Cool/Chaotic Conversation at a Crack House
Y'all thought I was late!
No, I did not forget to write this week. We actually had our Preparation Day moved to Tuesday for very special reasons! You have to read to the end though to figure out what that is. Haha! So, I do have to say that it was a hard week, but honestly, I still had a lot of fun out here.
What we tried to do better this week was actual finding, because before, all we had been doing was pulling up a list of formers (former investigators), putting them into the schedule, and seeing if they were still interested. We still did that, in fact, we went through our entire list of formers this week and deleted out a whole bunch that didn't need to be there, and came up with a list of ones that might actually be interested in hearing the gospel again. But we planned-in less of them and spent a lot of time just out walking around the neighborhoods that we visit and just talking to everyone that we run into. That is something that I need to work on, because I am great at saying hi to strangers(Thank you QFC!), but I need to engage them in a gospel related conversation after that, which isn't always me, but I need to try. But, I have seen a trend in our contacting though.
Out in East side Aurora, the poorer community, a lot of people are actually pretty friendly and will talk to us, or at least just accept a pass along card. In Naperville, the place filled with really successful rich people, 95% of the people that we come into contact with want nothing to do with us. I am hoping to change that up while I am here, but we shall see.
An example from this week, we were walking around Aurora and we came on a crack house, and we got to talking with the guys inside and had a really cool/chaotic conversation with them (All of them wanted to talk at once, so Elder Faimalo and I split off and taught two different people. It was kind of fun!) All of them accepted a Book of Mormon, and they told us that they would "dissect" it because they wanted to know how they could become a Mormon. 3 new investigators right there! Now we just have to figure out how to teach them when they are not drunk and high.
This is exciting because our Zone is having a really tough time right now trying to find new investigators. So, we decided that when someone found a new investigator, or if an investigator was put on date (missionary lingo for "they have a set day that they are going to get baptized") then the Zone Leaders would send out a text to everyone so we could know. That has really driven us to do a lot better out here, and the results are showing. Last week, we only found 3 new investigators in our District. This week, we found 12 new investigators as a District! The work is moving forward!
Well, Elder Faimalo and I are continuing to get along very well! Something that I forgot to mention last week about him are the 3 phrases that I do not go a day without hearing him say them multiple times. They are "Quit being cheeky!", "Fragrent!" and "Bink!". He is a very interesting Elder. This is also his first time being a District Leader, and he keeps saying that he is not up for the task, but he is doing a great job at it. His first District Meeting that he taught was this week, and he did an amazing job at executing it! It was on how we can more boldly testify of Jesus Christ. He had spent an entire week preparing for that meeting, and you could tell that it paid off.
Also, we have been doing the Sally Up challenge every night this week, and man is that hard! Both of us have managed to do the full time for the sit-ups, but man, our arms just die on the push-ups (It is 3 and a half minutes long). We are working on it though, and we are planning on adding squats to the routine. This is going to be fun!
For Exchanges this week, we went with the Zone Leaders. I was with Elder Kirkham this time, and he is a strong Elder when it comes to contacting. He basically starts to teach the contact the Restoration lesson immediately, which is something that I find to be very cool. I am going to try and implement that tactic sometime.
Sunday was a pretty easy day. We did not have anyone (I think he means investigators) at church this week, so there was no Gospel Principles class, so we just hung out in Sunday School. We also got in with the Priests, and we invited them to play Basketball with us today. I am excited for that. And Monday was just like any other day (Although, I did set my chair on fire that morning. I suppose that may not be considered normal. Meh.) Since Preparation day was moved, we just went around and did some more finding. Oh, and something really cool that I forgot to mention! Since a ton of missionaries have gone home recently, there are more cars than there are missionaries, so Elder Faimalo and I now have a full-time car! It has proven most useful to have, and I like at have it a lot.
Now for why Preparation Day is on Tuesday. WE WENT TO THE TEMPLE!!!!!!! It was so awesome to be able to get out to the temple, especially this early in my mission. I am just so happy that I got to go out to the Chicago temple with my Zone. Well, I hope everyone is having an amazing week! Keep it cool out there!
Elder Jensen
We actually got to go walking around a little this week. Here are a few pictures of the trail.
A meal that a member gave to us. It was very good. There is some more, so I will try to get a finished product picture then.
 |
| Elder Faimalo and I enjoying banana pancakes that I made |
No, I did not forget to write this week. We actually had our Preparation Day moved to Tuesday for very special reasons! You have to read to the end though to figure out what that is. Haha! So, I do have to say that it was a hard week, but honestly, I still had a lot of fun out here.
