Memorial Day AND a New Investigator!

Hi Everyone - 

 

There is so much to tell! First off let me tell everyone that the Lord will bless you as you keep his commandments and stay diligent to the assignments He gives you. Whether that is being commissioned as one of his missionaries or keeping your baptismal covenant with Him as it states in Mosiah 18. It is always good to read that chapter as much as possible so we can be reminded of the special name we took upon ourselves when we were baptized.

 

 

NEW INVESTIGATOR!

 

It took a lot of work, diligence and exact obedience to what the Lord has told us to do as missionaries. So Elder Culler and I have been teaching Chris Taylor, right? and one thing that I forgot to mention was that while we were teaching Chris, one of his co-workers (for the sake of not disclosing names his name will be Frank -- they work at a summer sales pest control business) was there during our lesson with Chris. As we bore our testimony of the divinity and power of The Book of Mormon, the Spirit was abundant and Frank's  eyes were  locked on whomever was testifying at any given moment. Let me just say again the spirit was strong and the truthfulness of our message pricked Frank's heart. The sad thing was that he had to take a call and leave the lesson but as soon as he left we all just looked at each other, Chris included, and all had the same prompting -- to give Frank a Book of Mormon with our testimony inside it. We invited Chris to carry that out since he was closest to Frank  and actually saw him everyday. Elder Culler, Twogood and I were brainstorming all week  how to continue to teach Chris but then transition into the discussions with our good friend, Frank. So Sunday rolls around and we see Chris at church and he informs us of the success of his extending to Frank the invitation to read the Book of Mormon. Man, I can't tell you how proud I was and the feelings of happiness that I had in Chris. He is a champion. champ...wait for it...ion. So we asked him how Frank received it and how he took this invitation to read and Chris told us it was good good but followed up with the bad news that Frank quit his job and flew back home to Idaho....I was devastated because we had planned for a lesson taught to an investigator with a member present and at plain sight it seemed that our plans had fallen through once again and it wouldn't happen.

Be that as it may, we were given a miracle! This is where the diligence and exact obedience comes into play. We drove home....oh yeah, drove, not on bikes but in a four-wheeled vehicle. We got a new 2013 Ford Fusion to cruise around in. I will explain later how we bargained this.

This is Juan.  Esteban's nephew.

Kudos to the Forsyth gene of getting things in times of need. Maybe it is just the Eric Model even though he denies his bartering skills. Anyway, we DRIVE home and notice Chris, Cameron (another member), and another fine looking fellow slacklining outside of our apartment. We hopped out of our car and started up a conversation with Chris and his friends and came to notice that this other fine fellow was a non-member that recently was given a sales job with Chris. We had a huge prompting to teach the lesson outside with Chris so that our new non-member friend could join in. We continued teaching the lesson to Chris -- we were on the discussion which includes the 10 commandments -- and we turned it into a testimony-based lesson so that everyone had the chance to voice their thoughts and testimony on the 10 commandments! It was fantastic and the spirit was very strong. I received the small feeling to pull out one of my several paperback copies of The Book of Mormon and immediately testify how it pertains to everyone's life and personal problems and struggles. 

Though our new friend didn't speak up too much, I know that the Lord placed him in our path because of our hard work the past week and our desire to spread the word to just one person who was ready. There is a reason our new friend came here and is now living with three other members of the Church who can show their light and good influence. The other cool thing is that he lives only 30 seconds away so we can see them whenever we want! The Lord blesses us when we strive daily to be the representatives that he knows and needs us to be. I have a testimony that Christ places trials in our life to overcome them as He did, and not to stop and fail. As we show faith in Him and our desire to succeed, we will  find that no matter what our struggles, we can overcome them with the help of our Savior Jesus Christ. I see it everyday and I know it to be true.

 

Crazy Memorial Day -- 

 

Memorial day breakfast - 3 pancakes, I don't know how much bacon, 2 sausages, syrup, fruit, croissants  with nutella, and orange juice. Immediately afterward, we played  soccer with a bunch of ward members and since I am an elder I am immediately given the other mantle of "accident prone." It just goes with the job. I totally pulled my groin. That is my one sentence sob story. But since you all know me and how I love to sacrifice my body and kinda go overboard with sports, the fun didn't end there.

 

Eagle Scout Project - It was an awesome experience. Spencer Baumbach, a deacon in the Lewis Center ward had his eagle project at a memorial cemetery.  We cleaned off the heads of tombstones and placed flags. It was a very solemn experience to be on hallowed ground and remember those who have so faithfully served and died for our country.

 

Volleyball -- We were invited to play volleyball at 11:30 at the church after the eagle scout project by Brother Dannehl. He served in Salvador, Brazil and we have some hilarious conversations in Portuguese together. So we went home, changed into some workout stuff and headed off in our...car...and played some volleyball. To my tired bewilderment I was wearing mismatched Nike mid-calf socks, one white and one black, I was tired, and had my vans since my pumas were soaked from the cemetery. This wasn't just ordinary volleyball...some of these members played on some serious club teams. After a few games I got some pointers on how to spike the ball off a set and let me tell you a little bit of practice goes a long way...until your leg hurts from the soccer before and you need to sit down. I felt old. What is going on. To make a long story short I woke up this morning and couldn't move. But there's more.

 

After volleyball we went to a Memorial Day BBQ and had a feast which included the richest piece of cheesecake ever. I had to take a 5 minute power nap to fully recuperate. I then continued to play basketball with some members at the nearby elementary school.. Soreness. This time I was in church clothes. I must have looked psycho. Tie flying through the air in church pants and a white shirt making..well mostly missing.. lay-ups. I'm getting better, though.

 

Elder Twogood singing to Andrea Bocelli

I started a cool-thing-I-learn-everyday-book because of the inspiration in a letter from Eric telling me to not have a day go by where I am too busy to learn something cool. It is really tough to get everyday in because I am pretty tired by the end of each day,  but I am striving to have at least one small and super cool thing to add to my book.

 

I love you all. I keep praying for our Prophet and his family after the loss of his wife. I am so grateful for our prophet and the keys he holds. We are so lucky to have a prophet on the earth today:) I gain a new and greater appreciation everyday:)

 

Till next week.

 

Elder Forsyth

 

Are we in a musical??

p.s. stay sweet