You know that you are in a sketchy area when a member calls you asking for directions, and the only way you know how to get around town is by the strip clubs. There is a major one on almost every corner, so that's how I remember where we are, since there aren't any landmarks around, and that's how we give directions. super sketchy.
Now on to more spiritual stuff:) The power of prayer is amazing! Especially on the blessing of the food, I always took that for granted until now. Last weekend we were eating at a members home, and they weren't Haitian. So I was excited that I got a break from Haitian food, and we were having hamburgers so I was super excited! So the meal began normally, until I took the first bite of my hamburger, and the inside was completely raw. So gross! But I thought it would be rude to not eat it, so I said the most powerful, silent, blessing on the food in my whole life. After that the hamburger tasted amazing, and I thought of the story in Nephi where the Lord made raw meat sweet. And I didn't get some strange sickness from it so I know that God does answer prayers no matter how simple they are.
I met an awesome guy this week, let's call him Nathan. We met Nathan while harvesting and his first reaction to us, after answering the door and seeing these 2 tall guys standing there, was jumping back and using some colorful language. We tend to have that effect on a lot of people. After we explained that we just wanted to say a prayer with him, he calmed down. Nathan is the coolest investigator I've had in these short 2 months, (except for the fake one in the MTC) he is so prepared to hear the restored gospel. He was so excited for church, he woke up at 7 to get ready to be picked up at 9:30, and he also called us to tell us he was ready...at 8:30. Golden! He commented more than the members in priesthood meeting! It's amazing! We are planning on getting him baptized this weekend! I'll keep you posted!
Also I think I mentioned our other solid investigator, lets call him Matt, in the last letter. He is dry Mormon, meaning he's basically Mormon, but he hasnt been baptized due to legal complexities. He was supposed to be baptized yesterday but he missed his appointment with the President, so we will have to wait till this Sunday. We met with him a couple times last week( he is also living at the Bishops home temporarily) and I always learned more from him, then what we were teaching. We are so used to teaching the basics, that when he brought up scriptures from D&C and was talking about pretty deep doctrine, it blew me away. We had awesome discussions since he knew as much if not more about the church than Elder Wood and I do. Golden!
I think that the Lord is really testing my patience and my ability to not argue. We ran into a Jehovah's Witness on Saturday, and man are they frustrating! It took so much to hold my tongue and not lash back to his comments. When people question my beliefs or bash on what I know to be true I get pretty angry, but I always remember how the Savior went about people like this, so I tried my hardest to just nod my head and testify when I could and not argue. It ended alright.
Last week I followed the advice of my parents and decided to go see a doctor for a cough I've had for about 8 weeks now. I tried some meds about a month ago, but those just made me stomach sick. But the doctor gave me some more meds to try since it's not normal to have a cough for this long. But the reason I'm telling this story is she, the doctor, brought up the Temple that is being built, and said how she and the main doctor in the office are so excited to be able to go through it at the open house. The Temple will be a huge blessing to the people here and it will open the doors to many people. After the dr's appt. Elder Wood and I drove past the Temple on the way home and it is beautiful!
Due to popular demand I've decided to tell the semi truck incident from last week (don't worry Mom, I'll make it sound better than it really was) It was while Elder Taylor and I were on an exchange and we were biking down a narrow street in a neighborhood. It was all peaceful and then next thing you know there is a huge semi truck right next to us! Scared me half to death! It came super close and clipped my shoulder bag (yes a shoulder bag, backpacks aren't allowed) That's all, at least for the edited version:)
Well thats all the time I have, so I love you all and hope you all have a great week! Also shout out to Monika Cabrera who got her mission call to the land of the spuds, Boise, Idaho! and also to Carly Schiess who got called to the North Pole mission (also known as the Baltic Mission) and to Nathan Quist who got called to the Oklahoma City, Oklahoma mission (sorry nate i couldnt think of anything creative for OKC)
Much love from the ghetto:)
Elder Spencer Bailey
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