On Tuesday we had dinner with the Ward mission leader of one of the wards in our Stake. The meal was great, but what we got to do after was even better. This Ward Mission Leader's father owned a 1997 Ferrari, and when his father passed away, he inherited it. So, he just has a Ferrari sitting in his garage. He was pretty cool about it and even let us sit in it and take pictures. It isn't the nicest model of Ferrari because it's getting kind of old, but hey, it's still a Ferrari.
On Saturday I had the opportunity to attend the baptism of a young girl named Caitlin, who I taught while I was in my last area. It was especially exciting because she's been ready for baptism for so long. She's been ready since before I even first started teaching her 5 months ago, but some things with her family situation have been delaying the baptism for quite some time. Well, they were finally able to work that out and she was able to get baptized. It was really nice because I was able to return to my old area for a little bit and see some people that I hadn't seen for a while. She'll be moving soon to Herriman, but sadly she won't be in my area, so I won't get to help with the recent convert lessons, but I'm still glad she was able to get baptized anyway! It was an awesome service.
Yesterday, during one of the sacrament meetings we attended we had the opportunity to talk about member missionary work. We based our talks off of Elder Oaks' Conference talk from this last October titled "Sharing the Restored Gospel". While I put off preparing for it until a day or two before, I was still able to gather plenty of material and make a decent talk out of it. The best thing that came out of speaking in sacrament wasn't the visibility or having a whole Ward listen to my wisdom and great knowledge, but the motivation it gave me to study up plenty and prepare spiritually for the talk. I learned many things, and I know my testimony and desire to be a member missionary when I return from my mission has been greatly strengthened.
One of my favorite things that I studied while preparing for the talk was the parable of the Sower found in Matthew 13. While I was studying this parable in preparation for my talk, I realized that the situations that the seeds fall on doesn't only represent how someone can receive the gospel, but it can also be a representation of how the members in an area receive those who are not members. The love and care that we can show to investigators can largely impact whether or not their seed of faith is able to take root and grow. This is why it's so important for us to be valiant member missionaries.
This morning we had our district activity for this transfer. We were initially planning to go on a hike, but the snow and winter weather here made us decide otherwise. Instead, we chose to all meet at a chapel to make waffles, eggs, and hash browns, and just hang out as a district. We messed around in the gym and played some basketball too. It was especially fun because no one was really serious or kept score, so it was just all around a good time.
That brings me to now. After we went shopping, we've just been relaxing and taking it easy. What else is p-day for? I'm grateful for everyone who takes the time to write to me and let me know how their life is. I appreciate all of the unwavering support that everyone gives, and I hope you all have a fantastic week!
Elder Orchard
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