August 17, 2015 - Elder Biehn's Weekly Update

Hey everybody,

I'm doing much better in my new area now. This past week was pretty rough because at first I was still getting used to all new missionaries, new members, new places, new investigators. And I have to learn all their names and find a way to teach them exactly what they need without knowing them! Lots of prayers were said to say the least. But it works out because I've been learning and getting to know everyone pretty well.  This area though, it's hard. Out of the past week, me and Elder Mortimer got shut out 4 out of the 7 days. Which means we didn't teach any lessons the entire day. Then, for 2 of the days we didn't get shut out, we only taught 1 lesson at night. So to say the least, we didn't do very much. Which is pretty unfair because me and him have been working like crazy to try and get something going, it's just that no one is either interested or even opens the door. After knocking on someone's door, we've had people come and look at us through the peep hole (and we can tell because we hear them walk to the door and we can see them through it (because the lights in the background go out), then they quickly shut out the lights and act like they aren't home............. Seriously? That's happened to us more than a couple of times, a lot more. We even had someone shout "Don't answer the door, no one's home."  So ya, you could imagine how depressing it is.

However, there was a miracle that happened. After a full day of being shut out, despite our best efforts, me and Elder Mortimer were pretty depressed. I was starting to question myself and my motives. It was pretty hard because we have this wonderful message and it's our job to go and share it with people but no one wants to listen. So pretty depressing to say the least and I was depressed. I said a little prayer in my heart, asking Heavenly Father "Why? If we are working so hard, why is no one answering? I thought the harder we work, the more successful we'll be."  But then, we pull up to this house that we never knock on because the lights are always out, the house is completely dark, but we tried it anyways. While we were walking up to the door, I saw a girl sitting on the sidewalk not doing anything. I had an impression to go talk to her but I told myself after this door. No answer. So we walk back to the car and start getting ready to leave, when I look back at her again, but this time the impression to go talk to her was even stronger than before. Something I couldn't deny. By this time Elder Mortimer was in the drivers seat waiting for me. I told him "I think we should go talk to her." He looks over her way, and says "Do you know what you're going to say? Have you got a script?" Of course I had no clue, "Nope." He says, "Alright this is going to be awkward." I responded, "Yep, let's do it anyways." So we walk over, introduce ourselves, ask what her name is, the usual stuff. Then she gets up all of a sudden and asks, "Do you guys want to go for a walk?"  In my mind, I'm thinking, Of course we do! So we start walking and talking. I was terrified that my mind was going to go blank half way through it because it normally does, but I found myself talking with ease. She was even asking us about what we do and everything then we ask her a few questions. After a bit of talking we find out that she is going through a really roughly time right now because her mom is in the hospital, her parents are going through a divorce, and she is about to be evicted from her house. She told us she isn't a very religious person and hardly goes to church, but she has started to pray much more and is asking for help. I believe fully that God answers prayers through the use of his children, and we were the answer to this girl's prayer. That is the reason I had such a strong impression to go talk to her. One I could not deny. So we are planning on visiting her sometime this week and hopefully introduce her to the gospel and show her how it can help her life.  I'm grateful for this experience because I have learned to trust in the spirit no matter what. I had always learned and read and talked about it, but never really experienced it. Now I know exactly what it means to be prompted by the spirit. I pondered on this a bit after getting back into the car and came to this conclusion, "After a day like this, I'm not going to ignore the spirit now."

Overall, quite the unexpected week. A lot has happened but at the same time very little. It's hard when nothing goes the way you planned, but it's amazing how one little miracle after a day of disappointment can change the mood of the entire day.

Wow, quite the letter I wrote this week. But it was a good experience and much learning took place. I love you guys and I will talk to you next week. 

Nos vemos
Elder Biehn