In Sister Cross's words - April 15
Dear Family and Friends,
It's been kind of a good, long week. The weather here has been crazy! It's been raining and snowing and windy. And then it'll be sunny and beautiful. It doesn't make any sense.And it's had quite the affect on our work. We had to stop and buy rain gear (which really isn't cheap). But I've LOVED having it.
W., the guy on house arrest, called us a few hours before our appointment with him and said he doesn't want to meet any more. He had rescheduled because he was supposed to help his Pastor move some stuff in his house. We're pretty sure he mentioned meeting with Mormon Missionaries and heard some things that probably aren't true. The thing is, we're okay with it. He's very dedicated in his church, so we're pretty sure it wasn't going anywhere anyway. He just wants friends.
We were able to meet with A., this sweet Chinese lady. She is so fun! When we got to her house, she had slippers for us to wear inside. It was great! She has a small little basement apartment and she keeps it very clean. She's excited to learn with us and we LOVED hearing her pray. She has friends of all different religions, so it's possible that she'll also hear things that aren't true. So we're going to try to keep open communication so she'll ask us about things.
Oh! We met a "prophet" on the bus the other day! It had been kind of a rocky morning and we were ready to just start talking about the gospel. We sat on the bus and Sister Messer saw this guy looking at our tags. I didn't see him, but she said she saw him sit closer to us so he could get a better view of our tags. We hadn't even got 2 stops away from ours and he said, "Sister! Sister! When you get home, you have to pray for yourself!" He then proceeded to tell us we were possessed by demons and that he knew that the angels that appeared to Joseph Smith were from Hell. He also told us that he KNOWS that Joseph Smith was not a prophet because HE IS! I had no idea what to say! Sister Messer just smiled and kept eye contact. I refused to look at him. We got off at the next stop and waited about 10 minutes for another bus. She said she'd heard stories about Elders having to get off the bus for things like that, but she never thought it would happen to her. Glad she's having good story-telling experiences! Haha.
Yesterday was fast Sunday. A mom got up to help her son bare his testimony. He wouldn't say anything. J., our investigator, called out, "Can I help him out?" Sister Messer and I sunk in our chairs a bit, but we both had a huge smile on our faces. He whispered into the little boy's ear, but the boy still wouldn't say anything. The mom bore her testimony and J. sat on the stand. He got up and talked about how he knew the Body of Christ was present and that the "team" (which is what he calls the ward, stake, etc.) is working hard. He's glad that people are going out and trying to bring more members to the team (US!). Then he said, "I'm also grateful for Sister.... (He clearly couldn't remember our names, which is HILARIOUS) Could you two stand up?" We shook our heads. haha. He said he was glad we bought him stuff to help him quit smoking and he's glad that we're helping him come to know the truth. It was probably the BEST moment of my mission!
Last night we also taught N. I think I told you about bringing the coloring book to her house so her 3-year-old twins would sit still. Well we got there and knocked on the door. K., one of the twins, opened the door. He saw me and smiled big. He grabbed my hand and said, "Please come in!" Then his twin sister, K, brought me a green crayon I had left there. Then K. said, "What's in your bag?" He started feeling it. But I completely forgot the coloring book! I felt SO bad! I gave them all the sticky notes I had left in my scriptures and even ripped out a notes page of my planner. It didn't keep them entertained for long. But we had K, with the help of Sister Messer, say the closing prayer. They were a little more involved so that was good. IF I ever leave Don Mills, I'm going to miss that family!
Oh! Last story for today. We were walking to that appointment with N. and this guy was walking toward us. I almost didn't say anything; he didn't look like he'd be interested. But I just said, "Hey! As you're passing, my friend and I, we're missionaries. And we're inviting people to learn more about Jesus Christ. What's your religious background?" He said he was Christian and I asked him if that had played a role in his life. He said it has, but he's struggled with something. He said he fell off the path and he wants to get back on, but he doesn't know how. I asked him how he would feel if he knew all of those feelings of guilt could be gone. His eyes lit up a bit and he asked how that was possible. I told him about the Gospel of Jesus Christ (Faith, Repentance, Baptism, Gift of the Holy Ghost, Endure to the End) briefly. He asked how he could get baptized. We told him that he would need to learn a few things first, but that we could teach those to him and help him repent of the things that he struggled with and then, on May 5, he could be baptized. And he wants to! We're supposed to meet with him this week. It'll all depend on if he shows up to that. He seemed VERY sincere, like almost to tears that this was possible. But we'll see if that actually works. We're exciting to maybe have a golden one! It's hard to teach people here because they all have a religious background and, if they don't, they believe in "One God" meaning we all worship the same God, so the church doesn't matter and they don't want to hear more. G. (that's the guys name) is from Ethiopia and he seems very humble. So his heart should be ready to accept the gospel.
This week, I just wanted to bare my testimony that I know that God has a reason for EVERY trial we go through. If you read in the Book of Mormon about the people of Ammonihah who believed the words of Alma and Amulek and were cast into the fire for believing. Alma was constrained by the spirit to not stop the men. God had a reason. Most of the time, we will not be killed to be a testimony against wicked men in the next life. However, God knows what's good for us. We can't always see it that way, but it's true. I'm grateful that Heavenly Father puts trails in our path that will help us grow.
I love you all!
Sister Jessica Cross
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