There were several cool teaching opportunities this week. It was actually a really good week! The first experience that was really cool was finishing teaching Isaiah the commandments and then having him interviewed for baptism. Elder Briggs interviewed him, and he said that when he told him that he was worthy to be baptized his face just lit up and he was so excited. He's an awesome kid and the Ward loves him so that is a good thing.
The second really good teaching appointment was with a family. They were a referral from the Spanish Elders, and this was going to be our last time to stop by because we'd stopped by quite a few times with no luck. We had talked to the 11 year old son before because he's super friendly, but never his mom. This time when we showed up, the son and another guy were outside working on some bikes, so we asked if Francis was home. They told us she was in the shower, but we decided to share the message with them, because the guy was an adult so we could share a message. We started sharing the #PrinceofPeace video with them, and about halfway through, Francis comes out. About 20 minutes into the lesson, her 9 year old daughter comes out as well. So we were able to teach the Restoration to the entire family, as well as their neighbor from down the street. Dylan, the neighbor, said he was planning on getting baptized this week in another church, but he said he was open to learning more and seeing if this was true. They loved what we shared with them and they seem to have real intent. I hope they continue to meet with us and progress because they are a cool family.
We were also able to share the Restoration with two other people. One is Andrew, a guy we talked to while he was working in his yard. This time we were able to sit down and share the entire message and he liked what we were saying. Near the end of the lesson we started talking about the Godhead, and he believes like we do, that they must be 3 separate beings. So I told him that if he believes that he needs to go start a church, or become a Mormon. He laughed and said he wasn't going to go start another church. He's really hesitant about attending church and being baptized because he feels like he needs to change more before he can do that. We tried to help him understand that attending church is part of the process.
The other one is a guy named Oto'Ota. He's Samoan or Tongan, I can't remember which one. His cousin is on a mission up in Oakland though, so he said we could come by. He's Catholic but pretty open minded so we were able to share the Restoration with him while he was sitting in a car he's restoring. He seemed somewhat interested, but we got to the end of the lesson, and he kind of just asked "Why does all this matter?", so we were able to explain a little more about priesthood authority and things like that. It was nice that he asked though because if people don't understand, they aren't going to act on what we teach, and some people are too shy to tell us when they don't understand.
We also have a list of unbaptized children in the Ward from less active families, which is always a good source of teaching opportunities. We can start working to reactivate the families and help prepare their children for baptism. Anyway, things are going super well here as we continue to build our teaching pool.
From the West Side . . . . .
Elder Cornaby
We were also able to share the Restoration with two other people. One is Andrew, a guy we talked to while he was working in his yard. This time we were able to sit down and share the entire message and he liked what we were saying. Near the end of the lesson we started talking about the Godhead, and he believes like we do, that they must be 3 separate beings. So I told him that if he believes that he needs to go start a church, or become a Mormon. He laughed and said he wasn't going to go start another church. He's really hesitant about attending church and being baptized because he feels like he needs to change more before he can do that. We tried to help him understand that attending church is part of the process.
The other one is a guy named Oto'Ota. He's Samoan or Tongan, I can't remember which one. His cousin is on a mission up in Oakland though, so he said we could come by. He's Catholic but pretty open minded so we were able to share the Restoration with him while he was sitting in a car he's restoring. He seemed somewhat interested, but we got to the end of the lesson, and he kind of just asked "Why does all this matter?", so we were able to explain a little more about priesthood authority and things like that. It was nice that he asked though because if people don't understand, they aren't going to act on what we teach, and some people are too shy to tell us when they don't understand.
We also have a list of unbaptized children in the Ward from less active families, which is always a good source of teaching opportunities. We can start working to reactivate the families and help prepare their children for baptism. Anyway, things are going super well here as we continue to build our teaching pool.
From the West Side . . . . .
Elder Cornaby