Your Pants Go All the way to your Shoes!

Well it's that time of week again! time to report on the adventure of a lifetime! (My mission in general, not this week specifically, though it was a pretty good week):

After I emailed on Tuesday, our ward mission leader took us to Costco, where we loaded up on some grocery essentials, like 20 chicken patties and buns. Who buys 20 chicken patties at a time? I do. That night, we had two appointments with investigators fall through. It doesn't surprise me anymore. That's just the way this transfer has turned out to be!

The nest day, though, we did have a fun experience teaching a couple of guys. We were in downtown Littleton, hyped up and ready to talk to some people about the gospel. I suggested we go to a certain park where we had met some people before. After talking to a couple of people, two middle-aged guys hollered at us from a picnic table, and Elder Muir went over to talk to them. We joined him, and taught a nice, simple lesson to the men. They were brothers, Rick and Mike. They were drunk at the time we taught them, and Rick told us he had been drunk for over a year. He really appreciated us taking the time out of our day to talk to them, and he was excited about going to church and having the family ward missionaries come teach him and his brother.

It was a pretty sparse week for teaching until Sunday, which was our best day of the week! After church we went tracting in an apartment complex in Littleton. We only knocked on doors in one building, and we were able to talk to five people, get three return appointments, teach a lesson and get a new investigator! The lesson we taught was to a man named James. He had recently had half of his left foot removed, and was eager to show us all of the gnarly pictures. For like 10 minutes. He was also wearing an eye patch! Aaaarrg! Anyway, we taught him about the Restoration on the gospel, and he seemed to understand and appreciate the message. He told us his father is actually a member of the church (his father who is probably really old, since James is in his fifties), and that he is really interested in learning more. At the end of the lesson he offered a sincere and simple prayer of gratitude for Heavenly Father bringing us to
share the message with him.

We taught three less-active members after that, and during the one hour we didn't have an appointment, we went to see Daniel.--

--A back story on Daniel--
While Elder Muir was serving in the Littleton ward, he tried tirelessly to get a teaching appointment with a family of Ugandan refugees, but had no success. He told us that most of their children were young single adults, so we decided to try by their house earlier in the week. We met Daniel, a Ugandan man in his twenties, who expressed a lot of faith in Christ and a great appreciation for what we were doing as missionaries. He also said a lot of random things in his thick African accent, about how the devil wears short pants, because he never finishes what he starts and he'll cut you off half way. God, he said, wears long pants, because he finishes what he starts. He looked at me and said, "Your pants go all the way to your shoes! You are protected." After that he told us we were welcome to come back anytime. So we went back on Sunday!--

We knocked on the door a bunch and rang the doorbell, and a little girl poked her head out of the front window, then disappeared back inside, and still no one answered. When a little boy came to the window and we asked him to get Daniel, who promptly answered the door. I don't get why people don't just answer the door when we knock... But anyway, he invited us right inside and we had a great lesson about some of the basic principles of the gospel. He has a lot of faith in Christ! We will go back to see him on Wednesday with our Elders' Quorum President, Brian. That will be lots of fun!

The work goes on and great things are happening. There are discouragements, but "NO unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing!" Be a part of it, do good, and always remember to be excellent to each other. Remember the prophet's most recent counsel as quoted in the poem:

I have wept in the night

For the shortness of sight

That to somebody’s need made me blind;

But I never have yet

Felt a tinge of regret

For being a little too kind.

I love that! The church is true, and the work is hastening! Much love to you all!

Sincerely,

Elder Rogers