Hey guys the last couple of weeks have been an uphill climb, but it's gotten a lot better and I'm going to keep these good times rolling.
Shout out to grandma gay. President Hewlett told me to say hi.
So what's been up? well after Uele and Ula got baptized it's felt like there's been no one solid that we've been teaching. I've been working a lot with addicts, an while those lessons and teachings have been humbling and spiritual, relapses are a real thing and you have to be really patient with them. Patient is a valuable lesson I've been learning these last few weeks. Keep in mind, I'm out here to help people be baptized and continue down the covenent path all the way "to the temple and beyond." (say that like Buzz Lightyear). But what's important in that last sentence, the most valuable word in there is "help." I can only do what I can do to help people down the covenent path. If I could make people keep commitments or read the book of Mormon, there would be a whole lot more emails home about baptism and new members, the branch would probably be a ward too. But then I would have succefuly taken away agency, and at that point I would be a follower of bad-ol-satan. So I'll just learn on how to be really convincing.
So this last week we had interviews with President Hewlett and I love seeing and talking with him. I've been learning how normal President Hewlett is and I love him so much. I'm wondering what he said to me this week that has helped me change or do better, but to be honest I've learned more from the spirit this last week, which is how it should be. So this last week has felt really slow, but this weekend has boomed! Saturday we had a move where a ton of members and non-members showed up and we moved some people in and out of their home. Then we went out and had some lessons and visits and then we had game night where 30-40 people showed up! It was so packed! We had the church building full of people playing volleyball, risk, Video games, and Perudo. It was so much fun!
This great Saturday stretched out into Sunday where just about everyone at game night showed up to church the next day! So we had a great Sunday. After and before church we had lessons we taught, we visited a lot of people that we haven't seen in a while. While we were out we knocked on someone's door and this guy opened up and exclaimed "elders! come on in!" I was slightly taken back and this guy, Cody, has met with missionaries before and has a friend that was heading out on a mission in a couple of weeks. He wasn't interested at all to change, but we had such a great conversation, we talked about the word of wisdom and video games. He said his friend that was leaving on a mission was playing a game online and gave us a headset to say hi. So I've now talked to someone online about missionary work, my mission is complete. Then we got a letter in the mail from some church that gave us a prayer napkin, they told us it would turn our lives around.
So over this last week and specifically this last weekend I've been learning more about repentance and I've been applying it hard. I've been wondering lately why we don't call people to repentance? I know repentance is personal and very much between an individual and God. But why don't we invite people to do the same thing we are doing in our own lives? My answer is because I'm carnal and am trying to put off that man, but I'm learning to teach and call people to repentance so it's an improvement. So my invitation to you guys is to repent. (try to imagine me on a box or something yelling repent ye! Repent!) I know that we don't always look at the bad thing about ourselves and that's good, our focus should be on whats good, but today I invite you to look at what's holding you back from moving forward in your eternal progressions and repent. Cut it off.
I love you guys, I love serving my mission and teaching about repentance, I love the book of Mormon, and I hope y'all have a great day!
-Elder King
