Well this is going to be shorter than normal considering I just talked to you less than 24 hours ago. Well this week was a tough but rewarding one. Remember mom how I told you about the angry guy that kicked us out of his housing development thing that was a super big jerk? Well that same thing happened again last night after I talked to you except it wasn't as bad. We were in a totally different trailer park and we were stopping by a few people that we know that live there. The lady who owns the trailer park saw us knock on two of the doors to people we knew and she basically came over and snapped at us. She basically tried to tell us that we were going door to door. We told her that we weren't and that we were going to see people that we knew. Then she asked us where we were from and we said The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Then she said, in a manner trying to tell us what we were doing, You are going door to door. (I wasn't in the mood to get trampled all over like the last guy so instead of saying nothing I just normally said "No we're not" at the same time as my companion. We then explained to her who we were seeing and things about them that were quite detailed and recent and then I think see kind've saw that we probably weren't tracting but she didn't want to admit she was wrong so she said "Okay but if I get phone calls from any of the people here saying you're going door to door I'm going to call the police." So ya that was interesting. Nothing happened too bad but Satan really is trying to discourage us and make us not want to be here. This is probably the most open opposition than I have ever experienced on my mission. It's kind of tough but I think it will all be worth it.
Now for the good news from last night after I called you. We found a SUPER GOLDEN investigator! His name is Wesley but he goes by Wes. He was a media referral but we were in the area that he lived in so we stopped by his place. He is a real nice guy. He's golden in every sense of the word. Basically long story short he has a girlfriend that is a member who introduced him to the church and he says he's always been searching for something and he says he's always gotten results when he has prayed and he said that he used to have all these worldly good things like money and an attractive wife but he still felt there was something missing. So all of that fell apart and he now is meeting with us. He really wants to know about the church and learn about it independent of his girlfriend. He says that he isn't doing this because his girlfriend wants him to but because he wants to. He's an awesome guy. We taught the Restoration and it went really well. He has a baptismal date for the 29th of May. When we extended the baptismal invite we invited him by saying something to the effect to "When you know that this is true will you be baptized?" He then enthusiastically said yes. Then we said awesome! and then promised him blessings. The next part was the best part. He then said "I'm goal oriented so let’s set a goal to work toward." That was pretty much what we were going to say next! After we invited him to do that we then said in order to do this we'd need to meet with you 2 or 3 times a week to make sure that you're ready. Are you very busy? Then he said "I'm going to make time. I'll make time for this." Those are the words that every missionary loves to hear if they mean it. I sure hope we can keep him going. I hope he continues to read the Book of Mormon (oh ya I forgot to mention he's already about half way done with it). He is an awesome guy and Elder Baker and I are really excited.
So I sent the pictures that I think didn't go through last week so they should be attached to this. (They are posted with last weeks letter)
So we are related to Elder Baker kinda sorta. He has an aunt or something that is related to us. Her name is Emily Davis. Her maiden name is Schouten. Her uncle is Grandpa Schouten and she said that she knows that he has a son named Mike and that John is a very common Schouten name because of great grandpa Schouten (I think he's my great grandpa. Either one or two greats but I think one.) Elder Baker ties into this somehow. I don't remember how but it's something like his uncle or his uncle's cousin married Emily Davis or something like that. I don't know but it's cool though. Small is the world of Mormons.
Mom- Happy Mother’s Day yesterday. I hope you had a good one. Do you know how often they send out that newsletter with all that info on my friends? If so when should it be coming?
Jordan- Have you started learning Spanish yet? Also I heard Thor was really good. I don't know what you heard or if you've seen it but I heard it was definitely worth seeing.
Everyone else- I would write something to you but I talked to you yesterday. I love you all.
Well I'll see you all in a while. I hope you have a good week. I love you and I know this church is true and I know that that Christ is our Savior and that he has paid for our sins and that if we put our faith in him then he can heal us of all the hard things that happen to us in life. Through his sacrifice we can repent of all our sins and shortcomings and become better people and better followers of Christ. I know that the Book of Mormon is true and that because of it we can know what God wants us to do. I know that Joseph Smith translated it by the power of God and that there is no way that he could've written it. I know that President Monson is a prophet and that he leads and guides the church today and that what he says are the words God wants us to hear no matter how unpleasant it may seem to follow them in the beginning. Always have faith. Believe in Christ. He lives! He loves us! He can help us with any problems that we have in our lives. If you trust in Him he can do anything.
Love,
Elder Schouten
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