Well, this was quite a fun week, full of a new year, exchanges, roofing, and investigators doing our missionary work for us. Let me explain those excitements. So every once in a while we are supposed to go on exchanges and see how other areas work is going and learn from one another. I went to North BR's area and went with my old companion, elder Sorensen. We taught some good lessons, and almost got shot in this really skethcy apartment complex. Ok not really, but we knocked a door and they said "who is it?!" and we said " missionaries" and they didn't answer. Being bold, we knocked again. This time someone from the back yelled something, then the other person yelled back, or maybe at us, all kinds of colorful language. Elder Sorensen slowly started backing away from the door, and I followed suit. But everything is just fine.
We had a really cool service opportunity on Saturday, we went and worked at a members house and re-did their roof! Yup, we tore it all off, laid down new paper and hammered down hundreds of nails in shingles. It was a blast, I ha vent done anything like that in a long time, and I could tell then next day. So eight missionaries spent about the whole day on new years eve tearing of roofing and putting it on again. The members were so grateful, they said they had all the stuff out there for months, but just never had the time or means to get it on, and we helped them so much. On new years eve, we we rent supposed to go out unless we had an appointment, and we didn't, so we stayed in and had a little movie night, and watched 17 miracles, a movie made recently about the Martin and Willy handcart companies, and showed some of the many miracles that happened during their journey. Really well-done, TC Christensen is an excellent film maker.
On Sunday we had with us at church Juan and JuanCarlos, they are both progressing well. On Monday we had a lesson with them two and the Powells about tithing, and it went really well, the Powells were able to share a great personal experience about having paid their tithing first thing for so many years, they have gained a strong testimony of it. Juan kind of brought out a doubt he had about changing religions and what his family would think, because Catholicism is a big tradition in his family (in all of Mexico and central America, really). Surprisingly, JuanCarlos was the first one to respond, by pulling out a scripture he had found in the Book of Mormon! In a chapter we didn't even ask him to read! How cool!
Also, we had another FHE with the family of Nino and Myra, they are the ones where she is a less active member, but the rest of her family is not, and their attending some church here in Baton Rouge. We had a good lesson with them about the plan of salvation, and they enjoyed it a lot, and we said one of the things we need to do to get into the celestial kingdom is get baptized. And all of the kids said they wanted to get baptized! So we told them to pray about it. Unfortunately, Nino, the dad, came across some anti-mormon stuff, likely from someone at his church. Last week he pulled out all these crazy questions about horses and metal and cement mentioned in the book of mormon (which have all been scientifically proven existed in that time period) and essentially wont read the Book of Mormon because we don't have the gold plates. Really, just a lack of faith is where that doubt stems from. But, hes still happy to have us over, and let his family attend church if they so please, so we're really hoping we can make some progress there.
Other than that, this week was transfers, and we are staying, as are the other elders in the district, so all the letters you were writing me, you can send them to the same address, 1343 Jade ave, Baton Rouge, LA 70810
Hey Elder Cardon. Just stopping by to say hello and that we hope you're having a wonderful time. We are alive and well....well, alive anyway:-) Look forward to seeing you upon your return later this year. Take care and keep focused on the work. ARNY BAILEY
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