Should I?

We are currently teaching a 14 year old girl named Anju. No one in her family are members, but the house right next to her is filled with members, so they are helping to support her. It's been interesting teaching someone so young, because she will easily accept to things, but then struggle to keep the commitments... She is a really kind girl though, and I hope with her neighbors support she will progress. 

Also, a fun side note about Anju, one evening her family gave us some bananas to snack on as we were about to go, and when we were finished I was looking for a place to throw away my banana peel but couldn't find any place to stick it. Well, Anju quickly said she would throw it away for me, and she went and chucked it in a little plastic bucket outside their home. When the banana peel hit the bucket a rat went scurrying away from it, but Anju came back as though nothing had happened. I asked her, "Was that a rat...?" She replied "Ya Elder, there are lots of rats." Haha I would have freaked out if that had happened to me, but I was impressed that a cute little 14 year old girl is completely unfazed by rats.

Also, a note about people giving us stuff, I've come to see more and more on my mission one simple truth: poor people will give us food, but rich people rarely will. I used to think that was just because poor people are more humble and Christ-like, but now I think I have a new theory on the matter. The problem with rich people isn't that they are always prideful (although they often are), but the fact that they feel embarrassed if all they give us is, for example, a banana. They feel that if they are to give something to the elders, it better be something big and good, and that intimidates them and discourages them from giving anything at all. In contrast, poor people consistently show their love in small and simple ways. A banana one time you visit, some crackers the next time, and maybe a glass of milk the time after that. I think the poor people have mastered showing love much better than rich people have. 

As I train Elder Peter, and when I have been a leader in the mission, I will consistently get asked "Can I ______?" kind of questions. Generally, my response is the same. Of course you can! God gave us agency. You can do whatever you want. You don't even HAVE to be on a mission if you don't want to; you can go home any time you want. The question you ought to ask is "SHOULD I ______?" And the answer to that is usually no. No you shouldn't. But thanks for asking. :-)

One day we cycled 12 miles out to a media referrals house, and 12 miles back. 24 miles of cycling in one day, and with no idea how to get where we were going so we had to ask for directions every half mile or so. Oh wow, I hadn't had so much fun in a long time! I love doing crazy things like that. Cycling miles and miles into the middle of no where, just to give someone a Restoration pamphlet. Well, I shouldn't say JUST a Restoration pamphlet, because inside that little book contains one of the most important messages the world could ever hear. Well worth the effort!

The elders in my apartment are impressed by how well I know Preach My Gospel and the Missionary Handbook (I can pretty much quote any part of the handbook...) I guess it shows I've been on a mission for a while! 

As we searched for an inactive's house one evening, we asked a Muslim woman on her way home from work if she could help point us in the right direction. She then spent the next 15-20 minutes helping us to find the address! Just one example of my firm belief that Muslims are among the best people on the planet.

Zone Training