Monday, August 4, 2014

Week 8-Rock Springs, WY

Hey!

Sounds like your week was pretty eventful! I still wish Sister Taylor was my seminary teacher! Transfers are Tuesday. Elder Clark and I are both staying! I really love where I am at and would love to stay my entire mission here! Maybe switch companions though haha.... Elder Clark is tough sometimes! He doesn't like to get out and work but when he's out of the house he's fine!

 Some people we deal with are pretty high maintenance. We have to push them and push them and they only do very little. I know that faith is a principle of power and action. If you or anyone feels like things aren't happening in their life, it is probably a lack of faith and hope. It makes things happen!

Something I'm slowly changing into is someone who loves people! It is hard, I put a lot of effort into it, and I'm constantly praying and calling upon the enabling power of the atonement! It's WORKING! My heart is softening for those around me and especially my investigators! This week, I've been trying to give everything to the Lord. I read a talk and it touches on how obedient missionaries aren't necessarily changed. You have to give your heart, might, mind, and strength. I'm working on giving up my heart and my mind. It's hard but I know I will be able to see good results in my life and the lives of others.

I'm starting to love playing basketball! We do it every P-day and I'm starting to get better!

As far as investigators and experiences this week, I had a lesson that was hard. We went over to the family's house and they have two kids who are pretty crazy! We tried to teach them the first lesson and one of the kids kept leaving. We also started without one of the kids because we weren't bold enough to ask where she was at and if she could come. It is hard sometimes to create an environment where the spirit can touch people's hearts. That night I prayed very fervently to be more bold and to be able to be a better missionary and so forth. The next day, we had another lesson where I was able to be bold. The wife went in to cook and the husband was with us. So we asked if we could wait until she was done or when there was a good time. It turned out to be a great lesson so I was glad to have a learning experience!

I bore my testimony Sunday also! I talked about how the natural man is like acne, and the gospel is like acne soap. Acne happens and grows naturally. We combat it by using acne soap! On all the containers it has descriptions like bright, clean, clear, radiant skin! Use it and it will be worth it. On the back it says, apply one or twice a day! When we apply the gospel to our lives everyday like we read our scriptures and do the small things that bring us closer to God, our nature's will change and we will become bright, clean, clear,  and radiant! Unlike soaps though, The gospel is free and free for all whereas soaps are EXPENSIVE! I was happy God has helped me be bold! I owe him everything!

Thank you for the care package! I appreciated the gushers! They are very expensive and delicious and I could always use more oatmeal so I loved it! Thank you and I love you all!

-Elder Bass

Later Notes:
I remember we ate dinner with a guy named brother ketchum. He had the most amazing ribs and i couldnt stop eating and i felt like my stomach was bottomless. Another missionary at the dinner chewed with his mouth open. I still remember the jaw movements and the sounds. Im still in awe that he didnt recognize it.

This week i had some wonderful experiences with fasting. I felt actual joy  and an increased measure of the spirit which i hadnt really felt before. In previous times, the only feeling or emotion that i felt or recognized was hunger.

One thing that had a huge impact on me was when Elder Clark said that i was Heathers missionary. I felt a great sense of accomplishment.

This week we helped the people under us move out and as a token of their gratitude for our service they gave us a huge flat screen tv. We were super excited about that and we somehow obtained the Son of God (movie that had recently came out) We got permission to watch it and we did for comp study.

One of my first few days as a missionary, i had an experience doing some list work. We talked to this guy in their yard. He had a lot of tattoos and looked like a very gruff man. We started talking to him he was surprisingly really receptive. He said that his daughter was battling an illness and would appreciate it if we came over. We did and thus began the trek with the Nye family.

This was one of the hard points of my mission experience. It was when i realized that i was staying with my trainer for another transfer.

This transfer Elder Clark hit his 6 month mark. We went up to the mountain top of Whit mountain. We burned one of his ties. On the way up we were listening to a song that talks about people cutting themselves by Imagine Dragons, I asked him to turn it off because it reminded me of someone my dad and i used to visit that cut herself. I told Elder Clark that he said that he had a girlfriend who had the same problem. He said that you never would have guessed from the outside but she was full of baggage. He said that the tie that he was burning was the same one that he was taking to the mountain.

No comments:

Post a Comment