Chapter 36: Counterministering

Onetwothree rapidfire bulletpoints! Let's go!

•We had a day of reporting only "no answer", "not interested", and "moved" on our areabook. Then, on our last visit, a man answered the door, immediately opened up to us, requested a blessing, and agreed to come to church on Sunday. And he made it! After sacrament meeting, a couple awesome members invited him to attend their FHE.

In fact, it was not the door we were looking for.
Turned out the person on record had moved.😜

•Thursday was set to be such a busy day...then our service project fell through and 3 lessons cancelled. We definitely mourned.

Watching the sunset as we bike home.

•We briefly helped an inactive member move and had a lesson with him afterward, for which he invited a nonmember friend who had done Bible studies in the military with him. The discussion was so insightful, and they said a part of the lesson tied directly into a discussion they'd had beforehand, down to the very scripture we used.

District service project helping some people the Sisters are teaching move.

•We took a plate of cookies to a member who lived a 15-minute bike ride away. We folded the plate slightly so it would fit in my basket, but it was a bumpy ride, and...well, let just say the cookies nearly reverted back into cookie dough. (Hagrid: "I'm sure it tastes fine just the same.") Blessed tupperware made our next two cookie visits much smoother.

•We were calling inactive members when we encountered a man who said "I'm attending a nondenominational church now, but can I still be a ministering brother to the ward? They don't have that in the church I'm going to." Absolutely! We're arranging for his companion to be the Elders Quorum President and he'll be ministering to a member of the bishopric. Gottem! 😆

•Some members of the ward took our whole district to SeaWorld for p-day today! Perfectly allowed by our mission's rules! Crazy, right? I've now ridden on a rollercoaster as a missionary. Pretty weird, but fun nonetheless! We got lots of "Hey Elders!" from Utahn vacationers.

Tickets at the ready! Many strange looks from people as we entered.

Orca show that blew us all away. We stayed well above the splash zone.

Shark tunnel! (pretend there are sharks visible in the background).

Heading out (right on time, I might add).

Do you ever see great potential within yourself but constantly feel like you can't live up to it? Your resolve just isn't enough, or you don't know what the right step forward is? Imagine if you had a wise old trainer who knew exactly how to unleash this potential within you. It would be a process—long, rigorous, and painful, but never a waste of time. Always for your good and for your growth. What if you knew this trainer had a plan for you to follow, and that that plan would surely allow you to attain all that you see within yourself? Would you trust him, even when things didn't make sense? This trainer is real. He is our Father in Heaven. 

God be with you,

Elder Tolman

Pictures:

Weekly dose of cat!

Jose the shark toy, with whom we did a teaching roleplay.

Giant dolphin stuffed animals!

Elder Fisher being devoured alive. (His name is exquisitely appropriate.)

Weekly dose of random sky photo!