Elder Mitchell's Mission to Tennessee: The Man, The Myth, The Lemon

Buenos!

Well, we had a pretty good week here in Dalton, it was really productive. We were able to meet with the majority of our top investigators, which was great! This week we also did a lot of contacting, trying to get back in touch with old investigators, and we had a lot of success with it. One of the big successes was that we got back in touch with A, who was progressing at one point, but then just completely dropped off the map. This week we re-shared the Restoration with him, and he still is super interested and wants to come to church next week!

One of the bitter-sweet moments of this week was Sacrament meeting. It was awesome for two reasons 1) we have been working for a while now with a less-active family, the M's, and after a lot of poking and prodding, they finally came to church yesterday! It was so awesome to see them walk in to Sacrament meeting, we were super happy for them. 2) Remember A and her husband E? We met her at like 8:55 at night, they knew the bishop's family, and they came to General Conference. Well, we were able to meet with them this week, and they came to church too! Now, the disappointing part of yesterday was that even though we had A and E at church, we should've had way more investigators there. There were two people we met with on Saturday that both told us that they would be there for sure. Then, there was another one that texted us Sunday morning an hour before church, said he was coming...and then didn't show. I thought, well, what was the difference between the people that came and those that didn't? The answer: members.

Dear members of the church, you honestly do not understand how powerful you are and how necessary it is for you to be involved in missionary work. This week, we had a member with us, the man, the myth, the Lemon: Hermano Lemon. Guess which two families we visited that night with him? The M's, and A and E. Having a member with us for those lessons was critical, and there was a powerful spirit in those lessons, in large part of Hermano Lemon's testimony backing up our teaching. The other part of this is the fellowship. After church, we had dinner with Bishop Torres and his family, they invited A and E, and we had a great lesson with them and now they are both progressing. This week we learned a powerful lesson: even if we do all we can, if we work and work and work, we might see some success. But, if we want to hasten the work, we have to have members get involved.

My ponderizer this week is Alma 56:44, 46 which says, "Therefore what say ye, my sons, will ye go against them to battle? For as I had ever called them my sons (for they were all of them very young) even so they said unto me: Father, behold our God is with us, and he will not suffer that we should fall; then let us go forth; we would not slay our brethren if they would let us alone; therefore let us go, lest they should overpower the army of Antipus." I cannot stress enough how important members are to this work. We saw that this week. It's not just enough for one army (the missionaries), the members have to be involved. So, if you haven't gone out with your local missionaries in a while, go! Invite your non-member friends over for dinner, and invite the missionaries too! Find ways to help this great work move along! Therefore what say ye, members of the church, will ye also go up to battle? I hope y'all have a great week!

Love,
Elder Mitchell