Week 9: Sweet and Sour

March 16, 1988

Things may be looking up.  Yesterday, we committed one of our investigators to hear a discussion on Friday.  Finally!  I'll get a chance to teach a discussion.

Last Wednesday night we had President and Sister Douglas up for dinner; we fixed sweet and sour chicken and cashew chicken.  It was great.  We got the idea after an apartment dinner where we made the first dish in our wok.  They turned out great and we thought, "Hey, let's invite President and Sister Douglas!"

The week before the dinner, we sent a menu to our mission president who, apparently, hates broccoli with a passion.  Everything on the menu we sent had broccoli in it, to include items like sparkling broccoli cider, broccoli sherbet and cream of broccoli soup.  When Sister Douglas handed President Douglas our fake menu she said "Here honey, look what we're eating."  He looked at it and said "I don't believe it!"  She then let him off the hook.  They both thought it was funny are are going to put the fake menu in their scrapbook.  They thought the real menu was great, too.

The next day we had my first zone conference up in San Mateo, at the Hillsdale chapel.  One thing that was talked about was the idea of expressing love on door approaches.  The last couple of days we have tried that, and it is hard.  Love is an important part of being bold or, rather, if you are not loving, you are not only being bold but you are being overbearing.  If you are overbearing you have no right to be heard.

President Douglas spoke about the mission goal for 100 baptisms a month.  Last month we had close to 80, the month before that we had 60.  He said that 100 baptisms should be a minimum, but we have yet to reach it.  He then made an analogy of a baseball player who has hit a home run; he knows he can hit home runs and so he won't try for just a base hit; he will go for the home run because he know he can hit them.

The conference ended with a testimony meeting which was powerful.  A few days earlier I had gotten my hair cut by a member; she asked me how I wanted it and I said, “shorter,” and she then gave me a buzz cut. Some of the missionaries at the conference made comments, so when I got up to bear my testimony I said, “About the haircut, I only asked for a trim.” The whole room erupted in laughter. I can still see Elder Fox's face as he busted up laughing and, of course, President Douglas laughed the loudest.

On Friday and Saturday, my comp was sick, this time with the flu.  On Friday morning I went out with Elder Fox, and we came very close to teaching a first discussion to one of his and Elder Lima's contacts; unfortunately, she was busy cleaning her house, so it didn't happen.  So close, yet so far.

At lunch the zone leaders came and down and we finished off the leftovers of the sweet and sour chicken and cashew chicken.  In the afternoon, I studied.  I studied all day on Saturday.

We got out tracting on Monday morning.  In the afternoon we had an appointment with Fay.  She had read the first scriptures marked in the copy of the Book of Mormon we had given her, up to about page 65.  She thinks it is all a bit like the Old Testament.  She said that she is not interested in changing her religion as she is happy being a Midianite.

Fay is incredibly busy as a midwife, particularly this time of year, but we set up a return appointment for the middle of April.  We are praying that the Book of Mormon will really get to her.  She said that she believes it is true, that she has no problem with it.  Midianites, apparently, believe in continual revelation, too.  We are praying that as she reads the Book of Mormon that it will touch her or prick her heart.

On Tuesday we went on team-ups with Elders Fox and Lima.  Fox and I tracted a street that used to be in our area, but is now in theirs.  We got one call back.

This morning we had a zone activity.  We had breakfast at the stake center on Valparaiso Ave. in Menlo Park, and then had a car wash.  After that, we went to a park and played a game of capture the flag, which was fun.

After that the four of us went "thrifting".  There are quite a lot of thrift stores here and a favorite pastime of missionaries in this mission is to go "thrifting."  I found a suit for $12, that almost fits, but it could use some alterations.  A suit bought at a thrift store is called a "thrifter," and a lot of the elders out here have at least one.

We'll, gotta run

Love

your missionary

Douglas