Freedom

 

   It has been a crazy last two weeks. I think I talked about W last time? Maybe not, but anyway, we are teaching this 18 year old guy who missionaries in the past met at Little Caesars and invited him to church. Normally that never ends up working, but for this guy it worked, he showed up. He had a hard time with the church service though since it was fast and testimony meeting and I guess the ward didn't impress him. I have no idea. Overtime, those missionaries lost contact with Willie and that was that. Well, when Elder Olsen and I were put into quarantine for COVID, we would call soooo many people that it came to a point that we starting looking through people in the ''not interested'' category and that's when we gave him a call. From that call sparked several lessons and invitations, and now W is on course for getting baptized next week on the 24th. He is one of the most genuine and honest guys I've ever met. He is so prepared. We invited him to start reading the Book of Mormon everyday a week and a half ago and he has now read 26 chapters of 1 Nephi and understands exactly what is going on. There's a crazy spiritual experience that we had with W recently that I'll share real quick. We had set up a video chat with him for 7:30 at night, but for some odd reason we missionaries thought it was scheduled for 7:00. We decided to bring a certain member along named J who we thought would relate well with W. We call at 7:00 and W was shocked to see our call but he answered anyways. Joseph in the lesson talked about an experience where he was having a really rough day and was about to break down into a panic attack, but my companion randomly called him and said ''J! We felt impressed to call you, how are you!!'' And with that, J broke down in tears and knew that God knew who he was. Well, after J told this story, W said that had just happened to him with our call. He was at his friend's house when we called and he was feeling really tempted to repeat past poor decisions, but he said that our call was perfectly timed. He was about to give in, but our call saved him. That's when he too realized that this really is the truth and God knows who he is. It was a wonderful experience. 

   Another cool thing that has happened recently is we got approval for any form of finding we can do. There was always this unspoken question in the mission of whether or not we could go outside and talk to random people because of the COVID scare, and to our knowledge, the last council we were given was we could go over to non-members and members houses or just talk to them if they invite us or talk to us first. Well, last conference President said ''The new word is you get 30 contacts a day and I don't care how you do it.'' Our zone went OFF. Our Zone found more than 50 people this last week. I guess we all really missed talking to randoms. I'm in a trio right now so we feel invincible walking up to people, so this week we found 6 people just on the streets. Old ways still work, but we also have new ways like social media that work even when we aren't giving attention to them. It's a wonderful time to be a missionary. 

   Okay, one last story just for my future-kid's sake because they would want to know this. We had a Zone conference this last week and since I'm rocking the Zone Leader life right now, I'm supposed to conduct these conferences and introduce speakers and what not. Well, as we were waiting to go into the chapel to begin the conference, I sat down and my pants split right next to the seam near my right back pocket. It was sooo loud, but for some odd reason no one around me heard it. I just played it cool and continued to sit where I was until it was time to go into the chapel, and that is when I grabbed my companion and told him ''Hey dude, you're conducting because I split my pants''. I was praying real hard on what to do so I don't completely ruin my life. Well, luckily for me, one of the APs is one of my old companions so I ushered him towards me and asked if he had an extra suit in the car. He did, and he let me rock his size 34 waste Grey suit pants that kinda matched my blazer but not really. They didn't fit well, but you get what you get. The best part... Nobody noticed! I walked in a couple minutes late into the chapel and it was smooth sailing from there. RIP my favorite suit pants, but it's whatever. 

Alright I'm done talking. That's basically the jist of the last two weeks, at least the highlights anyways. 

Have a blessed week, 

Elder Jackson Batman 🦇 

Covid 🤮

 

 Elder Olsen was all packed and ready to go for Ethiopia. We did a long road trip of 4 and a half hours to Birmingham which is where the airport is. One last thing we needed to do was a quick COVID test so he could actually get on the plane. We felt a little sick earlier that week, but we figured it was just a common cold or maybe a stomach flu so we were confident. The doctor did the whole cotton swab nose thing and of course, out of all 11 months Elder Olsen has been in Alabama, he chose now to be positive for COVID-19. We call our Mission President to try and find out what we can do. He said "Well... Turn back to Daphne then." Wow. That's 4 and a half hours in the opposite direction and now we gotta tell our district leader that our whole District has been exposed to it. They're gonna have to quarantine. Of course, we should be used to being locked inside as missionaries since a lot of us did experience the brink of the beginning of quarantine, but it's still not a joyful time. I was supposed to get a new companion, but he was told to stay put in his old area since he can't be with us just yet. As of right now, we just made it through our quarantine and we haven't gotten word on when Elder Olsen will be able to leave. Not being able to taste or smell much is pretty crap but it is what it is. 

 On to a brighter note, Daphne is booming right now! We teach non-stop in this area, I can't say I've ever been busier on my mission. We had a baptism in a swimming pool a week or so ago since the water pipes in the church broke all of the sudden. It was with a little girl named S in a part-member family. I don't know if I've talked about her, but even though she's only 10 years old, she been drinking coffee and tea since she was 4. It was a literal sacrifice for her to make in order to be baptized and she was so willing after some convincing. She told us later on "I gave up coffee and tea for God 🤷‍♀️." Yes you did and He's very proud. I was able to confirm her right as soon as she got out of the pool in a beach chair. Crazy experience, definitely won't forget it. 

 We've got another guy named J that knows so much about the church and wants to legitimately be baptized, he just has a super busy life and it's frustrating. He's got a wife and 3 kids and he said if you can get me baptized, I'm bringing my family with me. The problem is that we can't meet with him as much as we need to! We had a church tour with him and taught the Restoration and he fully believes it! He said "why would I doubt that God would call another prophet? Makes good sense to me." I hope that a way can be paved so that his schedule can be freed up. 

 I think that's all for now. We do a lot of member work in making sure active members stay active and less actives come back. It can be scary at times to be bold with less actives and help them remember their testimonies, but we don't have time to be fearful. I heard a quote that says "to worry is to lack in faith." I've definitely been trying to be a more bold, confident missionary recently. If you're bold with love, you can never be too bold. That's the truth. 

Have a blessed week, 

--
Elder Batman 🦇