Random man in the parking lot...

October 17, 2011...Dear Family,


Progress really is made in small and often simple steps. Elder Maxfield and I had a better week. We did some little things better and were blessed in ways I did not expect. There wasn't any one thing that stands out that we did differently. I think we simply did things better.


On Thursday we went and did some service for a member. We helped him split logs for firewood. I really enjoyed it. I loved being able to get out and do some physical labor and most importantly to offer service. It was a nice change of pace. We helped for a few hours then they fed us lunch. It was a wonderful way to start the day.


We've been getting fed really well lately. There have been several times where a member will randomly call us and tell us that they made us some food and to come pick it up. It's been so great that over the last few weeks I've spent very little money on groceries. Last Monday we saw a member and after the lesson he went to his freezer and got out a bunch of steaks for us to cook! I've attributed this influx of food to paying fast offerings. The Lord blesses us when we do what He asks of us.


One great thing that happened this last week is that we started teaching an unbaptized child in the ward. The family was less-active for a long time, but recently started coming. The youngest son is eight and not yet baptized, but turns nine this Friday. So we went with our high priest group leader and taught the family and are helping them continue to get active and preparing the youngest boy for baptism. Right now he has a date for November 6. It really is a miracle because we didn't set any of it up. The mom expressed the desire to have her son learn from the missionaries to the bishop and our high priest group leader set up an appointment and then told us about it. Another miracle was what happened yesterday. We got out of a meeting before church and were in the foyer when some members walked in and told us there was a guy wandering around in the parking lot. We went out and talked to him. He is from China and said that he simply wants someone to come and teach him about God....WOW!! I was, and still am, amazed! The Lord placed this man in our path. All we had to do was go out and ask him if he needed any help. We got permission to teach him this morning. His name in Lin and he is very humble. He will take longer to teach because of the language barrier, he speaks very little English. Also because he has no religious background at all. This morning we taught primarily about God, prayer, and the scriptures. It went really well! I'm really excited to teach him. I'm also humbled by these experiences. The Lord definitely blessed us for our work, and He did it in ways I never would have expected.


It all goes back to grace. Elder Maxfield and I had to do all we could and then the grace of the Lord made up the rest and brought about the miracle.


Other than that things are relatively normal.


I'll talk to you all again next week.

Love Always, Zach