Samuel's Mission e-mail Aug 13, 2007

Everyone:

Well, I've been here in Watts for another week. Starting with Thursday of last week: On Thursday we taught the Williams family again, visited Norman again, and had correlation with SG2.

On Friday we had our District meeting--which reminds me, Elder Pepper, my MTC companion, happens to have his district meetings in the same building our district meets in, so even though he's in a different zone still, I still see him once a week. He's been enjoying his mission so far, and interestingly enough, his current companion was Elder Allred's MTC companion. After District meeting we tracted for a while, taught Sherri about the role of the priesthood and the auxiliary organizations in the church, and visited some less-actives.

On Saturday we tracted for a while, tried to visit people who weren't home, and visited a couple other less-active families.

On Sunday we had our normal church meetings, tracted for a little bit, and then we went over to Westchester because one of the (formerly less-active) brothers in the Westchester ward was baptizing some of his neighbors whom I had talked with! Apparently, as soon as I left Westchester, the work really picked up there.

Today, we bowled for our zone activity and went grocery shopping.

I found an interesting scripture in John 4:37-38:

37 And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth.
38 I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours.

Missionary work really works in this fashion. It's very rare that we both sow and reap--usually, one companionship will sow, another water, another fertilize, and another reap. Oftimes the seed we sow now will lie dormant for many years before it yields increase. I think I read somewhere in the MTC that most people that get baptized have an average of seven separate contacts with the church before their baptisms. Which means that it really helps when the members are making some of those contacts, because there's a lot more members than full-time missionaries.

Elder Samuel Stephens