June 16, 2014
Dear Family:
Well this was just another week in good old Lake
Elsinore!!
Monday I don't really remember.
Tuesday We had DLC and DDM. Other than that a pretty slow
day. We taught Michael. We are getting appointments set up so he can get a
legal marijuana card and a prescription from the doctor because he needs both
for the church to accept it. We did service and helped the Mozel family get
ready for their move. I don't know if I have talked about them, but they are
super cool. They will feed us whenever we need. Elder Hugie has known them his
whole mission so he is pretty close to them. We got a call from some
missionaries who were with President Smart and got locked in the church parking
lot, and needed us to come and let them out. We weren't doing anything wrong,
but it did feel weird not being in a shirt and tie and just in regular
clothes.
Wednesday We had a crazy lesson with Pat and Michelle. They
were having a really hard time focusing. We were teaching the restoration got
everything started and then just a bunch of stuff started happening. The dogs
started running amuck. Then the kids found the hose and tried spraying
Michelle. The hose made mud and they were covered from head to toe. The rest of
the story is part of Elder Hugie's Email so I don't have to type the whole
thing. Next, we had to keep their attention by making them feel like they
were in students. So I said, "Class, pay attention". lol. It was
needed. They focused and we were back on subject. And then, the dogs started
biting each other and one of them was eating something on the ground, and it
made Michelle start to gag, and we tried to help her so she didn’t throw up. Nope.
She ran for the bathroom. We kept teaching her mom. But then the kids were
playing in the mud so much that the grandma had to go and make them turn off
the water. At this point the lesson was
pretty much washed! lol. The kids both had mud on them, and how the lesson was
ended, was, her son didn’t want to strip down before going inside, in front of
us. So during the prayer, when our eyes were all closed, she told him to strip
down and hurry and run inside. haha. I’m just hearing all this during the
prayer. After the prayer he was gone.
Now how is anybody going to tell these two Elders apart?
Thursday we taught Karen. It was at 4 and she was drunk.
Normally when that happens I just leave, but she made it hard. We ended up
being there for the normal time of a lesson. She was having a hard time with
her words haha. On the plus side she said she wanted to be baptized because of
how much we have done for her! She told me she loves me more than Elder Hugie
because I have been there longer and then she kept telling me that she had been
reading my book. I kept telling her it was God’s book, but she was too out of
it! Once we got out of there we had a lesson with Bro. Jacobson. He is a less
active guy with 3 boys who haven't been baptized. When Elder Ringwood was here
he said no, he was in the process of getting his names removed from the church.
When Elder Hugie went with Elder Maxfield when I was gone the wife said she
would ask the kids if they wanted to get taught. We went back over and Bro.
Jacobson shut us down hard. He just said “No way, we don't have anything to do
with the church anymore”. We wouldn't let it sit so we kept digging while we
were talking to him at the doorstep. We found out it wasn't a problem of
whether them knowing the church was true or not he doesn't believe in Jesus
Christ. We dug further and found out he doesn't believe in God at all. That he
and his wife are straight up atheists. It was about this time he gave in and
let us in the door. While we got inside we made sure we defined everything and
taught things very simply about feeling the spirit and reading the scriptures,
things like that. We found out later he has a pretty good understanding. He
kept leaning back on this stupid excuse of well I know you guys believe it now
but once you get educated and going to school you might start seeing things
different. So we dug out of him he believes in the big bang. I thought that was
awesome since they keep changing that theory. Long story short we know that he
felt the spirit while he was there, and he has somehow convinced himself that
that can't be from God that it is just in his head. The part that made me the
most frustrated was that he went on a mission. That’s right he is a hypocrite.
He went out telling people this is true and now doesn't believe it anymore. I
told him I would never waste two years of my life like that. A mission is way too
hard to do if I only half know something is true. That I don't just think it is
right like he kept telling me I was like that I knew that it is right. So we
got him to commit to reading out of the Book of Mormon. He refuses to pray
about it, probably cuz he is afraid of getting an answer, but we will work on
that.
Friday we moved the Mozels. That took a good chunk of the
day. Taught Michael again. Still trying to get things set up. I am really not
liking the whole weed card thing. I would much rather just have him quit. I
think this is all stupid, but he says he "needs it".
Saturday Elder Hugie took the ACT. I was just planning on
sitting in the classroom or the hall or something. I had a bunch of stuff in my
backpack to read. When we walked up to the door I couldn't get in the school
cuz I didn't have a pass so I just sat in the car for like 4 hours by myself.
That was weird. It didn't bother me though. Probably because I pretty much live
in that thing. I had to pee twice so that was the only awkward part. I drove
down the street to Taco Bell and just prayed I didn't run into any members cuz
that would be a really hard one to explain. The second time I noticed the
library connected to the school was open so I just went in there. Before I went
I talked myself into going to Taco Bell I was considering the empty water
bottles in the back seat haha. I read a lot. Took a nap (that was awesome I
miss not being tired so bad!!) We had a good day after that.
Sunday Michael and Martha came to church. We got Martha to
stay to Relief Society. She refused to let me introduce her to somebody. So I
just left and let her sit down. As I left a few women came and talked to her. I
guess that was too much for her so she bailed before it even started haha. She
told us in our lesson that night that she will try it again. Our lesson started
really good but got super sidetracked. She is super funny. I could not stop
laughing. Well that was it. Have a good week! I hope Dad had a good father’s
day, I sent a card! Love ya tons!
Elder Wood
