Fire, Baptism, and Interview, Aug 30th

Well I am the District leader and the key indicators that were sent to me last week were terrible. So in the District Meeting I prepared what I felt to be an inspiring and edifying call for repentance! I was worried that the missionaries here were slothful and had poor attitudes. So that is what my District Meeting focused on, was diligence and maintaining a good attitude. I was kind of worried that I gave too much fire but then my fears were dispelled when I got this weeks indicators. The lessons more than doubled, we got our contacts, and our new investigators almost quadrupled! I was so much happier with these indicators. But I know we can do even better!

Then on Sunday we had a baptism of someone who was taught by the branch missionaries and we had one of our investigators interviewed and she will be baptized this coming Saturday! Woot! Her name is Shamiso Betserayi. Which is going to be great.

I went on exchanges this week and in one of our lessons this guy was saying he didn't like the Book of Mormon. So we were teaching him about it and we come to find out he had refused to read it because he thought it was the Book of Mammon. Which is understandable, I wouldn't want to read that book either. Then after the lesson I stood up and they all said wow, big guys. I just started laughing. Because I am smaller now than I have been. I need to find a gym.... anyway.

Also this week, in the morning I hear a knocking at our gate. I go out and it is a Sister who is hired by the church to clean the missionaries houses. So we let her in and she started cleaning. And I felt odd the whole time. It didn't sit well with me that someone else was cleaning my mess. Especially a Sister. I felt like I should be doing it. The house is incredibly clean now and I love it but it still felt off to let a Sister clean up after me. I think it goes back to when my Dad would make us clean the hotel rooms before we left. "Leave it better than you found it" he always said and I guess it stuck. Plus it almost felt like I was letting my Mom clean up after me, which should never happen. I don't know am I weird? I mean she was being paid but still.... it didn't feel right.

I have been learning so much from my study of the Scriptures and I find that it is just leading to more questions. The more I find out the more I realize I don't understand hardly anything but it is all right it just means that I won't run out of things to study. :) I love my study time!!! In fact I might need to repent because I feel kind of selfish about that time.... But I'm working on it!

But in one lesson we were having this guy had met the missionaries and had come to church for six months but said he still didn't know. We were addressing his concerns when someone who had joined us just for that day, said, "I think you need to go back to the Restoration.." hahahahaha I loved it. He was having these concerns because he wasn't sure about the Restoration and this guy who we only ever saw this once hit the nail on the head!

But we are finding successes in the area and I find it is because we are talking to everyone. They are starting to see what the Church really is. Also I have come to understand more and more that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has no interest in the Telestial or Terrestial kingdoms. Our only object is the Celestial kingdom! So we have been focused on finding only the best who are prepared and ready for the restored Gospel! We don't want merely to be saved, we want to be exalted! So next time I hear, "I have already been saved." I'll say, "Me too, but have you been exalted? I doubt that you have." Bam!

This work is awesome! Thank you for all the love and support!

Love,

Elder Steven Gay

P.S. Thank you Chase Gluch for the letter! It came all the way from Taiwan!