are dealing with right now.
God loves you,
Sister Griffith
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| Sister Pyrah and I out tracting |
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| Selfies on the go |
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| The Wetumpka district! |
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| Sister Pyrah and I...we tracted in this neighborhood for a good minute. |
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| Sister Pyrah and I on our Saturday adventure! |
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| The best view I've seen in AL yet! |
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| Our friend Charlotte and I! |
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