Monday 16 May 2011

Week 45

So it feels like I haven't written an email in forever. I'm a little out of it today. I also just realized I miss marked the last two weeks' emails as 48 and 49... even though this is only week 45 today. Ooops. Our weekly schedule has flip flopped like three times in the last 15 hours or so. I'm going into Seoul from tomorrow until Thursday and it's been getting really confusing... anyway....

An amazing week. We introduced the To The Rescue program to our branch a few weeks ago, and we've been seeing miracles. The average sacrament attendance during my time here has been 24-26 people. It jumped up to 34 or so last week. And yesterday there were 50 people at sacrament meeting!!!! It was insane for our small branch. We also had one of our investigators out as well, and things are going really well with her and her mom, who we also teaching.

Our goal for the rescue program was 40 people, but doubling the attendance in only a few weeks is something I never expected. We have an American who has been attending our branch for the last month or so, and was really puzzled why there were so many people at church. Another member had to explain how all of these new faces aren't from out of town. All of the members had a glow about them yesterday.

It's amazing what a few simple phone calls from the members, and a lot of visiting and baking from a few young missionaries will do. It's the small and simple things that bring people together.

When I talked to you on the phone last week I talked about one of our investigators we had to drop. He had been taught  all the lessons, he had been interviewed and had a date set, but the only thing he had to do was quit smoking. It didn't happen, and he wasn't able to meet for a while because of school. He was really close to quitting before, but the stress of school always got the better of him and had him clinging on to his vice.

It was hard to drop him, but we did so on advice from our mission president to just move on.

After a few weeks of no contact, this young man called to ask for a favor with one of his school projects. We had some time the next day, so we told him to stop by the Church. When he walked in, something was definitely different about him. We helped him out, and at the end of it he tells us... "I've quit smoking. It's been two weeks since my last cigarette."

He had a really bad fever, and from that point on, even just the smell of cigarettes makes him sick. We are waiting on him to be able to come back out to church before we set anything back up, but it was a miracle to see that finally happen for him.

I hope you had a fun mother's day last week. I'll be coming home soon after the next one. It's weird to think about, slash I probably shouldn't think about it. There'\ is so much left to do here. I feel overwhelmed sometimes by how much I know the Lord needs me to do. But it is his work so there's no need to fear.

Love you all. Take care!

-Elder Reyes

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