Hello! Well anyways this week has been quite entertaining. On Tuesday we went to see President Young for interviews. He interviewed everybody individually for a really long time. I mean our meeting went over about 2 hours because President Young really wanted to get to know everyone individually. So he talked to me and Elder Thomas and had a great time.
On Wednesday we went to Waldport and had a grand time. We went into the DIRTIEST house I have ever seen in my life. Well I guess it wasn't really a house but it was an RV. I won't give the name of the person because I don't want to say anything negative about this person. But I have to tell you about how dirty this was. The door was left open so flies could fly in and out at their free will. There was rotten food in plates that have not been washed in weeks. There was rancid roast beef and wilting vegetables and moldy bread. There was just junk all over. Dirty clothes in the sink dripping wet like she had just tried to wash them. There was only one little path among all the mess and that was from the door to the bed. We were lucky to find a place to sit. Oh and the smell! Whew! Cats and dogs were free to come in and do their thing and so that place smelt so bad. But we sat and gave her the fastest first lesson I ever have. We needed to get out of there. I looked at Elder Thomas and he just gave me the look. We had to get out of there. So we committed her to read and pray and we got out. It felt so good to smell the fresh clean air. We got in the car and Elder Thomas just looked at me and said, "Elder we can't go back there." I looked at him and said, "no....I won't make you go back there ever again." He said thank you. So from now on we will teach her at the church.
In Waldport we actually got a lot done. We found a less active family in Yachats (which is a little south of Waldport) and they invited us to dinner. They also have a non-member living with them. Then we looked at the next person on the list and went to see her. We knocked on the door and waited forever and were about to turn around when all the sudden this lady opened the door and jumped. She was just heading out and didn't hear us knock. Then she said, "I'm so glad you guys stopped by, my husband wants to take the lessons from you guys." Woot! She actually had been trying to get a hold of us for a while but couldn't find our phone number.
We started teaching this little nine year old boy and his less-active mom. The boy, named Tim, is extraordinarily ADHD. He has a really hard time focusing. We thought watching a movie would keep his attention but alas we had to talk to him the whole time and ask him questions to stay involved. We watched the first vision movie. When it came time for the actually vision, he quieted down all the sudden. He watched as Joseph saw God and Jesus. The spirit was really strong just for that moment. He went right back to talking and being crazy right after that. But for just that moment I know he felt the spirit.
We gave Shari a chapel tour on Thursday which went very well. She seemed more comfortable in coming to church. She said she would come and....she did! Woohoo. She came with Willetta and... well they left early because of Willetta's migraine but they came to sacrament meeting.
The saddest news of the week is that Marie and her family moved. :( They moved to Florence which is just south of our area. But she said that she would still be interested in learning more from the Elders down there. We helped her load up the van and gave her the phone number to Elders in Florence. We also called the Florence Elders and gave them an amazing referral. I can't wait to hear how they progress.
Yesterday we had 5 people show up to church which is pretty good. Tommy, Elnora, Shari, Tim, and Peggy (lulu's mom). Then we taught Lilian again last night. This time we didn't try to push her at all. We just asked her what matters most to her and what she feels is missing in her life. We talked about how the gospel blesses families. We told her that we aren't here just to try and get her to be baptized but that we truly love her and we want the best for her and that we know this gospel will help her. The entire meeting was lead by the spirit. Nobody said anything unless they were prompted to. It was the strangest lesson because we didn't follow the outline in Preach My Gospel at all. We just showed her that we loved her and she saw that we really meant it. The spirit was so strong there.
Well thank you all for the many many awesome things you do and la di da I say the same thing every time. But no seriously I truly do love you. Thank you.
Love
Elder Johnson
