So, A lot has happened in the week and a half it's been since I wrote last. I'm no longer in the Bronx, but my visa came and I am writing from Australia. Funny story...
So I had been working with some investigators and such, and was having a fair bit of success. The people in the Bronx were amazing, and I loved them. My companion and trainer, Elder Fuller had been steadily increasing the amount of work, we had been slowly but surely increasing the numbers for the area, and we were starting to see some real growth in our investigators. Then, as I was out getting lunch after the district meeting on Monday, I was at the Checkers off Fordham near the church, and I got a call from Sister Dennison who worked in the mission office. She informed me that my visa had arrived and that I needed to get my things ready because my flight left at 6 PMthat afternoon. This call was received around 2 PM. Due to the international nature of the flight, I needed to be at the airport by 4 with an hour long drive from the Bronx to JFK. I'm sure you can imagine my surprise that I had a little less than an hour to prepare my things and get ready to go to Australia. After getting the call, I waited for my food to come, ran over to a cee and cee department store, bought a suitcase, ran back to the church to pick up my backpack and say good bye to the rest of our zone, and ran home with 30 minutes to pack...
So, After an awesome week following a hard week, I've had another trying week. Things seem to work that way. We have a few really solid investigators right now, but we also have some that are going through difficulties in finding faith and keeping that faith that they have already found. They claim to have experiences, they're not sure what they're feeling, and they're not sure if it's coming from God. Unfortunately, no amount of testifying, no amount of smiles and warm greetings can substitute for that foundational belief of faith. The only way to gain that faith is through action, through calling upon God, keeping His commandments, reading His scripture. Without doing these fundemental things with patience and forebearance, it is impossible to gain a solid faith in God. If you are currently struggling with your faith, seek God and you will find him. I promise you will.