Elder Findlay Under the Sun: Preaching in the Rain Week #80

Hey Momma!

It’s ya boi Elder Findlay live from Mesa😂 I’m glad you had a good week! We had a pretty crazy week ourselves. It rained this week! Yeah that never ever happens. It made me realize how much I love the sun. I like biking in the rain for a few hours, but any more than that I’m not a fan of. Anyways it was a good change of climate :)

I’m glad Jacks B-day was a success! And that jacket is SICK! What the...what is that? I want one, my two favorite things - Basketball and Utah!😂 I’m sorry that Jack hurt his ankle. That’s THE WORST. I remember when I did that in the MTC, it was the worst pain ever. It still sometimes hurts and that was a year and a half ago, I probably should have gone to the doctor...oh well😂 Hopefully his recovery is quick so he can ball out

Here is an update on Portia and Jose: We are no longer teaching either of them :/ Portia’s Brother is a Buddhist Monk who lives in the Buddhist temple here. He told her to not meet with us and to drop everything that we have taught her :( So we are no longer teaching her. But she remembers what we’ve taught her and she definitely felt the spirit. Hopefully that will stick with her for a long time :) As for José, he just stopped responding to us and so we dropped him. It’s sad but we don’t let it discourage us! I know that there are still people out there who are prepared to receive the gospel, it’s just a matter of finding them!

We currently have only a couple of investigators that we are working with. We have been trying really hard to find people to teach, and we even fasted on Tuesday to find someone. Sadly this week we weren’t able to find anyone new but we still have the faith to! Obviously missionary work can be discouraging sometimes. But other times you are having so much fun that you don’t even care about the discouragement, you don't let it get to ya! When you get into those moods, that’s when missionary work is the best!

This week I had the opportunity to witness the baptism of an investigator that I taught in Citrus Heights Stake! It was such a cool baptism. The gentlemen’s name is Al, and he is such an inspiration to so many people. When I was teaching him he couldn’t be baptized because he had to take care of some things in California before he could be baptized. That would require him to leave his home and family for about 2 months. That was definitely a sacrifice that he would have to make. At the time I was teaching him, he didn’t have the faith to go just yet and so we just kept encouraging! It finally paid off! He went to Cali, got done what he needed to, and was finally baptized a member of the church. I have never seen anyone so happy! The Gospel can literally flip you around and change your life. No matter what you have done. It’s glorious!😊

Although we aren’t teaching many investigators, we are working with a lot of less actives. I think this week we met with 5 different less active families and had great visits with them all! They have various reasons of why they aren’t coming to church, but they all have a desire to change. One visit in particular was with Brother L. and his son. Our excuse to get over there was to play basketball with him and his son. So we did exactly that! We played a few games of horse and 21 with them. 😂 It was so fun, we played for a good few hours. It was good because we really built a connection and he invited us to come back next week! Not only that but another miracle happened! I’ve been working with Brother L. for a good 4 months, playing pool with him every week, trying to get him to ward activities, and so on. On Friday Brother L. said something that was a miracle. He has a habit of smoking and LOVES IT. He loves his beer and smoking. But after basketball he said “ I’m going to quit smoking, I’m not doing it for Gage(his son), I’m not doing it for you guys, but I’m doing it for Him(that’s when he pointed up).” That is a huge sign of change! Hopefully we can keep supporting him down this path and get him active again!

Time and time again I have seen Gods hand in this work. It’s real and He’s real. I cannot imagine what it would be like to not know or believe that you have a Heavenly Father who loves you and watches over you, a Brother Jesus Christ who gave his life for you, and a messenger from your Father who guides and protects you. This is the greatest knowledge we can obtain :) Glorious blessings are in the Gospel! PLEASE make it apart of your everyday life! I love you all! Have a great week!

Love, Elder Findlay

This was a gift to me from an investigator.
It's not a symbol we use much as members
of the church but I was honored that they shared
this special gift with me.