Day 122 -Judged According to Our Own Standards- July 28, 2006
Well, we got our bikes back. Brother B went to the P’s this morning and picked them up. Then he came over here to pick us up and took us to the bike shop so Elder Pierce could get the things he needed to repair his bike. Brother B’s a great man. He is willing to bend over backwards to help out the missionaries. As Yogi Bear would say, “You’re one of the good ones, sir!”
Another one of the good ones is President P. He is on the stake high council. He’s going on exchanges with us tonight. We are going to see Brother W, try to make contact with W, and see about D coming to the Visitor’s Center with us tomorrow. President P’s son S will take us up there. Even without S (our investigator), tomorrow looks like a good day. I’ll write more in here after we get back from our exchange.
We just got back from our exchange with President P. It went very well. We saw W for the first time in over a month. W has always liked President P. They hit it off really well when W first came to church {day 33}. So we checked in on him; saw how he was doing. W is still trying to find a job in this country, but it having trouble because of his immigration status as a visitor.
He’s not as interested in learning about the church as he once was. He basically told us that he was, “too busy at the moment to continue the studies” and that he’d call us when he had more time. We asked if he would be able to make it out to church this Sunday. He said that he could not make it this week; maybe some other time. Okay, W, we’ll be seeing you around, I guess.
It’s a little depressing about W. We’ll be here waiting if he needs us.
Next stop was D’s. Well, surprise, surprise. Guess who was there with D? If you guessed A, you are wrong. He’s still in jail until his bail is paid. No, the person with D was his cousin B. Remember him from {Day 100}? We taught the cups lesson? Well, since D is going to live in Minnesota with B for a while, B flew down to help D get things packed up and moved. We asked if there was anything we could do, but B said it’d all been taken care of …but thanks though.
We invited D and B to the Visitor’s Center tomorrow afternoon. We could see the temple, watch the new Joseph Smith movie, and have a good time. They said that they would love to, but that they had planned to go to D.C. to get some things done before moving. They said that they probably would not get back in time.
President P came up with a solution. “Well”, he said, “since you guys are going to be up in the D.C. area anyway, why not just meet the missionaries at the Temple Visitor’s Center once you finish your errands?” He then made a map of how to get to the Visitor’s Center and gave it to B as well as S’s (his son’s) cell phone number. He told them that when they finished their errands, to give S a call and he would go pick up the missionaries and meet at the temple. B is looking forward to it. So is D. So are we. We agree that the V.C. is the place to be in D.C.
After we left D and B, we headed over to see Brother W. President P goes to visit Brother W from time to time. He checks in to see how he is doing. Our meeting with him went pretty good. We talked about what we usually talk about with him: repentance, the spirit world, and “it’s never too late to say you’re sorry.” Brother W really likes and respects President P.
Later that night, as we were heading home, President P told us how much he loves to come on exchanges with us. He told me, “if your mission, Elder Pierce, has the same effect on you that mine had on me, then you will never tire of doing missionary work. You’ll feel constantly indebted to it because of all of the blessings it’s brought into your life.”
He also talked about Brother W. He told us, “Brother W is socially awkward. He has a slight learning disability that makes it difficult for him to read and comprehend. There’ve been many people, even some in this ward, that ask me, ‘J, why do you spend so much of your time and resources on these people? They’re never going to change. They have the same problems and addictions that they had 15 years ago.’ I tell them that every night I get down on my knees and thank Heavenly Father for people like Brother W; that I can go and visit them and assist them in any way I can. Brother W is going to be judged by his own standard. I’m going to be judged by my own standard. The world is full of people that we can help. People that want to change; that try to change but never do. We can’t just say that they will never change, so why bother. That is something that we must never do. Brother W exemplifies the scripture Matthew 25:40.
‘Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.' People are given different trials to test them, but it is also to test us. To see how well we’ve developed the Christ-like attributes of patience and charity.” Inspired words, I thought.
Wow! Today sure was exciting, huh?! Tomorrow’s only going to get better! Temple trip!
Another one of the good ones is President P. He is on the stake high council. He’s going on exchanges with us tonight. We are going to see Brother W, try to make contact with W, and see about D coming to the Visitor’s Center with us tomorrow. President P’s son S will take us up there. Even without S (our investigator), tomorrow looks like a good day. I’ll write more in here after we get back from our exchange.
We just got back from our exchange with President P. It went very well. We saw W for the first time in over a month. W has always liked President P. They hit it off really well when W first came to church {day 33}. So we checked in on him; saw how he was doing. W is still trying to find a job in this country, but it having trouble because of his immigration status as a visitor.
He’s not as interested in learning about the church as he once was. He basically told us that he was, “too busy at the moment to continue the studies” and that he’d call us when he had more time. We asked if he would be able to make it out to church this Sunday. He said that he could not make it this week; maybe some other time. Okay, W, we’ll be seeing you around, I guess.
It’s a little depressing about W. We’ll be here waiting if he needs us.
Next stop was D’s. Well, surprise, surprise. Guess who was there with D? If you guessed A, you are wrong. He’s still in jail until his bail is paid. No, the person with D was his cousin B. Remember him from {Day 100}? We taught the cups lesson? Well, since D is going to live in Minnesota with B for a while, B flew down to help D get things packed up and moved. We asked if there was anything we could do, but B said it’d all been taken care of …but thanks though.
We invited D and B to the Visitor’s Center tomorrow afternoon. We could see the temple, watch the new Joseph Smith movie, and have a good time. They said that they would love to, but that they had planned to go to D.C. to get some things done before moving. They said that they probably would not get back in time.
President P came up with a solution. “Well”, he said, “since you guys are going to be up in the D.C. area anyway, why not just meet the missionaries at the Temple Visitor’s Center once you finish your errands?” He then made a map of how to get to the Visitor’s Center and gave it to B as well as S’s (his son’s) cell phone number. He told them that when they finished their errands, to give S a call and he would go pick up the missionaries and meet at the temple. B is looking forward to it. So is D. So are we. We agree that the V.C. is the place to be in D.C.
After we left D and B, we headed over to see Brother W. President P goes to visit Brother W from time to time. He checks in to see how he is doing. Our meeting with him went pretty good. We talked about what we usually talk about with him: repentance, the spirit world, and “it’s never too late to say you’re sorry.” Brother W really likes and respects President P.
Later that night, as we were heading home, President P told us how much he loves to come on exchanges with us. He told me, “if your mission, Elder Pierce, has the same effect on you that mine had on me, then you will never tire of doing missionary work. You’ll feel constantly indebted to it because of all of the blessings it’s brought into your life.”
He also talked about Brother W. He told us, “Brother W is socially awkward. He has a slight learning disability that makes it difficult for him to read and comprehend. There’ve been many people, even some in this ward, that ask me, ‘J, why do you spend so much of your time and resources on these people? They’re never going to change. They have the same problems and addictions that they had 15 years ago.’ I tell them that every night I get down on my knees and thank Heavenly Father for people like Brother W; that I can go and visit them and assist them in any way I can. Brother W is going to be judged by his own standard. I’m going to be judged by my own standard. The world is full of people that we can help. People that want to change; that try to change but never do. We can’t just say that they will never change, so why bother. That is something that we must never do. Brother W exemplifies the scripture Matthew 25:40.
‘Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.' People are given different trials to test them, but it is also to test us. To see how well we’ve developed the Christ-like attributes of patience and charity.” Inspired words, I thought.
Wow! Today sure was exciting, huh?! Tomorrow’s only going to get better! Temple trip!
posted by Garden Anywhere Box | 8:51 AM
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