4 Vs 4, Loser Comes To Church

This week, we learned a new and effective way to find new people to teach: basketball. But before we get into that, let's get a little spiritual. 

spiritual thought

We've been teaching this super super elect family that came to church with us last week. They've been reading their scriptures, praying, and agreed to stop smoking, stop drinking coffee, and stop living together! We'll on Friday, after two days living separately, they were ready to just give up everything. 

The dad has been smoking cigarettes non stop sense he was five, and this has bcome his "identity". He told us that he wasn't willing to lose his identity to follow "our" doctrine. This reminded me of a scripture in the Bible that I immediately read to him...

Matthew 16: 24-25

Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.

We are literally here to lose our "identity" that we created on this earth, and find the identity that our Heavenly Father gave us. We are all Children of God with the divine potential to become and have everything that He has. We can't let our "masked identities" here on this earth cover our divine identity and salvation. 

highlights

- basketball: okay so as I was saying, basketball has become a top finding strategy in our area this week. Elder Bradford and I were walking past a basketball court with three men playing. We decided to stop, challenge them to a game, and share a message about Jesus Christ. By the end of our short game, there was about 15 others circled around the court, watching two americans in white shirts, ties, and flip flops, playing basketball. On Saturday, we brought them to the church to play full-court, and everyone showed up! Unfortunately, no one came to church yet, but persistance is key!

- mind reading: We had a really spiritual lesson with that family that I was talking about earlier. We talking about the Plan of Salvation and eternal families! They had so many questions for us! At the end, I turned to the dad and was prompted to tell him, "I know that you will see your brother again." He was shocked! He was happy! In that same very moment, he was thinking about his brother, and was happier than ever to see him again! 

- miracle: I went back to one of my old areas this week, and I started visiting all of the people that I had previously taught. One family would not leave my mind, and when we went to see if they were home, there was no one there. They had moved. So we went our way talking to other people. Later in the day, on the complete other side of the area, we found the family! They still remember my name, my family, and everything about me lol. But they were super sad. Turns out, their grandma died today, and one of the kids was kidnapped today. We got to comfort them through the gospel, and testify of God's plan of salvation! I'm so grateful that we had the opportunity to brighten their day. 

other cool stuff

- Lilliane received a sign through prayer that the church is true! She had been searching for a while and finally felt the peace of the Holy Ghost confirm it to her!

- My companion is finally back! After a week in a half in the hospital and office recovering, Elder Lamounier is back in Bayeux. Not gonna lie, it felt like we lost a ton of momentum, but it's still good to be back. 

- Elder Bradford and I sprint on the train tracks, with the train behind us, so that he could catch the train! It all worked out, and he barely got that it time. The only problem was that he left me alone for 20 minutes in the most dangerous spot in the area. 

That's all! Hope y'all have a fantastic week! I'm praying for you all! 

Elder Ware