This last Tuesday was the departing missionaries temple trip, so Elder Clay and I dropped off Elder Bradley at the office early that morning and then came back to do our studies. We went by a lot of people that day without many people answering. That night we met with some eternigators. They've been taught all the lessons, their son is baptized, and they come to church most weeks. The only problem is that they're married to someone else in another country and they've supposedly been waiting for their divorce papers for a while now.
On Wednesday we met with a member who we go by every week to help her read from the Book of Mormon, so that took up our afternoon. That evening we were able to get into a lesson with someone we found that Sunday night. We taught her the full restoration, but we had to refer her since she wasn't Hispanic.
For the 4th of July, we had weekly planning and then after 5-7's we met up with the zone and went to Panda Express and then played sports at the church. It was a really great day. This entire week has reminded me of Mexico because everyone has been setting off loud fireworks at all hours of the day. It was just like the good old days in the CCM. Also someone in our district had to go the hospital to get stitches because a dog tried to eat him. He had some pretty gnarly cuts on his leg, stomach, throat, and hands. He had to get about 5 stitches in his hand because he had to grab its jaw to prevent it from ripping out his throat. So that was fun.
Each week our mission president sends out a talk for us to look over that week, and this week's was The Divine Gift of Gratitude by President Thomas S. Monson. The part that I really liked was this:
"We can lift ourselves and others as well when we refuse to remain in the realm of negative thought and cultivate within our hearts an attitude of gratitude. If ingratitude be numbered among the serious sins, then gratitude takes its place among the noblest of virtues. Someone has said that 'gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others.'"
I really like this because in his talk he says that if learn to be grateful then we can push out the darkness of the world, and right here he talks about how gratitude can be the basis of all other Christ like attributes. President Monson says that it takes conscious effort to do it, and that when we feel grateful we need to express it otherwise it is for naught.
Other than that, not much else happened this week. Maximo was supposed to come back Saturday night, so we went by Sunday and he wasn't home. He's so close to baptism, but he never answers his door. It's a little frustrating. We also got transfer calls this Saturday and we are all staying! Both of our ZL's go home this transfer, and next transfer we'll be getting two more dying ZL's. So many missionaries are going home, especially the leadership. That's all for this week. Love you!
-Elder Smith
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