Hey Family & Friends!
Hope you are all doing well. We had a bit of a slower week, at least in terms of investigators. We did a lot of work, like a lot. But last Monday, Bishop Deutsch took Elder Rabe and I out to dinner at....don't get too excited...SMYRNA Diner. It's a normal sized restaurant with pretty normal food. But I was looking at the seafood items and saw flounder which, to my knowledge, I had not tried before so...thought I'd give it a whirl. For what I thought was the fat yellow fish in the Little Mermaid (what is up with all these Disney references lately?..must be craving it.) it was pretty good fish. And Bishop is a truly inspired man, former inactive member, reactivated and has since reactivated and helped many youth and adults here in the ward.
So on Tuesday night, we stopped by to see Will, Pam, and Morgan. Will and Pam aren't married but have an adorable 2 month old daughter. Morgan is/was a tenant/friend. And it seems like every other time we go over there we meet a new tenant and person to teach. So we've taught the Restoration now I think 3 times in that house. On Tuesday however, Pam opened the door and said, "Sorry guys, Will is passed out up stairs and Morgan is drunk and crying in the basement. They both started drinking this morning." So obviously, we didn't teach them, but that night Morgan started drunk texting us. I was like, dude, you're texting to Mormon Missionaries, kind of funny that we were the ones he was texting. He was telling us things like "I'm a prophet and I'm from the Nepheliem blood line that comes from Moses' wives. I was born with poliydactlisity (extra digits)." ...Right..."Alright, you have a good night Morgan, try to get some sleep."
I find it incredibly sad how easily Satan can use alcohol and drugs and physical enticements to drag people slowly down to hell. And the world will justify it. Oh, just one bottle, I had a bad day, everyone else is doing it, there is no harm in just one smoke. "Oh that I were an angel and ...could...cry repentance unto this people." Alma 20:1. It's heartbreaking how the world thinks that is the only outlet to true happiness. But we admonished him to come unto Christ, really to turn his life over to Christ and actually be changed. For good. I love the people in my life who did exactly that and whose lives are so much more meaningful and happy because of it.
We also stopped by John and Rebecca, the couple that is moving to Renton, WA and he had just gotten in from a business trip and she was bathing the kids. But after about 10 minutes of just chit chat, we got into a spiritually edifying conversation. Rebecca asked plenty of intelligent and thoughtful questions about covenants and the temple and "Why Mormons and not other religions?" So we explained the Restoration of Priesthood Authority and I just love talking about the temple. I explained how civil marriages say "Til death do you part" and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believe in marriage for "time and all eternity." And what a glorious promise that is. The Spirit was there and hopefully testified to their hearts of the truth of what we were discussing. I know this is true not because mommy and daddy dragged me to Sunday School every week, or velcroed me to the pughs (sp?) in Sacrament meeting or teachers bribing us with food. I'd be dumb to waste 2 years of my life if I didn't know without a doubt that the full gospel and Church of Jesus Christ himself have been restored. I know it. I strive to live it. And boy do I love it.
I got to go on an Oreo Exchange with two black Elders serving in Dover. They are so awesome, E. Tolbert is from Atlanta, and Elder Hamilton is from Jamaica (yah mon!). We did like 5 hours of service with moving some investigators and helping some members etc. Jackie was in the hospital last week for some diabetic problems and is now recovering in a nursing home, but still her joking and sarcastic self. She can be a little flirty sometimes, so we have to take males with us.
Zack and Cardin did not make it to church, but both still want to progress. It just won't be on my time table, which I admit, is really tough. The sooner they get baptized the better, in my mind. That's not always true. The Lord knows what's best, and of course they have their agency. Today the exterminators came and sprayed our apartment with a synthetic fossil dust that actually cuts up the bed bugs and flushes them out. So hopefully members won't act like we have the plague anymore since that's been done.
I am out of time, so I'll send pics next week, but we went with Sister Kemer to St. Andrew's school in Middletown, De, where they filmed the Dead Poet Society. I played a dinky little, but cool old pipe organ. I love you all. Mos. 23 is the script ref.
Love,
Elder Jake Robins
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