Thinking of Being Small -- 9 June 2014

When I was little I was always guilty of coming up with great ideas like, "Let's go get ice cream!" My siblings and I would scream, "You'll scream, I'll scream, we'll all scream for ice cream!!!" And we'd skip up the stairs in a beautiful harmonious line, skipping and singing with joy, only for our worlds to come to  a screeching halt as we all realized, "Someone's got to be the one to ask...."

You all know that conversation. "I'm not going to ask, you ask!" "I'm too scared to ask, you ask!" "Well... I don't really want ice cream that much anyway..." Until the youngest (who has the most courage, because---let's be honest---he was still cute, and the rest of us were no longer toddlers), Landon, would pipe up and say, "I'll ask!"

And so, we would all timidly creep as a small children's group into our parent's room where we would shove our little brother forward and huddle behind him with the bravest scaredest, smiles we could muster. And he would do what little brothers do, fidget his little hands, look at the ground,  shuffle around, and say, "Um mom, dad um we were um wondering...."

"Yes?" the reply would come.

"Um... could we please... um.... go get some um...ice cream, please?"

:) Come on, mom and dad, how on earth did you resist that?

I don't know, but this week has been good. I've been sick for a few weeks battling tonsillitis, a cold, and some fever, but I seem to finally be pulling out of it. It's hard to sit in the apartment, and it's even hard to work when your exhausted from being sick. It ruins your sleep schedule and you find yourself fighting that age-old missionary battle---will you wake up at 6:30? Well, yes. Yes I will, even if it kills me. Stupid Satan. I really don't like that guy.

Since I've been here we've been working with this potential investigator. We've invited her to church, done service for her, offered to teach her, received 2 referrals from her, and she just hasn't done anything for her own progression. So, we've developed a pretty good relationship with her anyway, despite the fact that she hasn't been responding to our constant invitations. So, we figured we'd try again. We invited her to church after going over and helping to trim her lilac's (a job that I will probably be doing for the rest of my life---thanks mom for teaching me). Then she said, "Sure, where is it?"

My heart almost stopped as I joyously gave her the information for church and excitedly learned 2 simple lessons, 1. People are a lot more likely to accept invitations that come from someone who they know genuinely loves and cares about them than they are from the stranger on the street, and 2. Persistent follow up is key. The worst they can say is no, right?

Which leads me back to the story of asking mom and dad for ice cream. :D I don't think I was scared of mom and dad. I think I was scared of hearing "No." That word makes my heart break when it relates to ice cream, chocolate chip cookies, and girls. However, when it comes to missionary work, the word "No" doesn't scare me so much. Of course it still breaks my heart, but true missionary work actually begins. When I invite someone to be baptized, to come to church, to learn... when they say, "No." I have learned that one of the greatest acts of love that any of us can perform is to be the one that asks, "Why not?" and then doesn't give up just because they were let down once. True love doesn't quit. Charity never faileth.

And, it helps to be cute when you extend invitations.

That was a joke---it doesn't help that much.

I love you all!

Rock on! Peace! Love! and Temple Marriage! In that order

Elder Hill