My posterior hurts like crazy....

So, JS still couldn't make it to church. He had to go to Fargo for a doctor's appointment... But, we're going to go to his house before he leaves for his surgery (gallbladder removal) and say a prayer with him. He's kinda worried. Didn't have any contact with L&S since his job is doing all of it's big changes this week. He got promoted!! D is working like crazy, so we only get to see him once outside of church.

This week we did a lot of tracting, and a lot of contacting. We rode our bikes this week! I'm just gonna buy E. Edwards from him when he leaves, cause the one I have is just a cheap Wal-mart bike. My posterior hurts like crazy.... the seat it came with is the devil... but it was nice to be on a bike again!

There were a lot of people that wanted to Bible Bash with us this week, asking us to "Prove it in the Bible" and i've noticed a common trend. First, proof does not convert, only an open mind and a contrite spirit that is willing to listen to the Holy Spirit bearing witness to you of the truth can cause you to truly believe. We can show them Bible verses that "prove" that what we say is true, but they won't believe it because they don't want to. Second, it's all the same. No one is that creative. they all ask the same questions, give us the same bible verses, and say "see, that proves that you are wrong" to which we respond "we believe the Bible to be the word of God, not just part, not just what we want, but all of it. Lets flip to [fill in the black] where Christ sheds some light on what is being said here." to which, they will respond with "oh, well when he said that, he didn't really mean it that way." So often we are accused of not believing the whole bible, yet when we give them the answer in the bible, they throw it away as if it doesn't matter. We had someone give us a verse, and before we could say anything, the person next to them says "ope, looks like you guys will have to cross that verse out of your bible since you don't believe it". And then, as we try to enlighten them, they refuse to listen and change the subject to another verse in the bible that seems to "contradict" what we believe. Interestingly enough, during one of those sessions of bashing, there was an innocent bystander, K, who knows very little about the church, who would try to get them to calm down and actually listen to us, and they wouldn't give her the time of day to say anything. After it was all over, they left, and we stuck around a little longer talking to K. After a little, she turns to us as we're about to leave, and says "I don't know how you guys do it! It is just so amazing! You just spent 2 hours being yelled at, not being given the time of day to defend yourselves and plead your case, and you stayed completely calm the whole time! Don't get me wrong, I love those 2 to death, but there were times that I wanted to just dive across the table and shake some sense into them, and I had no idea what they were talking about half the time! You guys are just so amazing, and they don't realize it!" we were beat red when she finished. I've never felt so bashful in my life! But, it's amazing to see what other people notice, that even if you didn't pay that much attention, they did.

Well, that's about the only adventure I've had this week! Here are some quotes! I don't remember If I shared any of these in the past....

"We cannot do the Lords work in the worlds way. 

"A vague creed can only come from a vague God.  the Ten Commandments didn't say 'thou shalt be a good person,' it was specific."--Elder Neil A. Maxwell

"Is it any wonder that whenever we face the bitter endings of life, they seem unacceptable to us? There seems to be something inside of us that resists endings.

Why is this? Because we are made of the stuff of eternity. We are eternal beings, children of the Almighty God, whose name is Endless‍ and who promises eternal blessings without number. Endings are not our destiny.

The more we learn about the gospel of Jesus Christ, the more we realize that endings here in mortality are not endings at all. They are merely interruptions—temporary pauses that one day will seem small compared to the eternal joy awaiting the faithful.

How grateful I am to my Heavenly Father that in His plan there are no true endings, only everlasting beginnings." President Dieter F. Uchtdorf.

There are way more coming for the weeks ahead, I just need to better organize them so that I can put them on in an orderly manner!

Love you all and miss you loads!

Elder Carter V