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| Elders with an Investigator |
Well, it is officially November! October seemed to have just disappeared! November has a lot in store. It's supposed to stay in the 70s this week and I am just fine with that! Let's jump right in!
Monday evening, after P-Day stuff, we went on lock-down due to it being Halloween. Hard to believe I was in Gray this time last year. Time has sure flown by! In case y'all didn't know, I have a Mission-itis list to do. It is: To read the Standard Works before returning home. For the lock-down and crunched through Psalms and started Proverbs in Old Testament. I plan to finish the Old Testament by New Years. Next week, on Tuesday, I will began to do the D&C Challenge, which is to read a section of the Doctrine and Covenants each day for the last 138 days. I am able to keep track of that thanks to my mom haha. The New Testament will be read as well. The Book of Mormon of course, will be incorporated into my studies as it has been. This list is certainly keeping me on track and motivated.
On Tuesday, after District Meeting, I went on exchanges with Elder Glenn in Ft. Mitchell. It was a really good exchange, despite the allergy flare up that has plagued me for the last week. We were able to teach one of their investigators and answer some of her questions. We had supper with the Clarks and talked with their neighbor, Sandie. Overall, a good day.
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| The one and only Carlos! |
Wednesday morning we taught Nicole, which went well. We then met with Bro. Whitmore and we taught another one of their investigators. We exchanged back and I was not feeling too well at this point. My sinuses were keeping me up the night before. We also got a call from Elder Ray to get my bike fixed and another call from Sis. Finlinson saying that Dr. Nickel (missionary doctor) ordered another prescription of antibiotics for my toes that are acting up again. So, we went with Carlos to drop my bike off at a shop in Columbus called '' Ride On Bikes ". Just looking at my bike, the guy said he's surprised I'm still riding, because my chain was in sore need of being replaced. He also said my front derailleur was completely shot. My original intent was to get my alignment and brakes fixed so I'm not riding my brakes without applying them. That kinda stressed me out...
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| The new & improved bike! |
Thursday morning on the way to RMT, we met a guy named Eric. Elder Buckley gave him a pass-along card and he told us that his father had recently passed. We shared a little of the Plan of Salvation and gave him a Book of Mormon. We also got his info so we could stop by and share more. We continued on and Elder Buckley continued to find pennies and other small coins on the street and he looked at me and with the biggest grin related the correlation between finding change and talking with people and how that can 'change' people's lives. It certainly is a different perspective on that. We need to have that same excitement for finding these children of our Heavenly Father. After RMT, we went with Ft. Mitchell to study the Book of Mormon with the McClure's (older couple). We then walked around trying to contact some people. We then went to CVS to pick up my prescription. As we were leaving, the cashier wrote me a ''love note" on my receipt saying "Be Blessed". We thought that was pretty nice of her. We continued on and we ended up meeting Grady. We shared some of what we believe with him and he likes to visit other churches. So, naturally, we invited to attend with us sometime. We kinda chuckled together at that. We offered a prayer and he started, then looked at Elder Buckley to continue. He did, then Grady finished. A very interesting contact. People do pray a lot differently down here... We then started heading back up to our apartment to meet Bro. Goertzen for supper. My legs and feet were completely sore and felt like tempered steel!
On Friday, we did some weekly planning, had a lesson with Brad and Teresa with the Worthingtons. There they told us that they were now committed to quit smoking. Woohoo! We also taught about temples and that very much applied to the Word of Wisdom. We then got dropped off and Carlos picked us up to go to Columbus to pick up my bike. As it turned out, it ended up being $25 less than what was expected. We got back and I rode it around and it was so smooth!!! New chain, new derailleur, new brakes. Gotta love it!! We then had a quick supper and visited the Owens and watched '' Finding Faith in Christ ".
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| Mormon Hill |
Saturday afternoon we rode out to visit people. So glad my bike is fixed. Only problem is that my chain is a little 'sticky' and needs to be greased a little to smooth it out. Any-who, we were able to talk with BJ, the Rivers' nephew for a while. We then got a call from Sis. Brewer asking us if we could help her move some boxes. We then biked back home and left with her and her grandson. Ft. Mitchell came to help as well. We got it done pretty quickly and I talked with Sis. Brewer's son-in-law about his experience in the military. We then had supper with the Worthington's. Afterwards we visited Nicole. We get back, set our clocks back an hour and we were completely wiped.
Sunday went by fast! Church was really good. William and Nadia bore their testimonies, as we challenged them to. Sis. Foster(Bro. McClure's wife) bore hers as well. It was the first time she was at church since her stroke about 2 months ago. No lunch at the Bush's since Sis. Bush is still recovering from her surgery. We instead visited Carlos. we beat him there, so we did some tracting. We met a guy in his 20's by the looks of it. We gave him a pamphlet and taught him most of the Restoration. He said he would look into it. Maybe it'll go somewhere. We had a great visit with Carlos, then Sis. Brewer, the Newsomes, and the McClures( same as mentioned before). Phew! It's been a jam-packed week!
Well, the weeks are running together and soon it will be Thanksgiving and seemingly right after, Christmas. Someone needs to tell Father Time to chill out! I fully intend to use next summer to lose this mission weight. I might just sweat grits and fried okra for the first few weeks haha. We'll see who looks better come August. The Sibling Rivalry is back haha. Thanksgiving Plans..The Goertzens are having all the missionaries over and we are having smoked turkey!
Have a good week y'all!
Elder Alexander Kestner
