Saturday, August 24, 2013

July 22, 2013



July 22, 2013

Hello people,

     I don't have a ton to talk about this week.  This is mostly because it was so hot here this past week that no one wanted to see us.  It was so hot that people weren't even willing to stand outside as we served them.  Instead I am going to take some time and talk about some things that happened right before my last email that I did not have enough room to talk about.
     We had an awesome opportunity a week ago when a member invited us over for a neighborhood barbecue.  This was awesome because we are always looking for opportunities to meet people and to eat some food.  And the barbecue was the perfect solution.  Luckily for my companion we were on exchanges and I had a different Elder with me at the time.  This was good because Elder G... hates seafood and we had steamers.  Steamers are clams that have just barley been cooked and are still intact and are attached to their shells.  Although it looked really gross, they were actually very good.  In addition to the amazing food we also got to have some very good conversations with a lot of nonmembers.  Many of which told us that we should give them a call when we need food or just stop by sometime when we are in the area to talk to them.  Little do they know that as missionaries we are always in the area.  Fact: when a missionary says they are in the area it actually means, we came here looking for you because we felt inspired to meet with you.
     An example of this is this week when we went to visit a member that just moved into our ward.  His name is Brother M... and he is from Haiti.  Brother M... has been inactive for a long time and we felt that we should go welcome him to the ward.  When we got there we managed to catch him in the small margin of time that he was actually home.  He told us about how he wants to be coming to church and doing what he knows is right.  But that his job will not allow him to do it.  We set up an appointment to meet back with him and told him that he should do all that he can to get close with God until He provides a way.  During our next meeting with Brother M... he started off by telling us that God had answered his prayers and that a new shift was made in his job so that he will be able to go to church Sunday.  He told us that he knew God had answered his prayers and provided a way for him to do what he knew was right after he had done his part by preparing himself for his prayer to be answered.  I am glad to say that Brother M... came to church this past Sunday and we will also be meeting with him and his family this week to help them bring the gospel back into their lives.
     Alright I have one last story I want to share from this week that was exciting.  Do you guys remember the G... family?  They are the family that we have been working with to help them start family home evening and become more active as members.  Well they have been doing very well, so well that Sister G... was asked to give a talk.  This was good except Sister G... can't speak English very well and that on top of the nervous factor might not have been the best.  So we brought a member by to help her with her talk in any way she needed help.  When Sunday came I was anxious to see how she would do.  She got up and started giving her talk in Spanish.  At first the ward got a little confused at what was happening.  After Sister G...'s talk, her home teacher, Brother W..., stood and said,"Hello I am Sister G...."  He then proceeded with her talk in English and it was one of the best talks I have ever heard.  It was cool to see someone that I have been working with so much have grown so much and come so far in the gospel in such a short time.
     I hope all of you can grow in the gospel and be able to experience that great change in your lives through the atonement.  I know that this change does not only have to come to those that are struggling but for anyone no matter where they are spiritually.  I thank you for being supportive of my decision to be on a mission and serving the Lord in whatever way I can.

Elder Erb

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