Learning by Teaching

Hola, 

Oh man, this week has been a whirlwind of things. We finally made our goal of 35 quality contacts (which is to say that we found thirty five people who have families and are married and registered).  It's no small feet and the president has been asking for it.  So, that was pretty awesome this week.  The division with the other elder in the house was pretty cool too.  Really, I am having trouble discerning between this week and the last one.  Sorry if I repeat stuff. 

I have been extremely excited for Conference.  I don't think I have ever been so excited in my life to hear from the General Authorities.  Yes, I did hear about the age change.  That was really exciting and I thought about Reid quite a bit after I heard about that.  If he wants to serve a mission, I can't lie, it is probably the hardest thing I have done yet, but the rewards are large and the feelings you get because of your success are far beyond what you think you could ever experience. It's really one of the best decisions I could have made with my life and I know if he decides to serve there will be so many doors opened up to him that it will be ridiculous.  Anyway, my thoughts have really kind of centered on Conference this week and I haven't had the opportunity to hear or see it yet. 

There's not really one church here that is really taking over and its a lot like in Joseph Smith's time where there were a ton of churches around.  The one church that is difficult when we come across is the Jehovah's Witnesses.  You have to be careful when you encounter them because they like to debate and they seem to know the Bible really well.  It was actually kind of funny because they sent some missionaries to our house and they wanted to talk about their religion with us. My companion and I had an appointment to go to, but the other elder's stayed and gave them the first lesson.  I don't think the missionaries from the other church were planning on being taught.  Sadly, but not surprisingly, the rejected our offer to read the Book of Mormon and decided that we were a lost because for them.  ha ha ha  So, when my companion and I got to our appointment we started to talk to our investigator about how he was doing and just chat a little before we started our lesson (it's interesting, people don't care how much you know until they know how much you care) and right then some Jehovah's Witnesses came right through the door. They sat down and immediatelystarted talking to our investigator about their church.  I was just kinda like "Wow, that's pretty brave to sit down in front of another church while they are giving a lesson about something else and you just come in."  Of course, I don't know if they knew we were having a lesson, but still.  After they left, we testified of the value and the importance of the Book of Mormon and urged our investigator to read it and left him with our testimonies. We didn't really want to try to teach him any doctrine because that's all that the Jehovah's witness people did in their "lesson" and we didn't feel prompted to.  We have another lesson with that investigator and I'm kinda excited to see what he says.  I learned a valuable lesson about the way we teach and talk to people. I wonder how we come off when we teach other people and if we seem similar to the way other churches do their work.  I want to become more of a friend to the people rather than someone who just tries to get them to change just because I want them in my church.  Anyhow, that was my craziness for this week.

By the way, Mom, are you still reading Jesus the Christ?  I thought about starting that one too after I finish Doctrine and Covenants. Maybe we can start it together and compare notes each week.  That should be exciting.  I am always looking for more info on our Savior. This fast Sunday I fasted for a stronger testimony and also for my investigators of course, but I wanted a stronger testimony so I could testify with power and help people understand and believe what I am telling them. Bearing your testimony is really like the last brush stroke on the canvas of your painting.  It needs to bring everything together and give your painting or lesson meaning and help the other person see the beautiful thing that we have presented to them.  I read a lot about how certain members of the church have powerful testimonies in the Liahona and in the Book of Mormon and that's something that I think I can really use in my teaching to the benefit of others.

Anyway, thanks for all the letters and all the support.  Just wanted you to know that I love you all and I enjoy every week writing this letter.  It helps me remember that I have people behind me in my calling.  I thank you guys for your support and stay strong in the gospel.

Much love, 

Elder Proksch