09/09/2019 Two Midwesterners Take On Benton, Arkansas

Everybody you meet in the mission who knows an inkling of what the mission is and have met missionaries knows most are from Utah, or Idaho, occasionally the other western states. So I have enjoyed being with Elder Critchfield in that when people ask us where we are from, nonmembers and members alike, we can throw them in for a loop when we say Minnesota and Nebraska. There is maybe one other missionary in the mission who I know is from the midwest.

We are still getting warmed up to the area and the members. We are teaching one guy who the previous missionaries had a little bit of contact with. We taught the Plan of Salavation last week and talked with him again and talked about prophets and how God speaks to the world using prophets (part of the Restoration lesson). It really clicked with him, which was really cool. A lot of people, especially in the south, have a problem with the concept of the pattern of prophets because they have all grown up learning just about going to a church and having a pastor. Having prophets and apostles, part of that foundation of Christ's church (Eph 4), is not familiar. 

The work in the zone is also going well. Our zone baptismal goal for the month is 11, which is really big, but we seem to be getting there with how many people we as a zone have on date. We have upwards of 9 or so right now!

Yesterday we knocked on a door and the guy who answered talked to us for a long time. It seemed like he was trying to reach something with the direction he was going with the conversation, but he never actually got to anything. He just kept on going from topic to topic, and then commenting on our behavior patterns, like how I usually have a hand in my pocket fiddling with my key ring while I talk. But to make a long story short he got away with my name tag. He reached and grabbed it while he was getting my name, then a minute or so later when I asked if I could have it back he said no and told us to get off his property. He said the nametag was "proof of solicitation." Too bad he didn't have a no soliciting sign, and technically we are not solicitors. I'll miss that nametag, but I can order another one... 

It was one of the more unique door experiences I have had

VOD

Alma 48:7: "Now it came to pass that while Amalickiah had thus been obtaining power by fraud and deceit, Moroni, on the other hand, had been preparing the minds of the people to be faithful unto the Lord their God."

Pictures: 

The last Zone conference picture is all I have this week. So many of these missionaries have since finished their missions. 

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