Some Real Wacked Out Things Happened This Week

Elder King and the Bearded Dragon

It has been a great week and the rains finally came down in Washougal for the first time in about a month and a half.  Elder Johansen got his first rain drops this week... what a precious moment for my son.  Some real wacked out things happened this week.  Trying to remember them is perhaps even wackier.  Tuesday we had somewhere around 5 lessons scheduled and all 5 fell through.  So, it was one of those times where we had to be like the British in WWII and be real creative.  We ended up finding about 3 new investigators that day!  The Lord has his ways.   Let me tell you the tale of James Simmons.   James Simmons has been investigating the church for approximately WAY TOO LONG,  and has made little to no progress towards baptism...  We both fasted and prayed about him pretty much all month long and we decided to go visit James the other day only to find out he has had "a feeling that he must come to church this Sunday and he has felt a great feeling being around us lately". James also had a few dreams for us to interpret.  James likes it when we call him at night while we are planning just to have a little chat and to get him excited about coming to church and so forth.... but James can barely hear.  Not quite sure what things he actually understands in our conversations during nightly planning but apparently he feels the spirit Via phone conversation.  Then, James walked around at "Camas Days" on Saturday and was too sore for church Sunday.... so that’s the tale of James Simmons, the man who has been investigating the church WAY TOO LONG.  A Born Again Christian man came up  to me and I started sneaking Mormon words into the conversation and this came to that and he then asked me "Can I pray over you?"  I accepted... then he grasped my hand and started praying fervently while pushing my hand back towards my heart (I was resisting this) and when he finished his prayer he said no words but walked off very swiftly....  This experience really hasn't changed my life in any shape or form.   I hope that experience brightens your day.  We also taught a young lady at her doorstep for about 30 minutes and she was reluctant to hear more but we have been doing something new lately.  Every person who is reluctant to hear more we ask them if we can say a prayer with them on the doorstep and just ask to bless them and we did this with this young lady and after the prayer she decided she would like to learn more... but it would come with a trade.  So we gave her a BOM and some chapters to read and she gave us "Kingdom of the Cults" a wholesome book full of negative comments about the LDS faith.   So, until we  got back to our car we were carrying Kingdom of the Cults while walking around downtown CamasJ  Elder Johansen and I have done our best to let the Lord take over our planning, finding and teaching this week.  I usually stress about everything that happens from the price of whole wheat bread loaves to whom we will go see the next day... & it was the best week we have ever had.  We taught A LOT of lessons and two investigators showed up at church.  One investigator that has been trying to get us to leave the Mormon church... just waltzed right in and started hugging most of the congregation after sacrament meeting.  I really have been learning it is OKAY to have to rely on someone else... It is OKAY to let someone else help me every second of every day.  I actually NEED the Lord’s help every second of every day.  & what wonderful things he will do in our lives if we call upon him.  I was even able to hold a Bearded Dragon this week.  WHAT. A. BLESSING.  Little rascal tried to take a chunk out of my phalanges. Every week seems to be a good week in Vancouver Washington and that is because the church is true... what the heck else matters.