This week was such a fantastic week! It's the best week I've had for teaching so far on my mission. I definitely know it was a result of the consecrated time we used to teach last P-day when we could be doing personal things. We taught Jasmine everyday this week and were able to go with her and members in the ward to the Temple on Saturday! It was so wonderful to go to the Temple and see the joy she found in the things she was taught and saw while we were there!
I think I mentioned it in an email previously but Elder Poulino and I both felt like the work would begin hastening in January and so far it definitely has! We were able to get into contact with many of the people that were potential investigators before and set up appointments to teach them or at least get into contact with them. We had a lesson everyday of the week, and sometimes two, which is something that I've never experienced before! Jasmine accepted the 24th as the date of her baptism while we were in the car back from the Temple!
The sad news is that there hasn't really been any progression with Bob and Ian. Bob told us when we were teaching him on Thursday that he won't accept any solid commitments at the moment and that is extremely frustrating. The biggest problem we see is that he is very informal when he prays and won't commit to pray everyday after he reads the Book of Mormon. We've expressed to him many times that the only way he will know if the Book of Mormon is true is if he prays about it. But he won't commit to pray about it everyday. Part of me thinks he is scared of the answer he will get because he knows that he needs to be baptised but he just won't make the step of faith and do it.
Ian is another story as well. The last time I saw Ian was the day we extended the baptismal date and he committed to read the Word of Wisdom leaflet we gave him. He moved flat a few days later and we weren't able to find his new flat and he wasn't answering the phone. We called him several times and tried to find where he lives but were unsuccessful. We went to go look again on Wednesday and I didn't know about it at the time but Elder Rife had prayed for a sign or indication of what we needed to do to find Ian or see if he was interested. When we got to the part of the road where his flat was supposed to be I found a Book of Mormon in a puddle in the street. I quickly realized that Ian would be the only one living on this street that would have a Book of Mormon. I picked it up and I knew that it was Ian's. Based on where the Book was I knew exactly where he lives and I marched up to the door and rang his flat number to return it to him and figure out why he did it, but he wasn't home. We haven't stopped by since but we both took that as a very clear message he was sending to us. We will try again soon to return it to him but we're pretty sure he won't be baptised on the 24th.
It sounds like a weird week but overall it was a very positive week. I felt some struggles to feel happy and feel the Spirit this week, but I know that it was my fault based on some of the things I was doing. I wasn't doing anything awful but I wasn't being exactly obedient so I didn't receive the portion of the Spirit that I could have. Selective obedience grants selective blessings. I'm working on being as obedient as I can to ensure that those I am supposed to influence aren't left out in the rain (literally) because I wasn't doing what I was supposed to. I know that we are the most blessed when we follow the teachings of the Lord with as much exactness as we can muster!
More pictures will hopefully be on the way, I left my camera at the flat so I will have to steal some from Elder Rife! But for now here is Jasmine and Wendy (the member that drove us, love her to death) and Elder Rife and I in front of the Cristus statue in the London Temple Visitors Centre (Center)
I love you all so much and want you to know that I know the Church is true. By the Holy Ghost we may know the truth of all things. The gospel is great and is for everyone. It is the only way we can receive true happiness, peace, and joy in this life and the life to come. No matter what anyone says, the Book of Mormon is true and Joseph Smith is a prophet of our Heavenly Father called restore the truth of all things!
Love,
Elder Draney
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