Week #64 Working out better than we planned

October 03, 2018

Week #64 Working out better than we planned

Hey everybody! I hope you all had a great week! The subject line basically describes my week the best. We had an idea of how it would go but the Lord has a different idea and it ended working out for the better.

We got in a long talk with this Austrian guy about the purpose of a Savior. His idea was that we could pay for our sins ourselves and that it was more merciful if God just forgave us right then and there without anyone suffering. The topic was on my mind a lot afterwards about the relationship between justice and mercy. We are here to prepare ourselves to be with God again but in order to be with God, we have to obey certain laws. If we do not obey, justice is required. However, if we come back through repentance, the Lord can extend His mercy to us and take care of the payment, so to say. He also asks us to live His Gospel, to continue to live His laws in order for His mercy to reach its full potential. During the talk with this guy and with some other people this week, we had to make it clear that the Savior did suffer for our sins but if we do not repent, we cannot access this gift He has given us. With repentance, mercy can be available to us. That pretty much sums up my personal study this week :)

We had an appointment fall through one afternoon. We thought we saw this friend in the park but it was not her, or at least we don't think so. We were a bit disappointed and we were heading out to finding when some tourists waved at us to cross the street. We did and it ended up being members from Utah. They bought us dessert and sent our parents pictures of us. In the moment, I thought it would be better to be working but I later got an impression that the Lord was looking out for us and wanted us to know that it was going to be okay. Looking back, the members were doing an excellent job at ministering. I don't know if they know how much that uplifted us but I am sure grateful for it.

Members from Utah

We met with a part member family this week and the husband, who is not a member, is interested in the missionary lessons. He is pretty quiet but as we got to know him, he is really funny. Hopefully we can get that going soon.

A miracle happened on the U Bahn this week. We got onto the U Bahn earlier than expected and we ran into a guy I met awhile back but I never got his number. I was able to get it then and we were able to meet yesterday. He is really cool and interested in the Church. We handed him off to Wien 1 Elders but it was a cool miracle to get in contact again.

We met with Min again this week. We met her in a park and she brought her friend. We shared the Plan of Salvation and Min began to understand the role of Christ better. I am not sure how interested the friend is but she took a Book of Mormon. Some guy interrupted the lesson to ask what time it is and then informed us that the Bible teaches us not to eat meat. He gave us a few scriptures to look at. As he finished, Elder Jensen, being the champ that he is, asked him if he had read Romans 8. The guy just replied with "What?". Elder Jensen just explained it was one of his favorite chapters and totally recommended it. It is weird how people act around us but at the same time, it leads to good opportunities to share the gospel.

On Saturday, we had all 3 of our appointments fall through but then one guy wrote us saying we could meet up. His name is Raphael. We sat down in a cafe and he basically told us that he wanted to hear what we have to share. We taught the Restoration and promised that he could really find an answer if this was true. He asked how we are so strong in our faith and we told him how the small things like prayer and scripture study really make a difference. We are going to try to teach the Plan of Salvation next time on Friday.

Yesterday we got to meet with the African family that we met by dooring. The dad was pretty busy but he had time this evening. We discussed the importance of prophets and then he shared the history of his church. They also have a prophet and he shared her story. It was interesting but also complex and confusing. It took him about 20 minutes and once he was done, we had 10 minutes until we had to go. We went from the Apostasy down to Moroni's Promise, explaining how we believe this is the true Church of Jesus Christ. It was interesting for me to see how simple it was to really teach the Restoration and how it logically falls into place. I really enjoyed that lesson too. We are trying to meet next Monday as well.

This upcoming week looks great. We have our Book of Mormon activity, English course, a few lessons, transfer calls, and General Conference. I can't believe how fast time has gone but I am probably among a big group of missionaries who have said that. Life is good because Christ made it good. I am so grateful for Him this week and I really want to enjoy my time serving him full time. It is an amazing opportunity and I recommend it with all of my heart!

Love you guys! Have a great week!

Elder Evans