Hi!
So this past week has been the hardest yet the most fulfilling week of my entire mission.
Hard things:
Early in the week, we had not yet placed a picture of Elder Stanford on his Navigo (a card used for public transportation) (my bad... I'm a lazy son of a gun), and we were "controlled" by train staff. The ticket for no picture was 33 euros. We narrowly avoided having the police called on us for not having the funds to pay the fee on us, but that little Zion's Bank card saved us last second!
Two days later, Elder Stanford left his Navigo on the metro and we couldn't retrieve it, so we had to spend a bunch more money to get a weekly pass until we can check the lost and found. The whole process took a long time and was super stressful as we were turned-away by each staff in attempts of renewing the card or at least getting a one-way pass home.
From Monday to Wednesday, we were shot down more than ever before, and people were pretty sassy in their ways of saying no. This gets pretty annoying after the 50th time.
Turning Moment
On Thursday, we had a very well timed zone conference with interviews with the mission president that placed a fire in the both of us. The same day we had a prayer that we would be humble and grateful in our struggles, and that the Lord would guide us in finding new investigators and helping current investigators progress.
Good Things:
In a series of miraculous events, 8 new investigators were found through street contacts, transport contacts, member referrals, and missionary referrals; a family found with Elder Nelson had their first appointment where the Spirit touched each and every heart, ending with them inviting us back; and one of our biggest concerns, a sixteen year-old boy named Christian made an extraordinary step to ask his Japanese parents if we could teach them and request that Christain can join the church of Jesus Christ. We're actually going to the mother's restaurant in fifteen minutes to talk to them.
I know with all my heart that God loves us and wants to bless us, and I know that these blessings come as we are obedient to his commandments. "And when we obtain any blessingfrom God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated." (Doctrine and Covenants 130:21). I know also that Satan throws everything he's got at us in the last minute in an attempt to make us miss out on these blessings, so we have every reason to stay strong.
I love you all a ton, and this work is easily the most fulfilling work in the world. Stay strong and do what's right, for God will bless us more than we can imagine.
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