A Good Week

Hey! This week has been a good week! Slow of course but good. Monday Elder Wood and I hiked with a couple of members to Gold Creek so that was good. Not much else that day. Tuesday we had a teaching appointment with Marissa (our investigators aren't sisters) and we took two returned missionary sisters with us as our members. So basically we had 4 missionaries there to teach her. I bet you're wondering how the lesson went. If the lesson would have happened I'm sure it would have been great. Another lesson fell through. Our investigator is native (Inuit) which means they are flaky so she wasn't even home. We got in contact with her the other day though and she said maybe in a couple weeks. So frustrating! We were a little disappointed by that. That day we helped the two sisters pour concrete for the foundation of a house their dad rents to people. Their mom and dad are not members so it was a good opportunity for service and show them we are normal people and want to help. We had dinner with them after and I shared a spiritual thought with them afterward. the daughters told me their mom gets defensive when you mention Jesus Christ so to try not to mention Him. I gave the thought on how you can show faith through prayer and develop stronger faith through prayer, and I didn't realize how hard it was to not mention Jesus Christ when you're teaching His gospel! There were a couple times when I wanted to mention Him, but had to find a way around it. The sisters said it was perfect for the parents so hopefully their hearts can be softened by the Spirit. Wednseday we had another teaching appointment with our other investigator, Amanda. We took a Hawaiian member with us to fellowship her, and when we got to the door Amanda said she was busy and it wasn't a good time. Two days in a row that lessons fell through! The only two investigators we have keep flaking out. I still haven't had an opportunity to teach Lesson 2 yet. Every time I re-study the lesson and prepare to teach it, the lesson falls through. It's hard keep studying for a specific person and then get turned down, but I guess when I finally get to teach Lesson 2 I'll be a pro because I will have studied it so much.

After our lesson fell through, Elder Wood and I drove up to Wasilla for Zone Conference. We spent the night with the Cottonwood elders, and the next morning we had Zone Conference from 8 AM til about 4 PM. It's so awesome to be around other missionaries! We are a 5 hour drive away from the nearest set of elders so I never get to talk with other missionaries hardly ever. Most elders serve really close to others missionaries, but we are isolated in Valdez and have to have our meetings over the phone instead of in person like most missionaries. Anyways, Zone Conference was awesome. Talk about spiritual nourishment! Last Zone conference Elder Norton and I had to sit in our apartment from 8 to 4 and listen over the phone, and we couldn't hear much of anything, and sometimes they show clips of movies, so we were kind of left out. Being able to be around other missionaries and hear from the AP's and President and Sister Dance is really awesome. Interviews with Pres. and Sister Dance after were awesome as usual. Sister Dance can stare into your soul. A lot of times when you say something or she is feeling the Spirit, she will stare into your eyes for what seems like a long time, and you know she can see into your soul. I also witnessed President Dance receive revelation in our interview. We kneeled down after and he said the prayer, and as we were standing up after he said it occurred to him while he was praying that we need to focus on getting the members to invite instead of just opening their mouths about the gospel. It was amazing because it was something Elder Wood and I had been discussing for awhile. He really is close to the Lord and receives revelation and inspiration for the entire mission.

Well, we are back now in Valdez and it is foggy and colder today. We are going to play some tennis or raquetball and maybe try to catch some silvers. I don't think the silvers have made it close enough to catch them from the docks yet but we'll try. Probably won't be sending home fish this week. Hopefully next week! Yesterday was the women's fish derby, fishing for silvers, and we saw some pretty big fish come in. A couple 18 pounders won the derby. I can't wait to get an 18 pound salmon on the line! Well I need to get going but I love you guys! Have a good week! ----Oh ya, I got pooped on by a seagull the other day. It hit the guy next to me, and did kind of what happened in that Seinfeld episode where the spit hit Kramer and then turned a corner and somehow hit Newman to the side of him. The guy next to me got hit, and the poop bounced off, turned a corner, changed directions, and ended up on my shoe and pants. Good thing there isn't any dry cleaning here. (put that on the blogspot) (watch that Seinfeld episode to see what it was like)

Love Mat

PS- Mom I didn't get the package yet but hopefully it will be here today. I'll let you know if I ever need anything.