I have had many awesome experiences this week. Probably the highlight of the week was getting our investigator Xavier to church again. He stood awake the whole time this week. And didn't even take a smoke break! He is down to one cigarette per day and is trying hard to stop. He stopped drinking tea once we taught him the word of wisdom, showing his faith and desire to follow Jesus Christ. I love it. Last week, the Elder's Quorum President asked for volunteers to fast, one elder per day for the week. So there were 7 volunteers and they all fasted last week. Then this week we reported on the miracles we had seen and he asked again for more volunteers. Xavier's hand shot up and he asked if he could fast. We were all smiling and I was so happy to see his faith in a principle we had taught him no more than 3 days before. The Lord is blessing him abundantly with His Spirit and it is helping me to increase my faith in the Lord's ability to perform miracles.
One of the miracles we saw, probably as a result of faith and fasting, was that on Saturday we came in contact with a few long lost investigators. One of them was a man named Knicoma (Nih-kom-uh) whom Elder Taylor and I had prayed to find. We felt one day that there was someone prepared, so we prayed, both looked up and saw the sign that said W 8th St. So we walked down it and found Knicoma playing a keyboard on somebody's steps. Long story short, he had been wondering when we would return. So on Saturday, we felt to stop by his house and I said a quick prayer that he would be home. He was and he had plenty of questions. Especially about the authority of the Priesthood, held only in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It made sense to him that God would authorize His servants to act in His name.
We invited him to come to church the next day. He didn't make it, but we stopped by after church with a beloved ward missionary, Brother Hooper, and taught him and his girlfriend Tamara and friend Rei-rei. Tamara was very attentive, asking questions, then at the end testified simply of the Spirit she had felt during the lesson. She saw the reasoning behind why we ask people to be rebaptized if they;ve already been baptized. It was a miracle. They all want to come to church and read. Who knows how far they'll progress, Knicoma said he is on anti-psychotic drugs or something....soo..we'll see about that, but it strengthens my faith in God and in the power of fervent prayer and fasting.
We also met a man named "Mikey Blue-eyes" (his Vietnam war name) and he asked us to sit down with us on his porch. His dog was shedding pounds upon pounds of fur over our pressed pants...but, ya gotta love the guy. He has a straight up mullet, business in the front, party in the back. The exact words he said. He's a good Christian too, a little nuts. A lot nuts actually. We thought he'd be a good candidate to teach. But we retured back yesterday....and he got talking again. The kinda guy that says the whole "Jesus is my Lord and Savior" like every two minutes. Then he told us about the hooker that had just left his house and he invited us to join the Christian Gentlemen's Club he is starting. My mouth just about dropped open when he said that. Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't that just about a perfect paradox. Christian...gentlemen's club. Needless to say, he is still a child of God, just maybe not quite ready to hear a message about the restored gospel...I'm so grateful that i have the gospel of Jesus Christ as a solid foundation in my life.
Bishop Condie called a new Ward Mission Leader...which we are stoked about. Our old WML was MIA way too frequently to be effective. And it is just refreshing to have ward members fast and to see their faith in rescuing their brothers and sisters around them. Miracles happen all around us if we choose to recognize them. They may not be what we want them to be, but with faith, they do indeed come.
Scouts and all, have fun at Whitney, and boy, don't think we're not goin on another hike when i get back Dallin, Jared, and...yes you Tyler.
Mormon 8:38, ask yourself, are you ashamed to be a disciple of Jesus Christ? Why? You shouldn't be> As a missionary, I get to wear His name on my badge and love it. But we can all wear His name if we strive to have His image in our countenance.
Love you all, Be of GOOD cheer,
Elder Robins
PS will you send the book "The Power of Everyday Missionaries" President Anderson wants us to use the ideas that Clayton Christensen states in that book. And dad, could I get a copy of my Priesthood line of authority?
PPS Jess and Wil, did I tell you Doug Busse (*Beus) was in a video as a missionary on one of the church websites?
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