This has been a crazy week!
We were supposed to do exchanges with one of our companionships Monday-Tuesday, but we got told Sunday that we were teaching an hour segment of zone conference Wednesday, so we rescheduled our exchange to prepare.
Our segment was on extending baptismal invitations, and it went really well...although we did go a little over, whoops. We tried to emphasize the importance of having faith and walking by faith, not by sight, being anxiously engaged in the good work of helping people progress.
During zone conference, President did a pretty cool object lesson. He had us stand with our arms outstretched as he read the account of the Savior's 6 hour crucifixion, stretched over 6 minutes. With just those six minutes, my shoulders were burning and cramping up, and it took great willpower to keep them from dropping. It is incredible to think of the agony that the Savior endured, agony that he could have ended in an instant had he desired. Just as lowering my arms would have stopped the pain, he could have lowered himself from the cross. But he didn't. He exerted His all, imposed His will over the flesh, and He endured so that we could all be saved. That is incredible. It is unimaginable. Whereas all of us would eventually have lost our grip, He held on-not because it was somehow easy for Him because He was divine, but because He knew who He was and what His purpose is. As each of us understand our identity and purpose, that can drive us as well.
Friday and Saturday we were on exchanges with another companionship. I went out to their area, so I got to be riding the bike. It was a little strange, honestly, to be conducting an exchange with a missionary who I had looked up to when I first came out. We had a good time, though, biked a good 20 miles and had some good contacts. After we finished with the exchanged on Saturday, Elder Ewell and I had a companionship study with another companionship in that district. They were pretty low on their goals for that week, so we blitzed their area for the rest of the day. So back on the bike for me, goodie goodie. It was a lot of fun, though.
Sunday was Stake conference, we were singing in the stake choir, so we got to sit up on the stand. The messages were good, all focused on the temple. Our temple president shared the tender experience from when he was 5, when his father reactivated and his family was sealed together. That night the YSA had a get together at J__'s house to watch the YA Face to Face. It was good to be there, and after it was over J__'s mom and I talked about what we liked from it and from stake conference. The reason that is cool is that that conversation was conducted in Español. I am super grateful that I can communicate with so many people.
We had another cool Spanish experience this week. Elder Wooden and I were out biking when a gentleman pulls up next to us in his car, and starts speaking to us in Spanish. Turns out he wanted to know where the church was, and when services are, so I got to talk to him about it all. There is a very large Hispanic population here, so it is a big asset to know a little Spanish.
I have been studying about remembering. Something I have always noticed reading the Book of Mormon is how often it used the word remember, so I am now going through and marking every instance of the word. It is something I always wanted to do, so I'm glad I am getting to it. I would highly recommend it, if you are looking for something to study. It just teaches you a lot about the importance of holding on to what we have experienced as a part of building our faith.
This upcoming week should be really good, we have a temple trip tomorrow so that is exciting. P-day does end at 2 today to make up for it, but I'll survive.
Dad asked what a rescue visit is. The idea is that a member of the ward goes with the missionaries to visit those who aren't fully active and invite them to return. They are very important here because the activity rate, overall, is under 30 percent. In the Fairmont ward we have something like 1200 names on the rolls, with only 150 there on Sunday. Just in the last couple of weeks, the missionaries have identified almost a hundred names that are confirmed moved from the address on the records, so that is a process too.
Everybody have a great week, take care, pray hard!
Elder DeFord
Picture: the Broadway North Elders didn't have an extra bike helmet, so I had to wear the hard hat!
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