Happy Valentine's Day

Oh goodness...I am so tired! Haha! Well, I am always tired so that is
not saying much. Things are finally starting to pick up here in the
Kennewick Park Ward. We have been tracting ALOT! More than I have my
entire mission thus far. I made new records for myself and this week
looks to be the same. We have been able to find people who are seeking
the truth and that have questions about the church.

For example, we were tracting a street and we started on one side and
worked our way down. We came to a house where there was a guy sitting
in his car smoking. The window was down just a crack and he wasn't
about to go anywhere (the car wasn't even on). We walked up expecting
this situation to turn out the way it had so far that day like almost
every other day with everyone saying that they had their own church
and that they weren't interested in what we have to share and then
shutting the door in our faces. We of course are used to this response
even though we know that what we have to offer is more than just any
church, we are not selling our religion or our church, we are simply
sharing a message about our Savior Jesus Christ whom you should WANT
to learn more about if you are honestly seeking to follow him.

But anyway, back to my story, we walk up and wave and say something
like hey how are you doing today. Mike looks up at us and you can tell
that he is not having a good day. He says he is okay, so we introduce
ourselves and tell him that we are there to share a message about
Jesus Christ. We asked him what role religion has played in his life
and he told us that he was raised 7th day Adventist but that he
doesn't really like to go there anymore. He told us that his parents
were very strong in their beliefs and that he just doesn't feel like
it is right for him. We were able to tell him that everyone has to
find out what is right for them. He expressed his concern about how he
was taught to fear God and that everything seemed to be so doom and
gloom. We were able to bare simple testimonies on how we know that God
is our loving Heavenly Father and that He wants the best for us, His
children. Mike seemed to perk up a little as we continued to visit
with him. We were able to give him a copy of the Book of Mormon with a
promise that as he reads it and prays about it, he will be able to see
the love of God more in his life. He accepted it and said he would
read it and pray. We set up a time that we could come over later in
the week to share with him how it was that we got the Book of Mormon.
He seemed excited and told us to come back on Saturday at 10:30
because his parents wouldn't be home. We asked him if he was in his
car because his parents were home and he said yes. We said a prayer
with Mike and we left and continued down the street. We could tell
that Mike is going through some really hard stuff in his life right
now and that we were meant to talk to him outside instead of knocking
on his door just to be turned away by his mom or dad.

So lets jump from that day to Saturday. We have found a wonderful
sister to join us to go to Mike's house (by the way all of us were in
purple) and we go and knock on his door. No one answers and we are so
disappointed. :( We left a sticky note on his door with our phone
number to give us a call so that we could go visit him again. We left
and thanked Sister Madison for coming with us and we went our separate
ways.

Two hours later: We decided to go by again to see if the note was gone
and to visit one of Mike's neighbors. We saw the note was gone and
that Mike was in his car again. We talked to his neighbor and then
went to talk to Mike again. He apologized for not answering earlier,
he had over slept and that his parents were home. So knowing that his
mom was inside we asked if we could go inside. We went in and started
talking more about what he believes and the Book of Mormon and how it
gives us hope for a better life. He was way into it and his mom came
in. She listened for a few minutes and we could tell that something
was about to happen. She started to yell at us (for about 10 or so
minutes) and tell us how wrong we are and that we needed to leave. So
we said that everyone has the opportunity to learn for themselves and
that Mike had told us that he would be interested in learning more.
She told us that he was not and that we were not welcome in her home.
We got up and told Mike that if he had any questions to please call us
or text and we would be happy to meet with him somewhere else. He said
okay and we left.

Sunday after church we had a text from Mike apologizing for his moms
actions and asking if we could meet at the park by his house. We told
him that it was alright and that we had some friends (the Madisons)
that we could go to their house to meet. We set up a time on Tuesday
and we will see how that goes. Mike is such a nice guy. He is 28 and
you can tell that he wants to get out from under his parents thumb but
he just doesn't know how. I am so excited to be able to help show him
the way.

He is just one of the many people that we are trying to go back to
teach. I know that the Lord puts us on the path we need to be on in
order to find His children that are prepared and if we don't listen
then He will help them find us. I have a few more funny stories but I
am almost out of time so I will have to leave you in suspense. We have
zone conference tomorrow and I am super excited about that!  :) I love
you all and I hope you all have a very happy valentines day!