Week 14: Creative Finding Through Service

November 27, 2019

Week 14: Creative Finding Through Service

Me and Elder Brown at Vigen Strandpark

So... we haven´t been doing very well with finding people to teach even though we hit around 21 hours of contacting on average per week. Præsident has consistently reminded us to spend 15 hours doing typical missionary work (fx: street contacting and knocking on doors) and then using hours after that to get creative (fx: service projects and less active member work). The only problem is that Ældste Brown and I both have predominantly left-sided brains so we really struggle to think of creative ideas! We decided to give everything we got in the first 15 hours and then spend another 10 hours serving people in ways that we hadn't done before. Looking back, I ́d say we did a pretty good job and there were definitely some miracles that came from it.

I started off the week by returning to København to go on zone splits with Ældste Friedbaum. We didn´t get into the city until 11:30 and right when we got there we set a goal to arrange 2 return appointments. Friedbaum and I pounded out 4 hours and found no one that had an interest in learning about the gospel. Luckily, one of the Frederikberg Ældster friends called us up and asked to meet on Monday. After confirming the date, he told us that he really respects how we walk around every day, talk to everyone we can get rejected by most people, and still enjoy going out. That was really uplifting to hear!

We then went to an eating appointment, which was quite honestly the best one I´ve ever had. Our plan was to share a video called "Lessons I Learned as a Boy" by Gordon B. Hinckley and the dinner discussion lead up perfectly to it! The son asked a bunch of questions about being a missionary, the dad shared his personal conversion story, and the mom suggested that they donate money to a good cause for Christmas. I felt the spirit so strong! Once we finished, we still had 1 more appointment that we hoped to get and it wasn´t looking promising since we only had 10 minutes to throw some last minute hail marys. We did just that and just 5 minutes before arriving to the apartment, we found a man who was interested in touring the church building and hearing more about the church. Wowza, that was an unforgettable experience that showed me that faith really does go a long way!

Ældste Brown and I had gotten stuck in a rut of doing the same thing for language study, which was simply doing it in the library. We mixed it up by visiting an old lady named Annette, whom we had previously seen on the street, to have her teach us Danish. She had come up to us saying that she had taught the sister missionaries before and she insisted to teach us as well. When we got there, she had us move a bunch of objects around and check a few things to make sure they weren't broken. She then proceeded to teach us Danish by having a conversation with us and correcting our mistakes. It was pretty hyggelig (chill) because we were doing this in a 160-year-old house that has been in Annette ́s family for 100 years. Before we left, she asked us if we could pick up watches for her later in the week and we promised we would. It was awesome to see how a simple session of learning Danish also provided two service opportunities for us. That was totally unexpected!

Out of the blue, we were asked to help Lisa move out of her old apartment and into her new house. We were warned that she is a true hoarder so we prepared for a good chunk of work. About 8 members showed up and we piled boxes upon boxes upon boxes onto two trailers. We tied everything down with ropes and made two trips there and back. This took about three hours to do and we came back thinking we were done, only to find that the amount of members had doubled. They were STILL carrying boxes down the stairs! What we had done was just the beginning! Ældste Brown and I continued to help for as long as we could but left at 6:00 to make it to an eating appointment. Apparently, those who remained to help moved her stuff until about 10:30. We couldn´t believe how much stuff this woman had!

Guess what?! This eating appointment was made possible through trying something new. Our area book had been completely read through, so we didn´t know where to go from there. We noticed that our member tools had been scarcely used, so we looked around on it. We chose to look for less active members to stop by since we had given most of our attention to the youth before. Ældste Brown picked a random number on the list and called it. No one answered, but we got a text 5 minutes later saying that we could come over for dinner. We had a wonderful evening getting to know the family, talking about the parents ́ favorite missionary experiences, and sharing a brief inspirational message. The father has been coming to church semi-regularly and the mother clearly stated that she would not be coming to church anytime soon. She did say that we could teach her children the missionary lessons, though! Also, just as a side note, the whole family ended up attending church on Sunday. It was so exciting to see them there!

The highlight of the week was the Uganda Project! As part of the project, Danes are asked to donate toys, tools, and equipment to be shipped into Uganda. These donations are then tallied and organized into numbered plastic bags to be sent into the country. A married couple in the ward throws together this service project every year and invites the entire Roskilde ward to help. A huge group showed up this year and we all got straight to organizing! We filled about 70 large bags with stuffed animals, building toys, furniture, farming tools, and medical equipment. This was a unique experience that I will never forget! It is truly eye-opening to see how much we really do have. It felt so good to give toward a great cause and imagine how happy those in need will feel when they receive these gifts. There is nothing better than service! If you ever think you've run out of ideas, turn to service because it will work every time.

Make a great week and remember to serve others!

Jeg elsker jer højt,

Ældste Moore

P.S. Shoutout to Hadley, who had her 14th birthday last week! Hope you had the best day ever! Love you!