September 3, 2013

So happy Labor day to all, this week I get to email Tuesday because no libraries were open. Things here are going well there hasn't been a ton of special progress as far as our investigators but I will give some information on that. Elder Lloyd and I are doing great still and he and I have some high hopes for the area this transfer and have actually decided to shift our focus just a bit from finding and baptizing.

But first, Vanessa and her daughters did not come to church and as a result we will have to move their baptismal date to later in the month, that is definitely not ideal but you do what you gotta do right?

George didn't come to church either because of work. That has been the biggest struggle with him since the first time the Elders came by. That he is a single parent trying to provide for the 6 of his kids that live with him at home. He is a hard working man but his job doesn't quite provide a lavish lifestyle and it forces him to work on Sunday but we have promised him that if he keeps the Sabbath Holy and comes to church that the Lord will take care of him and he has committed to talk to his employer about Sundays.

El Hermanito Joe Angel doesn't have permission from his grandmother to be baptized which makes things hard for us because she is his guardian. I feel as though a testimony from him is going to soften her heart and so we are going to be sure we help him to develop one. He is a great kid and he has a great desire he just needs to have some support from his family.

So Elder Lloyd and I were praying the other day and it seems that we both feel as though our focus has been a bit misplaced and that we need to focus on the branch here and getting it back open. We realized that this area will be one of the strongest in the Mission if we can just get the people active in their church again and can get this little branch running again. Before I got transferred I asked God if he would send me to a place I could be more effective. Lots of members, my own ward, a church building close by where I could give church tours and bring investigators for lessons and for sunday meetings and so you can imagine my disappointment when I heard about the state Raymondville was in. I will be honest in saying that I was a bit discouraged and that for maybe that reason I didn't give the Lord the gratitude I should have. However, just like everything else in our lives worth having the Lord expects us to work for it. Raymondville is exactly what I want in an area but I won't be able to receive it until, "After the trial of my faith". The Lord wants me to have these things but he wants them to be important to me and he is expecting a show of my faith and a show of how hard I am willing to work to have those things. I realize fully as well that just like Moses that great prophet of old I may not get to step foot in the Promised land and that I may just get to see it from a distance before I depart from this place. Either way I have come to the conclusion that I need to help the area reach it's full potential. As of right now we would need 12 active, tithe paying, melchizidek Priesthood holders and we have currently 6. There are 8 inactive members in our area that have the priesthood and there are about 4 that don't have it that could work and get it very soon. I know that the Lord needs us to work to bring his church back to this little place and that once it does, the work will skyrocket.

On an exciting note, this lady that lives next door to the church waved us down the other day and told us that there are people going in and out of the Branch building at all hours of the night and that they bring stuff and take stuff and meet with other people and stuff and it all sounds pretty shady. Elder Lloyd and I have donned our detective caps and have set a few little traps to see if people really are going in and out and so we may be involved in what could be the greatest case of all time and we are going to solve it Sherlocke Holmes style. On the other hand the woman next door may just be a little off her rocker, either way, it is super exciting and if all goes well we will be heroes and receive a key to the city and they may write a novel about us someday or maybe make a film depicting the true events.Worst case scenario we don't find anything and still ended up having some fun doing some detective work. Unfortunately for us, we have a bedtime so we don't get to do any late night snooping but you bet we would be if it were possible without being apostates.

We may also start a class on being member missionaries. More on that as it develops.

Anyway this week my challenge for all of you is to start reading from the New Testament. Simple but very important. There we find the life of our savior and all that he did for us and we read about the way his apostles shaped the history of the world and laid the foundation for the restoration of the Gospel.

Les Quiero

Elder Bassett