Lleno del Espiritu... y Comida

Hello!

This week went by super fast.  Elder Longmore was just saying this morning how it seems like it was only yesterday that we were down in South Manhattan, and that's the truth.  We've been working hard and packing our schedule, so things have just been smooth sailing I guess.

Anyways, last preparation day was great!  We just spent a little time before and after the World Trade Center Memorial (which was great!  It was breath taking- two giant fountains the size of the two buildings- and you could tell it was hallowed ground), exploring down in South Manhattan.  We went to Battery Park where you can see the Statue of Liberty, walked up Broadway to China Town on Canal street and did some exploring there in China Town (lots of weird stuff there) and then grabbed some Canolli in Little Italy (borders China Town on the North).  I love that part of Manhattan- the architecture is amazing and everything is just breath taking.  Going back as a not-missionary will be interesting for sure.  That night we had an appointment and then a couple other that fell through, so we ended up dropping by a couple people's places to say hey.

Thursday we had weekly planning after studies.  We knocked that out, but Elder Longmore wasn't feeling too good, so we took the day off until PEC that night.  I just did some area book work, made some phone calls and did a little cleaning and organizing, so it was good to have some time to just knock that stuff out.  Friday we had some lessons and then our district APF where we all got together and went knocking in the Sister's area (we have three companionships of Elders and one of Sisters in our district and in the ward in which we work.  The sisters were a trio up until the other night, so we had nine missionaries plus a Senior couple- pretty crazy).  Saturday we had our correlation meeting and some more appointments.  I don't believe anything too crazy happened.  Same with Sunday- just had some lessons with investigators and a less active family.  We had had a lot of food by the end of the night so we came home ready to blow up.  Monday was district meeting followed by some appointments.  It started snowing in the afternoon, fairly lightly, but we came out of our dinner appointment with a lot of snow on the ground, so we had troop through that for the rest of the night.  I slipped at one point, but luckily landed in the snow that was everywhere, so it was okay.  Tuesday is our one day where there is nothing inherently planned (meetings or whatever), so it's a day that we either really have to fill up or it ends up being boring/frustrating.  Luckily we prepared well and so we taught five and half lessons (half as teaching a random guy on the street about the restoration).  It was another day where we came home stuffed- we were fed three meals (including lunch) and ended up drinking like three glasses of soda (I hate soda- I will never voluntarily drink it for the rest of my life...).  Hopefully that's just a sign of member support, but I'm grateful for all of the food that we're given.  Today we're going to play volleyball at the church for our zone activity.  Should be fun!

This week I've been really working on being able to hear and act on the promptings of the Holy Ghost.  One thing that I've come to realize is that in order to receive promptings, we often times have to ask for them through a prayer of faith.  That's something that isn't always easy to remember, but I know as we make a conscious effort to remember Jesus Christ and try to be guided through a prayer in our hearts, that the promise made in the Sacrament prayers will be fulfilled- as we remember Him we'll have His Spirit to be with Him.  Last week on one night we had time to visit one more person, but we weren't sure who.  We both were looking for guidance in that and I just felt as though we should try dropping by a less active family that we hadn't before.  I suggested that and Elder Longmore suggested a specific family, and so we followed that, went, they let us in and we had a pretty good lesson!  I know those ideas came from the Spirit as we sought from them.

Thanks for all the support!  I hope you have a good week to come!

-Elder Griffiths