Elder Warnick in the Land of Enchantment: Bugs but No Bunnies

July 20, 2015

Cortez, Colorado

This week has been a bit different. First we had Zone Conference and that was a wonderful experience. Not just because we won the Car Inspection or because I got to see other missionaries. But because we had a lot of amazing trainings. We learned a lot about Faith and also about our calling as a missionary. This week we also set off some bug bombs in the barn that we live in because we have killed a few Brown Recluses in the past week so the mission decided that this would be a good idea. The apartment that the other Elders were living in before I got here was left by them in a disgusting state and we have been charged with the responsibility. It is a nasty place but it is cleaning up pretty nice. You all know about the trains that I live over, well this week they were running. There was a giant train convention underneath our house and that was quite a sight. Lots of old guys with their toys. Elder Sessions was pretty excited about it and had a blast driving one of the trains. I went for the food. That was good.

If you think back a week to Mr.P there is some news on him. We went over with our Ward Mission leader and really laid down the law for him. We really hit on Priesthood Authority and a little about Church as well. Well it worked, when we went over with the Bishop a couple of days later his wife told us that she went and bought a Skirt for her and a tie for him and that they would be at church the following day. Well they both came and they loved it! Their testimonies are continuing to grow and it is just so wonderful to see this kind of progress with them.

We also met a wonderful Hispanic family whom we were referred to. As we approached the door they were extremely hostile toward us and started bashing us. It only took us a second to realize that they thought that we were Jehovah's Witnesses. We quickly cleared up that problem and went on talking to them. They asked us a couple of questions about what we believed and they agreed with everything that we said. We had a great conversation with them and they told us to come back so that we might share more of what we know about with them. They have a lot of potential and I am very excited to meet with them again.

There are a lot of amazing thing happening here and the hand of the Lord has truly manifested itself in our lives. One more miracle to share with all of you. We went to see a Less-Active member in Dolores and he wasn't there. Now we were really counting on seeing him to make our day work our, but we decided to move on and try one of the backups that we had planned. When we got to the house and knocked on the door a young woman named Querita came to the door (she is also a less-active member). At first she seemed mad but once she saw who it was she began to cry. After a little talking with her we found our that 3 of her best friends had passed away in a car accident not 12 hours prior and she was really struggling with it. We came in and talked with her. I shared some of the feelings that I had when our community was hit pretty hard with tragedy my senior year, and how I was able to get through it. We said a prayer for her and she really appreciated what we did, but that is not the point, the point is that if the we had not been directed to go to her house at that time then she would not have been able to receive the peace that the Atonement can offer. It is great to know that even if we do not plan exactly what the Lord wants us to do, we can get close and he will help us pick up the slack. Well that is it for this week. I know that through prayer the Lord will manifest himself in your life as well and if you look for it you will find him.

Love,

Elder Warnick

Oh and we got first place in the Car Competition. And I won the naming contest for the car competition so I got a pretty nice flashlight. It went from The Up to "Batt" Award to The Up and "Adam" Award