The Elder Poe Bi Annual Report
So on Wednesday the full 6 month mark will hit, I also found out that I will be being transferred out of the Cleveland zone, and have been called to be a District Leader that is the big transfer news. As I look back I am pretty sure God is playing some sort of joke on missionaries in relation to the time space continuum, it has not been 6 months yet, it 100% doesn’t feel like it has been more than two or three weeks tops.
I can remember it seems like just yesterday that they marched all of us new missionaries into the transfer room and had us find our companions, I remember my first lesson I had here in Strongsville and how it went. I can’t believe that it has already been 6 months, it has been the six greatest months of my life, being able to invite others to come unto Christ and seeing the miracles the that can be brought to pass, and seeing how well the Lord can work with people to change who they are into who He intends them to become. If the rest of my mission goes by this fast I will be sorely upset, I am praying it drastically slows down from here on out, but I have heard that it just continues to pick up speed, which if true means that I as a missionary need to make sure I am laboring even more diligently and working even harder and relying on the Spirit more fully to make sure that I don’t leave anything unfinished.
I can’t find an adequate way to summarize these past six weeks but some of the important things I have learned include.
1) God knows best: The Lord will always make more out of your life than you ever could, as long as you surrender your will to His and do His work.
2) They were His sheep long before they were ours: The Lord loves all of His children more than any mortal can comprehend or imagine, He also knows His children more perfectly than any other person including ourselves, and because of that He knows exactly what they need and exactly when they need it.
3) Ask and ye shall receive, knock and it shall be opened unto you: Prayer works and they are always answered. Every pray we offer up to God having faith in Him and His power, as long as it is done righteously will be granted. There is almost nothing on this earth more powerful than a mother on her knees pleading for her children. Prayer allows miracles to happen
4) My ways [and time] are not your ways [and time]: God works on His own timetable and in His own way for the benefit of mankind. We can be rest assured that everything the Lord gives us and when He gives it to us was a specially designed and crafted to best help us return to live with him
5) My purpose: My purpose is to invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored Gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end. That is why I am here in Ohio, that is why I labor each day, that is why there are over 75,000 missionaries out in the world right now leaving their families, friends, jobs, schooling, scholarships, it is so that other can come unto Christ and find the healing power of His Gospel and His Atonement. The world is starving to death spiritually, what we have will feed the hungering souls.
6) After all of the testimonies that have been given of Him this is the testimony last of all that we give of Him that He lives: Christ lives, He lives, He lives, disappointment may occur but He lives, sadness may strike, but He lives, trial, tragedy, disaster, heartache, sorrow, grief, suffering, and hell itself may all combine against us, but Christ lives, and because He lives we will live to if we turn to Him. No matter how bleak things seem right now you are not alone, Christ is with you in all things and is there to nurture us through all things for He has felt all of it so He knows what you are going through and will help.
I wish I had time and resources to write everything I have learned record all of the miracles I have seen but time marches on against all things.
I look forward to the future with hope and confidence knowing that I labor on the Lord’s errand and His help will be there. I would still appreciate any advice anyone has for leadership, I am feeling pretty unqualified to be a district leader at this point.
Also in commemoration of the sixth month mark we bring you
THE BEST OF TRACTING IN STRONGSVILLE
Let’s face it tracting is important and powerful and it is a wonderful opportunity to bear testimony and show diligence but sometimes it is just flat out funny. Thus we share some of the more memorable tracting experiences
A guy pulls up in a truck right next to the house we are about to knock on we send a cheerful greeting to him and he responds by just staring at us and then walking inside. We next knock on his door and he yells go around back. As he comes out the door we introduce ourselves and give him a little bit of what we share with people, after staring at us awkwardly for a minute or two he points his finger at my large Tongan companion and drawls out “I’m part of the klannnn”, we tried giving him a card with Christ but he said he didn’t want it and to get out.
My energetic self knocks on a door and a man comes to the window next to the door and demands “What do you want?” I explain that we are missionaries then he yells “I’M WATCHING TV” I replied with “We are telling people about a book” holding up a Book of Mormon, he looks at us funny and then waddles back to watch TV
Me: Knock knock
Old man answers the door: Hello?
Me: How are you doing today sir?
Old man: Horrible, wadda you want?
Old man: Horrible, wadda you want?
Suffice it to say he wasn’t particularly interested in learning about Jesus Christ
We knock on the door of young mother who answers the door, we explain that we are sharing with people how their families can be blessed through the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and give her a Family Proclamation, and start discussing it with her. She seems interested and we ask if we can come back and discuss more about the Gospel with her to which she assents. I then tell her that if she wants to learn a little bit more she can visit the mormon.org website listed on the back. She looks at us and says “Mormons, no thank you” she then shoves the pamphlet into my hand and slams the door.
I know that the Church of Jesus Christ is God’s Kingdom established prepatory to the second coming of the Messiah, I know that Jesus Christ is the Savior and Redeemer of the world, and I know that God is our loving Heavenly Father.
“We have been called to serve in the place
Where Christ our Saviour has shown His face
We’ve heard the words the Lord has declared
“Kirtland will be built up again”
We are in the Ohio Cleveland
We have prepared since our youth
And we are in the Ohio Cleveland
To bring Ohio His truth
To bring Ohio His truth” - Ohio Cleveland Mission Song 3rd verse (sung to the tune of Army of Helamen)
The Report of Elder Hunter D. Poe
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