What we tried to do better this week was actual finding, because before, all we had been doing was pulling up a list of formers (former investigators), putting them into the schedule, and seeing if they were still interested. We still did that, in fact, we went through our entire list of formers this week and deleted out a whole bunch that didn't need to be there, and came up with a list of ones that might actually be interested in hearing the gospel again. But we planned-in less of them and spent a lot of time just out walking around the neighborhoods that we visit and just talking to everyone that we run into. That is something that I need to work on, because I am great at saying hi to strangers(Thank you QFC!), but I need to engage them in a gospel related conversation after that, which isn't always me, but I need to try. But, I have seen a trend in our contacting though.
Out in East side Aurora, the poorer community, a lot of people are actually pretty friendly and will talk to us, or at least just accept a pass along card. In Naperville, the place filled with really successful rich people, 95% of the people that we come into contact with want nothing to do with us. I am hoping to change that up while I am here, but we shall see.
An example from this week, we were walking around Aurora and we came on a crack house, and we got to talking with the guys inside and had a really cool/chaotic conversation with them (All of them wanted to talk at once, so Elder Faimalo and I split off and taught two different people. It was kind of fun!) All of them accepted a Book of Mormon, and they told us that they would "dissect" it because they wanted to know how they could become a Mormon. 3 new investigators right there! Now we just have to figure out how to teach them when they are not drunk and high.
This is exciting because our Zone is having a really tough time right now trying to find new investigators. So, we decided that when someone found a new investigator, or if an investigator was put on date (missionary lingo for "they have a set day that they are going to get baptized") then the Zone Leaders would send out a text to everyone so we could know. That has really driven us to do a lot better out here, and the results are showing. Last week, we only found 3 new investigators in our District. This week, we found 12 new investigators as a District! The work is moving forward!
Well, Elder Faimalo and I are continuing to get along very well! Something that I forgot to mention last week about him are the 3 phrases that I do not go a day without hearing him say them multiple times. They are "Quit being cheeky!", "Fragrent!" and "Bink!". He is a very interesting Elder. This is also his first time being a District Leader, and he keeps saying that he is not up for the task, but he is doing a great job at it. His first District Meeting that he taught was this week, and he did an amazing job at executing it! It was on how we can more boldly testify of Jesus Christ. He had spent an entire week preparing for that meeting, and you could tell that it paid off.
Also, we have been doing the Sally Up challenge every night this week, and man is that hard! Both of us have managed to do the full time for the sit-ups, but man, our arms just die on the push-ups (It is 3 and a half minutes long). We are working on it though, and we are planning on adding squats to the routine. This is going to be fun!
For Exchanges this week, we went with the Zone Leaders. I was with Elder Kirkham this time, and he is a strong Elder when it comes to contacting. He basically starts to teach the contact the Restoration lesson immediately, which is something that I find to be very cool. I am going to try and implement that tactic sometime.
Sunday was a pretty easy day. We did not have anyone (I think he means investigators) at church this week, so there was no Gospel Principles class, so we just hung out in Sunday School. We also got in with the Priests, and we invited them to play Basketball with us today. I am excited for that. And Monday was just like any other day (Although, I did set my chair on fire that morning. I suppose that may not be considered normal. Meh.) Since Preparation day was moved, we just went around and did some more finding. Oh, and something really cool that I forgot to mention! Since a ton of missionaries have gone home recently, there are more cars than there are missionaries, so Elder Faimalo and I now have a full-time car! It has proven most useful to have, and I like at have it a lot.
Now for why Preparation Day is on Tuesday. WE WENT TO THE TEMPLE!!!!!!! It was so awesome to be able to get out to the temple, especially this early in my mission. I am just so happy that I got to go out to the Chicago temple with my Zone. Well, I hope everyone is having an amazing week! Keep it cool out there!
Elder Jensen
 |
| Chicago Illinois LDS Temple |
 |
| Fountain at the Chicago temple |
 |
| The Zone at the Chicago temple this morning |
We actually got to go walking around a little this week. Here are a few pictures of the trail.
 |
| Elder Faimalo on the bridge |
 |
| Noodles and garlic toast I made |
 |
| Brownies with marshmallows on top that Elder Faimalo prepared |
A meal that a member gave to us. It was very good. There is some more, so I will try to get a finished product picture then.
Comments
Post a Comment