I've decided that I need to start taking more pictures because I don't have any for this week and that's depressing. Mandan is really pretty in the summer! My favorite are the peonies - that's a big thing here apparently. Huge fluffy blossoms in all sorts of colors. Can't get enough of it.
We actually made our weekly lesson goal for this past week, which I've never done before, so that was cool! Met with a lot of less-active members and we have a ton of potentials that we're trying next week, so hopefully some of those will roll over into new investigators. It's exciting!
Sister Cavey and I are starting to get along better. We kind of get each other's personalities now, so it's a little less stressful to interact on a daily basis. I need to work on being more assertive in our lessons because she's a lot more experienced and so I'm letting her do a lot of the talking. But I'm learning a ton from her and I think we're going to be able to do good things in Mandan.
Some of this crazy week's adventures:
1. We got locked out of our apartment (which is on the 2nd floor) at like 9:15 and had to wait for the management to come unlock it after learning that cheerleading should not be a career path for either Sister Cavey or me.
2. We spent some time driving through a field in a detour gone wrong. We were trying to get to a house that I've been to like fifteen times but the road was all torn up and I made some questionable navigation decisions. So that was fun.
3. We happened to be with the elders outside and ended up street contacting a very drunk man and a bunch of kids whose Mom got busted for shoplifting while we were standing there. So that was fun.
4. As ward missionaries we made dinner for our ward mission leader and his wife to thank them for putting up with all of us. That turned out pretty well except I made lasagna and we were in a lesson a little longer than expected so it got kind of toasty in the crock pot and there wasn't a ton to go around by the time we sorted it out. So it was kind of a five loaves and two fishes scenario, but there was enough that everyone got some and it tasted dang good, so at least there's that. It was really fun to serve them, though! Turns out I miss cooking.
So yeah. It's been a crazy week!
There's been an interesting shift in mission work lately and I don't know if it's been as big in other places as it is in this mission, but that's the biggest thing we've been learning this week. In our zone training meeting we talked a ton about working with the members as a method of finding because tracting isn't too effective. It used to work better, but the world has changed and so the work is going through a shift to meet those needs. The members (especially in our stake, it seems) aren't quite getting that vision yet, and so we're doing a lot of teaching members how to be missionaries and how to give referrals. It's not as easy as giving a name to the missionaries and having them go knock on the door. Members have to be committed to helping the people around them, and that's kind of a shift in thinking.
Anyway, we haven't seen a ton of success with referrals yet. A lot of what we're doing is paving the way for the future of the work, which is really frustrating because plowing isn't nearly as satisfying as harvesting, but it's all work that has to be done! We've been called here because we're going to be able to figure out how to do it with the Lord's help, so as we keep moving along it'll be worth it. And now we're prepared to help future missionaries, as well, once we become regular members and start sharing the gospel with our friends and family.
I'll get off this soapbox soon, but member referrals are the way to go moving the work forward! I promise that the Lord is putting people in your (yes, YOUR path) life so that you can begin to share the gospel with them. If you keep looking for those opportunities to become friends with people who need the gospel, they'll come! We all have to help build the kingdom!
Thanks for all your support - I love you!
Sister Myers
