Day 105-The Beginning of the End-07-11-06
We could not get a hold of S today. We spent the afternoon with A. We (by which I mean Elder Davis) helped him fix his laptop at the Seniors Center. A is 79 years old. He was a paratrooper in WWII. He showed us some pictures from when he was 18 and drafted into the service. He was a handsome devil. He looked like he could have been a movie star.
A is also a great person to talk to. He is nice and grandfatherly. We taught him a little about our church while we were there. He loved all of the temple pictures we showed him. He is not interested in investigating the church right now, but he thinks that we are the best young men he’s ever seen. “You guys,” he said, “look at you. You’re a couple of young sprigs (whatever those are –wink) out on your own. I’ll tell you, you are two of the nicest most polite young pair of gentlemen I’ve ever met. You do a great service to your church.” He’s a really nice man to talk to. And speaking of people who are nice to talk to…
We were a little late for our dinner appointment tonight. The reason was that we stopped by S’s house to talk to her. We could not go inside because there was no man at home, so we talked in her front yard. No sooner had we started talking to her when a man came by walking his dog. When he saw the three of us talking, he waved at S and said, “Hey S, my wife wants you to call her about us coming over tomorrow…! So why don’t you go ahead and call her right now and we’ll get it all set up.” And then he kept on walking his dog. After he was out of ear-shot, S whispered to us, “He’s just telling me that because he doesn’t want me talking with you.”
S told us that since the trip to the Visitor’s Center, (Day 91) her husband has been really circling the wagons and calling member from S’s “non-denominational” church to try and dissuade her from talking with us. That’s what the guy with the dog was doing.
The reason we could not get a hold of S on the phone earlier today was because she was busy cleaning her house all afternoon for the church meeting there tomorrow. That was the meeting the dog-walker was talking about.
S said, “I feel like my church is coming to attack me tomorrow.” S is so sweet and is beginning to realize that there is something different about Mormons. She told us, “When I’m with you guys or talking to Sister H, …look, I’ve been hanging around you guys so much that I called K, Sister H…But when I am there or at the Pancake Breakfast, I feel something that I don’t feel anywhere else. It’s like there is a hole in me that I didn’t even know was there, and when I am with you, it is filled.” (Cliché, I suppose, but I know that if S said it, it came from her heart. She feels the power of the Holy Ghost when she is with us.)
She told us, “What I can’t understand about my church, from a Christian perspective, is why they don’t want me to talk with you. I mean you guy accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, so as far as I’m concerned you are saved. I’ve met very few people in my life that have stayed strong in a relationship with God like you two do. When we went to your Visitors Center and listened to the Christus, I was at peace. I’d have loved to have stayed there all day because of the feeling I felt.”
We told S that we’d try to visit her tomorrow. “Oh, you don’t have to do that, guys. Tomorrow is your p-day.” I told her, “S, I’d get more joy out of teaching you and talking with you than anything I could do tomorrow.” (That statement is 100% true) So we said good-bye to S, for now. She and I were both getting a little misty-eyed. She said it meant a lot to her to know that we cared.
After we got home from dinner, S had called us back. We had left a message on her machine earlier before we spoke to her. She told us that she wanted to meet with us tomorrow morning. She said that she is really nervous about how focused her church is on her not meeting with us. She wants us to go by and see her tomorrow at 11. I can’t think of a better way to spend my p-day.
Tomorrow we get transfer calls. Elder Davis is almost positive that he is going. He’s been slowly packing his things for a week now. When he goes, Maddie goes with him. So, it’s back to the bike.
A is also a great person to talk to. He is nice and grandfatherly. We taught him a little about our church while we were there. He loved all of the temple pictures we showed him. He is not interested in investigating the church right now, but he thinks that we are the best young men he’s ever seen. “You guys,” he said, “look at you. You’re a couple of young sprigs (whatever those are –wink) out on your own. I’ll tell you, you are two of the nicest most polite young pair of gentlemen I’ve ever met. You do a great service to your church.” He’s a really nice man to talk to. And speaking of people who are nice to talk to…
We were a little late for our dinner appointment tonight. The reason was that we stopped by S’s house to talk to her. We could not go inside because there was no man at home, so we talked in her front yard. No sooner had we started talking to her when a man came by walking his dog. When he saw the three of us talking, he waved at S and said, “Hey S, my wife wants you to call her about us coming over tomorrow…! So why don’t you go ahead and call her right now and we’ll get it all set up.” And then he kept on walking his dog. After he was out of ear-shot, S whispered to us, “He’s just telling me that because he doesn’t want me talking with you.”
S told us that since the trip to the Visitor’s Center, (Day 91) her husband has been really circling the wagons and calling member from S’s “non-denominational” church to try and dissuade her from talking with us. That’s what the guy with the dog was doing.
The reason we could not get a hold of S on the phone earlier today was because she was busy cleaning her house all afternoon for the church meeting there tomorrow. That was the meeting the dog-walker was talking about.
S said, “I feel like my church is coming to attack me tomorrow.” S is so sweet and is beginning to realize that there is something different about Mormons. She told us, “When I’m with you guys or talking to Sister H, …look, I’ve been hanging around you guys so much that I called K, Sister H…But when I am there or at the Pancake Breakfast, I feel something that I don’t feel anywhere else. It’s like there is a hole in me that I didn’t even know was there, and when I am with you, it is filled.” (Cliché, I suppose, but I know that if S said it, it came from her heart. She feels the power of the Holy Ghost when she is with us.)
She told us, “What I can’t understand about my church, from a Christian perspective, is why they don’t want me to talk with you. I mean you guy accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, so as far as I’m concerned you are saved. I’ve met very few people in my life that have stayed strong in a relationship with God like you two do. When we went to your Visitors Center and listened to the Christus, I was at peace. I’d have loved to have stayed there all day because of the feeling I felt.”
We told S that we’d try to visit her tomorrow. “Oh, you don’t have to do that, guys. Tomorrow is your p-day.” I told her, “S, I’d get more joy out of teaching you and talking with you than anything I could do tomorrow.” (That statement is 100% true) So we said good-bye to S, for now. She and I were both getting a little misty-eyed. She said it meant a lot to her to know that we cared.
After we got home from dinner, S had called us back. We had left a message on her machine earlier before we spoke to her. She told us that she wanted to meet with us tomorrow morning. She said that she is really nervous about how focused her church is on her not meeting with us. She wants us to go by and see her tomorrow at 11. I can’t think of a better way to spend my p-day.
Tomorrow we get transfer calls. Elder Davis is almost positive that he is going. He’s been slowly packing his things for a week now. When he goes, Maddie goes with him. So, it’s back to the bike.
posted by Garden Anywhere Box | 6:03 AM
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