"One of the Best Lessons Ever"

So a lot happened this week! We got our transfer calls. Elder Carpenter and I were sure we were staying together so he could continue to train me, but he's not! He is taking off to Santa Cruz after being in Grande 7 and a half months! I am staying here and they are sending another companionship to Grande so it will be a four missionary apartment. This is great because Grande is huge and we just could not cover everything. This is presidents tactics to strengthen the wards.Grande is suffering and getting weaker. No one is fulfilling their callings and there are no activities for the youth. I wish I could help with those things, but it's not my place.

So now I am leading the area because all the new elders have never been here. My new comp is Elder Whitlock from Gilbert, Az. I have met him already and he seems pretty sweet. Another missionary coming in was from my district in the MTC so that's good.

Something interesting happened with Roger and Kandis this week. They moved into a new home far away. They found lots of disturbing things in the house like there was a bag with a human jaw, horns from some kind of animal, and other bones. There was a whole shack full of nasty stuff and the stench was overbearing. Someone before them had clearly been doing some kind of devil worshiping. Roger and Kandis described the feeling in there house like heavy and hot. But they did not know why. Roger burnt all the stuff from the shack and said a prayer with Kandis. When they came back in the house Roger said the feeling in the house completely changed. It felt light and clean. When Kandis came in she confirmed the same thing. So Kandis asked us to bless the home as we left and Elder Carpenter and I felt all kinds of cold shivers as he prayed. We then walked half an hour on this dark scary dirt road back to where we could get transportation. Elder Carpenter was spooked and started singing hymns haha. It was a very interesting experience.

So I had one of the best lessons ever with this man named Rishi. He is going through a lot of depression and heartbreak with some things that are happening in his family. He currently is unemployed and he is drinking more and more. When we got to his house the door was open and he was asleep on the couch. So we just walked in and woke him up. haha. (The people here are different then Americans I would have never woke up an American.) So we talked about his problems and he poured out his heart. So we began to teach him the Restoration of the Gospel. His countenance started to change and the spirit was really strong when we talked about Joseph Smith's first vision. (It's amazing how at first I thought maybe the restoration was a little off topic with this mans problems, but really it is the answer to every problem.) We invited him to prepare for baptism and he gladly accepted.

He then began to tell us how he has been praying a lot lately to get help with his situation. He said he was supposed to be somewhere that day but he felt prompted to stay home. Then we showed up at his door and he said he knew we were there to help him. He began to cry. He truly felt that God was answering his prayers and cares about him. It was a wonderful experience.

Thanks for the continued support! Everyone have an awesome week! - Love, Elder Hale