week 34

brothers and sisters bonjur!

So I am walking down a road with my companion and we're passing by the chicken fight place for the millionth time... But this time the door is open and a guy is sitting outside the door. So I decide that we just have to get in there and see it.  So I tried to convice Elder Chidester to contact the guy, but he wanted no part of it.  So I took matters into my own hands and I walked up to the man and put my arm around him and said;  "You know I am quite the chicken fighter."  He starts cracking up and we talk for a little while.  I inch my way to the door with a grin on my face and asked if we could look around.  He's still laughing and he lets us in.  It was super sweet.  Grand stands with two drop cages above the ring.  Its 5 euro a person...maybe I'll drop in when they have an actual fight?

Spits balls and less actives

"1/6 of you will be inactive 2 years after your mission."  7 months ago I was sitting in the MTC when this statistic was anounced.  It has been on my mind ever since then because well, how is that even possible?

Now, as a missionary I am now more convinced then I have ever been before that when we are baptized and become members of the church, a light is opened up inside of us... some sort of chamber or part that was never there before.  This past week we spent a lot of time teaching less active members of the church. And after teaching so many this week, I have realized that even if one goes inactive in the gospel, when the chamber opens it never can be fully closed.  

Sitting across from someone who claims they have no testimony or don't believe in the church any more is a tricky game.  You can try helping them realize they do or that they have had real experiences but more often then not they have no desire to remember such experiences. It really can become a game of shooting in the dark as we attempt to find their inner light they've somehow forgotten they possess. 

This week we taught an inactive youth an inactive Returned Missionary and an inactive mom.

That being said, there was a lot of us shooting in the dark, and attempting to find some sort of connection they had with the gospel. After each lesson however hard it was though, I knew we had found that inner light in each of them. However dull the light within them had become, when we began talking about their testimonies their lights would begin to light up again. I have been working with the inactive mom for a while now and she has been able to come 3 weeks in a row (which means she has officially become active again!) 

With all three cases this week I realized that we needed to ask God for help. I realized quickly that there was no sure answer for everyone's problems, and therefore we really relied on the spirit throughout the lessons. I know as we strive to stir up their remembrance of what once was that they will come back.  It takes time and sometimes a lot of throwing out random questions you don't think will mean anything to them, and yet it somehow works out. I realized this week seeing a chamber be renewed with a less active is more joyful for me then seeing it be opened for the first time with an investigator.

I know with all less actives and inactives they can come back to the gospel and be stirred to the remembrance of what they once knew to be true-all it takes is stepping into the dark and finding that light switch. 

Elder Logan Robert Sackley

CHICKEN FIGHT

the arena

my life motto

just taking my goats out for a walk