So this last week was one of my favorite weeks of my mission. I'll just throw that out there like that.
"Why, Elder Rasmussen" you may ask, "was this last week so good?"
Well, we had no baptisms. But we worked. And did we work! Holy cow we had to run to some times and we just always were chasing a time it felt like. So y'all might remember that my area split not all that long ago. Well this last week was the second week of the split and we had such a full program! The week before that we did a ton of contacting and looking for families and talking with members trying to get referrals, and this last week it all payed off! So I'll tell you about some of the cool families we found.
D., J., B., V., J., and D. were a family that we talked to after a time fell through. They live next to a bunch of members and we just talked to them and got a return time. The return time was pretty good. The Spirit was there, we were pretty quick and just nailed the important stuff and they loved it. Then D. was working on Sunday, he works security and it's on for 24 hours and off for 24 hours, but the rest of his family came. Ballers. We're teaching them tonight.
Then we've got M.. So background real quick, we're trying to get Melchizidec priesthood holders because Fort Dauphin is kind of low on those, and it needs them for the branch to split, so we're looking for men a lot. And M. is a way balling guy with, wait for it, 7 sons! He didn't come to church, but to be fair, we only stopped by and set up a time with him, but he will come!
Then we've got G., C., B., M., D., H., and a bunch of others. We found this family as we were headed to another time and we felt like we should go down this little path and talk to them. G., the dad, wasn't home, but there were adult sons there, so we taught a real quick lesson about the restoration, but because we were out of pamphlets we told them we'd bring one by the next time. We invited them to church and they were taking notes during our lesson about Joseph Smith and about how to pray. Then we got a package of Restoration pamphlets from the mission office and we brought one. G. was there, we had a great lesson. Then they asked, "nine o clock, right?" We were way confused, and they were all, "Church! It's at nine on Sunday right? We're coming." And they came. Then, did I mention that they have eight sons? Haha we've been praying to be lead to the elect and those who God has already prepared to strengthen the branch down here, and I feel like we've been seeing some success there.
The best story is all about R. We just had two times bail on us and we came out of the yard of the second house and paused in the path to decide where to go, and a guy came up to the fence and asked where we went to church at. We told him the name of our church and sidled up next to him. Then he asked what time church is at, we told him, and he said, "Oh nice. I'm looking for a new church." So then we took this as an answer to our prayer and taught him. He has a way cool story, he was charged with like treason during the coup back a few years ago, and was supposed to be executed, but some internation group stepped in and saved him, it might have been the UN. So then in gratitude he named his next child Barack Obama, he said, "if it would have been a girl, I would have named her Hillary Clinton." So yes, I taught Barack Obama about the Restoration, but then he snuck out and went and played in the yard. Then R. was picking up way fast on prophets and all of that and looked at the pamphlet and saw the Book of Mormon and asked how he could get one.
He came to church. It was so cool.
Barack didn't come. Not cool Barack.
Then we had 21 investigators at church!!! After just barely splitting the area! There were a ton of new faces at church because the other area brought 9 too, and the branch was so great about being friends with them and sitting with them and welcoming them. It was beautiul. All of the areas down here had pretty balling weeks. I wouldn't be surprised if the three companionships from Fort D had better overall stats than some of the zones. It just felt great to be working way hard and seeing the Lord's hand in the work, then seeing the other elders come back from a balling day so pumped about having had some way awesome times and having seen the Lord's hand in the work! It's just so cool to see how much God does His work.
The stats were cool and all, but the best part from my week was from T., a way balling recent convert, and this is where I'll tie in the Malagasy Morsel of miraharaha. It means to care about. We were teaching T. and he was telling us how so many people persecute him for his beliefs because he shares them a ton! He said, "Be dia be gny magnaratsy... fa izaho tsy miraharaha azy." Or in English, "There's lots of people who talk bad about the church... but I don't care." It was just so sweet to see this awesome dude founded so strongly on his own personal testimony of the truthfulness of the prophet Joseph Smith, the Book of Mormon, and the truthfulness of Thomas S. Monson.
That's whay everything is all about, individuals gaining their own person, individual testimony, and working with their families to be together for eternities. I love being a missionary and doing my Master's work. It brings so many blessings to my life.
I love you all.
Tahian'ny Tompo,
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