Week #40 "Lord to whom shall we go?"

Hi everyone! Happy Tax day! Still got a bit of time before I have to really worry about that;) I hope you all had a fantastic week. My week was pretty good. We had a lesson with a guy named Bas Boy on Wednesday. He did most of the talking but it was nice to make a new friendship. He was talking like, "Hey man, you are my friend. I like you." Sometimes lessons do not have a ton of progress but it is nice to make friendships with these people. Sometimes people just need to sit down and talk. Of course we cannot do it with everyone but sometimes I think it helps to sit down and listen to what someone thinks or needs help with. 

 Selfie with Bas Boy

I went on tausch with my district leader Elder Baker this week. Elder Baker is such a nice guy. I really like him. We did some finding and had a member appointment. We also taught a guy named Simon. He has a hard time with being blindly lead by some religious leader. He also wishes we had some more tolerance for other religions. We shared our experiences with prophets and Elder Baker was really smart to share the 11th article of faith. After he read it, he said, "I think I prefer Mormons over anyone else. I really like that. " He even took a Book of Mormon and we scheduled to meet again in a couple of weeks. 

We also met with our Kofius on Saturday. We explained the Plan of Salvation and after we explained the three kingdoms of Glory, he said, "I like that. That makes sense." Honestly though. It does make a ton of sense. After talking to a few people on the street about the purpose of life, it is wonderful to see how full the Plan of Salvation is full of hope and mercy. Some people say it comes to a close and there is no more. Others set a really high expectation for heaven. It is comforting to know and to share that God has a merciful plan and that He wants us to win. 

On Saturdays, we usually join the Ausstellung or street display. It is fun to get a couple stares or people whispering about us as they pass by. It is also kind of nice to see how people are more open to the street display and not a random talk on the street. Maybe it looks more professional? I am not sure but it works. We handed out a ton of material that day and it was fun to share the Gospel in simple ways.

Picture in Konigstrasse

We got a text late on Sunday from a potential I found in January. He finally told us he had time that evening so we met with him in Winnenden. We explained the Restoration, living prophets, and lots more because he had a few questions. He was really impressed about what we believe in and what we do as missionaries. I did not think we would ever meet with the guy but we did and it ended up being a way good lesson. 

The last story will explain the subject line. Yesterday we were doing some finding and I had this impression to stop this young man. He was really nice at first but it ended up being a hour long bash. It was not fun in the moment. He thought we needed to find God through the scientific method and he thought that it proved that God did not exist. He said that religion was unreasonable. We were able to give some kind of message about prayer but he was not having it. I walked away a little hurt and thought a lot about how I came to know the truth. It has been something that has been bothering me my whole mission. I have been raised in this church with no other religious views or perspectives. A lot of people come from the same situation in different churches and they think they are the true church. That has made me wonder if I think this is the truth because this is all I know. It was not a crisis of faith. Don't worry, I still have my testimony tight and secure but it did bother me for awhile.

 It was definitely bothering me yesterday until I remembered a verse from John chapter 6 (honestly it is one of my favorite chapters of scripture of all time). It is when Jesus teaches about him being the Bread of Life and many disciples leave because they cannot understand. Christ then asks His twelve Apostles, "Will ye also go away?". 

Peter, a hero for me as a missionary, replied, " Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that thou are that Christ, the Son of the Living God. "

I do not think Peter completely understood what the Savior taught at the time but he still believed Christ and was loyal to Him in the end. It helped me a lot because I have questions too. I love this gospel. I love this Church but I still have questions. However, those questions do not precede my dedication to the Lord and to His work. I may not know everything but I know that Christ lives, that He loves me, and that those answers will do until the rest come. This is the true Church of Jesus Christ and I am so grateful to be a part of it. 

Sorry, that story might be kind of odd but it really helped me out and I thought it might help you guys.Questions are healthy and important but it is better to stay firm to what we already know to be true until more answers come. 

Alright got to go but have a wonderful week! Bis nächstes Mal! 

Elder Evans 

We went in a store to use the bathroom and I saw this. Thought of Gracie of course.