These last six weeks have flown by haven't they? I got called to train a new missionary last night, so on Wednesday I'll go to Edinburgh to pick him up and we will dominate Dundee. Elder Meyer is going to Terenure, near Dublin.
On Friday the zone leaders came and interviewed us. The one I talked to helped encourage me to be a better companion/district leader and how to motivate them, and the other zl really helped motivate Elder Meyer. It was really good.
Even the night before actually, I was getting frustrated because all of our things were falling through, Jimmy wanted to postpone his baptism, we hadn't been able to contact Kris and Chelsea in over a week, and stuff. But he helped me get over it, and then even the next morning Elder Meyer woke up at 6;30, we did a bit of exercise, and we did a full study for the first time in ages.
It was great; he told me how great he felt after studying, and I could tell it did so as well. Since then it's been pretty good. He is being sent to work with a really good experienced elder who I bet can help motivate him even more so I'm excited for him.
And I'm real excited to be a trainer! I'm gonna make the trainee shine my shoes and iron my shirts and do push-ups while I sit on his back and stuff like that. (joke)
So yeah...as I previously mentioned this week was just ok. Jimmy told us on Wednesday that he wanted to postpone the baptism till the next week, because he had to do a lot of tidying and stuff at his new flat. We tried to help him understand that the baptism will only be two hours or less, and that he'll have plenty of time to clean, but he preferred to postpone anyway. So hopefully it's next week. Maybe two weeks, because apparently he drank a wee bit of tea recently, without telling the zone leader who interviewed him...so we need to help him understand the covenant he is making and understand true repentance. So yeah, I guess when I send a picture of us in white then you'll know it happened.
Kris and Chelsea hadn't answered our calls or the door...but yesterday they came to church and everything was ok again.
We had a fun encounter with a ton of either current or recovering drug addicts. This guy called Kevin who I guess was taught by Elder Meyer and his last companion, but moved to BIngham Ward, so is being taught by the sisters there...we saw him in town and talked with him for like an hour.
He's also on methadone. But he's been taught off and on for years, so he basically knows everything. He'd be a great missionary...but he is 28 years old and has a kid. And he can't be baptized for probably like another year when he's off the methadone.
But yeah, a bunch of his friends came up and talked to us as well...it was just crazy, about five different people just walked up or shouted to Kevin from across the street...I guess the drug world is a very tight community.
We might start teaching one of them called Barry. Hopefully it helps him make a change like we've seen in Kris and Chelsea. They've been talking about getting married and having a kid, in that order, so it's pretty great.
We've been talking to people a lot about family history...I've grown to like it a lot more. I've found it is only good with old people, and we see a lot of them on the bus we usually ride. So I finally have gotten the courage to talk to people on the bus about family history! Next step: gospel.
Other than those things, kinda uneventful week. But good overall, because Elder Meyer is recovering from his premature trunkiness.
Also it was a good week because Jesus loves me and there is always sunshine in my soul.
Amen.
Love, Elder Burt
