Following the Spirit!

Dear Family,

A lot of crazy things happened this week including the application of the new missionary schedule and extreme weather. The new missionary schedule is amazing! It feels like the main stress of time is gone. Both morning and night I have time to mentally prepare and overall missionary work has been going a lot better!

On Saturday, Elder Ward and I had a cool experience. It was in the evening, after dark.We went to go visit David Orange, who is a potential investigator. He told us in the past that he had met with missionaries for over 5 years and since he has moved to Renton. We have been trying to meet with him for the last 4 weeks, but he has always had something going on.

This time, when we went over, he was there. He just put his kids into bed and so we talked on his front porch. He showed us a lot of cool things he had and we talked a little, then I asked, "We know that you have met with missionaries before, so we want to know: which of the lessons would you like to learn?"

He said that he didn't know any of the lessons. I had a Restoration pamphlet ready in the pocket of my jacket and I felt prompted to pull it out. I didn't know what to say so I started by asking him, "Have you seen this one before?" He said he did, but he had lost his copy. I pointed to the front picture of Christ holding a lamb. I said "We believe in Jesus Christ. He is the one that makes this all possible. Without Him, there would be no point in having our religion."

He made a comment saying, "We are the lamb in that picture." I said "Yes, and He suffered and died for us. He called apostles and prophets to declare his word and His Gospel, but a short time after he left the earth, his Gospel got corrupted and changed. And now, it has been restored by a prophet called by God who had been given the Priesthood authority the same way Jesus had given it to his apostles."

Then I asked, "Do you believe that there could be prophets today?" He said, "There could be." I asked, "Do you think they are necessary?" He said, "Yes, to some people." I said, "Some people would say that we need prophets now more than ever! We live in the times the Bible calls the Last Days and we have found this to be true. As missionaries we have been called to bring this word to you."

Then I asked him, "What difference would it make if you knew this was true?" He answered by saying, "It is my mission to find the best way to heaven." Our conversation was cut short because his wife called him into the house. I gave him the Restoration pamphlet to read and we set up for next week.

We have never gotten David Orange to allow us to teach anything. I didn't expect to go into full teaching mode, but I went with what I was given. I know that it is important to follow the Spirit because there is power in it. I know that my testimony can make a difference in other peoples' lives! I know that when we are doing everything we can to follow the Spirit, we will be given what to say in the very moment!

Oh yeah, Happy Valentines Day! I hope you all have a great week! I love you all!

Love,
Elder Bretton Steiner

The drains in our apartment complex couldn't drain the cloud burst fast enough!

The heavy snow from last week has caused lots of trees to split and break.

Yep, this is flooding conditions. This is the highest we have ever seen this pond.