Week 79 Happy 18 Months!

Hello everyone. This week was a rewarding week to begin with, but then ended with sadness. It’s crazy how even when you feel you are on cloud 9 how the mistake of one person can change the outcome of your week on your mission. Let me walk through the week with you.

Monday

We had a pretty fun p-day. We had some members in the Sholtes Ward let us come and play on their pinball machines. That was a lot of fun. We also did some shopping and some emailing in the morning before we went over. After playing to our heart's content, we then exchanged with Sholtes, and I went with Elder Call to his area. We went and had dinner at a member’s home and then went and saw two members before the night was over, however one was not home and the other was not wanting to talk at the moment. After that, we went home and ended the night.

Tuesday

Still in sholtes…we started the day with going and seeing some people. They have a hard time finding new people to teach, so we went and saw a lot of people that had been taught in the past. After seeing quite a few people, we then went back to their apartment and had lunch and comp. study. Then we went and saw a couple more people before we went and helped at the food bank that night. After the food bank, we had dinner at Subway and got some good sandwiches. After, we went to the church for a meeting we were supposed to have, however no one showed up. So, we went back to the apartment. I packed up our things, and the other elders came back so we could exchange back. That ended the night.

Wednesday

We had district meeting, and Elder Oaks instructed on virtue and diligence. It was a great meeting really. After, we had lunch together as a district. Then we went back home and did some planning and had comp study. Then we went to our lesson with John. We had a church tour with him and then taught the gospel of Jesus Christ to him. He has talked with his boss, and they are looking for someone to cover for him on Sundays so that he can come to church. We told him to pray for it, and we will pray as well that they find someone soon. After, we then went to Nikki Decker's home and read some scriptures with her. From there, we went to dinner with Sister Schwagert. After, we went and saw some people close by her before the night was over. We ended the night with having a meeting with Bishop.

Thursday

We started by seeing some people in the city, however, every person we saw was not home, and we were walking around. So, after trying a couple of homes, we then went home and had lunch. We did comp study as well. Then we went and drove out to see some more people. We went and saw a new family that just had moved into the ward. Their name is the Scott family. They are a young family and have one kid, but they have one kid coming along the way. We talked with them and turns out the wife was investigating the church in the Federal Way Mission. So, we talked about the 10 commandments with her and now we are teaching her! She just needs a couple more lessons. Her name is Kayla Scott. After meeting with them, we ran to the Millers and looked over Sister Miller’s family history work. We talked about with how it’s already been done. Now she just needs to put it all in the computer. From there, we went to dinner, and then we went and saw some more people for the rest of the night.

Friday

We went and helped at the food bank. After, we then went to MOD and had lunch as a district. Really good pizza joint, I highly suggest it. They are in Utah. After, we went back home and had personal study. Then we planned out the night before we went to go do service for Jack Jenkins. He wanted us to go and help clean out a greenhouse he owned, so we went and helped him with that. After, he took us to dinner, and then we went back home, got changed and had our lesson with Jordan. Harlie was with her dad. We talked to him about the priesthood. After that lesson, we went and saw a couple of people before we called it a night.

Saturday

We started the day with weekly planning. Then we had lunch at Wendys, on the way to Sholteses for a blitz. During the blitz, we went and saw people with them and tracted some streets. The sisters did the same thing in a different part of their area. We weren't able to help them find anyone to teach, however, the sisters found a couple good things for them. After, we then went back home and had comp study. Then we went and had dinner with the Lawson at Costco. I saw the Glens. They are from the Stilly Ward. It made me really happy. After that, we went and saw a good amount of people before we ended the night.

Sunday

We started with having comp. study. Then we went to the church to have our meeting with Brother Lytle and to print of progress records for the ward council. Then we had ward council. After, we went through the church service, and that's when the whole world came tumbling down. Sister Mathis pulled us aside and told us that Orion was smoking again, and that he was not fully telling us the truth. He still swears; he's still taking drugs; and he's still doing things he shouldn't. We told her we would talk to him and try to help him. After church, we had a meeting with the ward mission group. Then we went home, had dinner, and then went to go see some people with George Topance. We went to go see Orion, and when we met with him, he was not happy to see us. I wish we handled the situation better, and I feel that I was the whole reason why it didn't go like it should have. We wanted him to tell us what was going on, but he wouldn't tell us, and I told him, “That's okay, you don’t have to tell us, but we do want to help...” Well, we can't help if he doesn't tell us, so... that wasn’t really smart of me. I know, however, when we talked, he felt the spirit, so I hope he took what we said to heart. I really love that kid! I love all my investigators! I just really would hate to see another run away from the church because they don't believe in a certain principle or commandment of the gospel. The spirit has told me not to give up on him, so I won’t. After, we then went and saw some more people before we came back for accounting.

Well, as you all know I have now been out for 18 months. It’s very exciting, however, with how this week went, I just wish I could have been more excited for that. Thank you for everyone's help and support. Have a good week, and I'll see you soon!

Elder Hammond