I'll start out with a new
southernism for the week, so you would say this to someone if its a yes
or no question..."Does a cat have running gears? or Does a gator have
teeth?" So both of those answers would be yes haha:)Wow you guys had
aneventful week it sounds like. I'm sorry to hear about Kristina but I'm
glad that she is recovering. I remember when I almost had to get my
tonsils out but then they got smaller and I didn't have to get them taken
out. But recover well and take it easy, I'll be prayin' for ya. Continue
to keep me updated with the home and I know something will come up!
There has been lots of rain this week and a lot of the times we were
caught right in the middle of it tracting so it made for some good
memories and wet clothes. Actually here in Columbus the wind got so bad
that a few trees landed on cars and houses. I just hope they had
insurance because if they didn't that would stink! And by the way I'm
getting transferred to a new area, I'll still be a zone leader but not
really sure where I'll end up. We have narrowed the possibilities down
to 4 possible places. The first is Tifton, Georgia, the second is
Hinesville, G, and the third is North Augusta, GA. If I had a choice I
would choose Hinesville or North Augusta, but wherever I go is where God
needs me to be.
On Tuesday, we traveled over
to Lanett, Alabama for exchanges there .All the missionaries were speculating where I'd end up and wanting to stay in Columbus I was
reluctant to pick where I'd go. Columbus has been my favorite area and
I've made so many friends here it will be sooo hard to leave, but it
will all work out. Elder Hales and I went on exchanges and it rained
reallly hard that day and we tracted the whole afternoon. It seemed that
everyone we talked to weren't interested or were fully content and
satisfied with their church that they didn't want to go to a different
one. But this week I had a lot of encounters with dogs and very large
dogs to be exact. The first was in Lanett when we were on the porch of
this mans house. On the side of the porch there is a banister to and the
whole house was covered to bugs ranging from spiders to ants, to Juno
bugs. All of a sudden we hear this crackling of weeds and heavy stomps
and this huge German shepherd who was close to 4 feet on all four paws
comes whipping around the corner and jumping through the banister trying
to bite us. With so much adrenaline we run off the porch and with the
fence protecting us the dog pounced on and off the fence warning us to
not come back. But wow it was a very large dog and could've done some
damage! We then had shepherding visits and I went with a member from
Lanett. His name is Bennie or some people call him possum. Only in the
south, and we visited some less active members and Bennie took me to see
a textile plant going back to the 1860's that was very unique and its
so sad to see all the textile plants not in business because they
outsourced to other countries leaving lots of people without work.
On
Wednesday, we exchanged back and Elder Memmott and I had a great day.
We had a bible referral that we planned to contact and bible referrals
come often and often times the people just want a bible and you to leave
their house. But this one was way more different than that. Their names
are Manny and Carol and Manny is one of the most open guys you'd ever
meet in your life. Any question that you want to ask him he will answer
and Carol is a super sweet elderly lady that loves learning about Christ
and the bible. WE shared the message of Restoration with him and the
authority that the church has really stuck out to Manny and Carol they
said they wanted to be baptized and were looking in the calendar to see
if that day worked for them! They truly want the restored gospel and I
knew that I was supposed to meet them on my mission! They have such
powerful testimonies and I cant wait to hear about their progress as
they move forward learning more about the church.
On
Thursday, we did service at the Food Bank and sorted lots of canned
goods gotta love that good ol' service. One of the highlights of the day
happened at night and it was definitely a memory that I'll always have.
So we had a member call saying that they needed to get into the
building because they wanted their AAU basketball team to practice
before the elders came and played basketball later that night. So we
opened the door for them and we had about 20 minutes before our bible
class and we took the opportunity and I was able to scrimmage against
the AAU team in my white shirt and tie and boy was it fun! One of the
coaches there said I look like a player off of Wisconsin that said I
match his playing style! It was so much fun to get back into that speed
of playing and in a coaching setting!!! So much fun!!
On
Friday, we helped Sister Meadows with some service and went to her
house and did some yard work. The first majority of the time we weeded
and cleaned up the grass. Then we grabbed the bush trimmer and trimmed
the bushes! You could say it was very hot and we were very sweaty but
Sister Meadows took care of us! She is sooo nice! We weekly planned for a
majority of the afternoon and after dinner we went over the Brother
Cotates' home and helped him move some boxes into his home! They have
been going through alot recently but through it all they have been
keeping the faith and we wanted to to help them out. At the end of the
service we helped him rearrange a office desk and we got talking about
his mission and the differences. Brother Coates told us that "Your
mission is the hardest in the world and you face so much rejection and
loneliness that I'm impressed to see men like you who are staying
positive through your trials." He served his mission in Brazil and he
told us the struggles he had on his mission was retaining all the
baptisms they had. He said that it was so frustrating baptizing over 200
people on his mission and seeing close to 3 people remain active. And
he expressed that it just didnt make sense to baptize someone if they
wont remain active. But at the end of the service his mom yelled
upstairs and said that their dog was bleeding and it turns out that
their dog went into another yard and a dog bit their dog and he had to
take her to the vet. There was alot of blood and I was not expecting the
service to end the way it did.
On Saturday, we
finished weekly planning and in the afternoon we visited a lot of less
active and recent converts. One of the less active members we saw
expressed why she hadn't been coming to church and the reason they didn't
come to church is because a member offended them and they still haven't
gotten over it. That is one of the highest reasons someone doesnt come
back because a member offended them and all of a sudden that means the
church isn't true... No the people are the variable in the church and the
church is perfect but the people are not and so if can use the
Atonement and overcome those hardships the Lord will bless us. We had a
lesson with Manny and Carol with a few senior missionaries that was
really powerful and Manny said he'd come to church! Later that night we
had transfer calls and my name was called and so I will be transferring
on Tuesday.
On Sunday, I had a lot of mixed
emotions going into church, Manny came to church and enjoyed it but it
was so hard saying bye to all the people I got so close to throughout
the whole day. You've been apart of their lives for 6 months and all of a
sudden you have to move on and bless other peoples lives. It's a hard
transition and in my mission its been the hardest transition yet.
Columbus feels so much like home and all the memories and good times and
hard times here will be hard to leave behind. In the afternoon we said
bye to Justin Robinson and Ruth! We had a lesson and had a Nerf war in
their house one last time. Crazy story at J.R's house we got out of the
car and J.R'spit bull chased me for no reason and came centimeters from
biting my leg but I las t the last second I high stepped and dodged the
dog. J.r tipped the boat over onto the dog to protect me and it all
happened so fast but don't worry it all worked out. I'm going to miss
Columbus so much, I've grown so close to the people here and I've
learned so much. I hope I will have a great impact on my next area and
will continue to love the people and share the gospel far and wide!
I LOVE Y'all!
-Elder Hill
#dogsarecrazy #Ilove Columbus #Alwaysandforever
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| Nerf Wars!! |
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| Flatrock District! Columbus GA 2016 |
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