Beach Baptism = Solid New Investigators!

Dearest Familia & Friends,

First off, HAPPY FATHER'S DAY YESTERDAY!!!!! Watch this sweet video that brings tears to the eyes & happiness to the heart...

https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2013-01-1020-fathers-day?lang=eng

http://fathersday.mormon.org/

Love you PaPa! By the way you school all of those dad's in that video...just saying. I hope my card came in time!!! What crazy things did everyone do for dad hmmmmm? 

So where to start? This week was super hard & super awesome.  I really think the best description for a mission is a roller coaster. I have never gone through so many ups & downs in my life so quickly. I swear the mission is at a light year speed pace in learning things about life & it's intense & it's great.  It's a lot of joy & it's a lot of sorrow, but God's love is consistent through & through.

We have been doing a lot of finding still & we are coming up with more & more creative ways. Our mission is trying to focus on getting people in the church for church tours & to have lessons there. Missionaries spend too much time bringing church to people when it should be people coming to church. It made me think of like a temple square approach to things, where people are coming because they are having a desire to come. It then made me think & clicked in my head, "ohhhhh that's why having lessons at members' homes is the next best thing to the church because they have the spirit there & it's like the temple." 

So I don't remember if I ever informed the family of this or not but way back, a couple of months ago Elder L. Tom Perry came out & talked to the Stake Presidents out here. Currently in the Brandon Stake they were having about 60 baptisms per year which = about 2 baptisms per missionary. Elder Perry asked what the Stake Presidents thought they could bump it up to, they suggested 4 & Elder Perry said that was good but they could do better. So they then said 6 & Elder Perry said, 8! That means 240 baptisms every year, 8 baptisms per missionary for the Florida Tampa Mission.

I have this cool paper that someone did the math of it all (I'll be sending it to you mom & dad & ya'll can get a copy from them, or I'll take a picture & email it.) basically what it comes down to is just 2 invitations a month. It can be something as small as giving someone a pass a long card at the store or inventing a friend to an activity or going big & inviting friends over for dinner with the missionaries or even just writing some one a nice note or what not. But just 2 invitations a month. This has been something we've been working on with our members & really trying to encourage them in their efforts with the work. So while we do that, we are trying to find. Luckily our church is in the perfect location, we have a community center, library & park by our church. We walk by a lot & talk to everyone we see no matter how awkward & we show the "Because of Him," video on our I-pads & we try to invite people to come take a church tour. We have a lot of positive interactions, but we haven't been able to be successful in church tours right now, but I know we are being bless for our efforts.

For example, on Saturday there was a Beach Baptism the Elders were having. We invited just about all of our investigators & we thought a lot of them were going to come, but unfortunately they all fell through. Well we didn't feel right about staying there unless we had an someone there for it. We were coming back from the restrooms & I'm so proud of Sister Beck, there was a man sitting at a picnic table who look exhausted, he had been running. She went up to him & asked him how he was & if he wanted to come to a beach baptism. It was great, he said,"sure." WOOOOOOTTTTTTT!!!!! It was hilarious, his name is Sam & he's fantastic. He enjoyed it & we showed him, "Because of Him," that video is a gem & we talked to him a little bit about the Priesthood & invite him to church & to learn more. He said he really had no excuse not to come because he was just doing laundry on Sunday & he had said he does need to make it a priority!!! He was totally listening to the talk the Elders gave! Epic! So we got his number & it was a great experience. 

Yesterday was one of my best church experiences with investigators I have EVER had. Many of our investigators we had invited were not showing up.  It was a tad frustrating, but that's how the mission goes. Just 4 minutes before the meeting was about to start we saw on our phone a number we didn't recognize. We left the chapel quickly & answered, sure enough it was Sam! He was at the church & didn't know what door to come in, yeehaw! So we went outside to meet our 6 foot 5 friend :D woot! He stayed for all of it & loved it!!!! Oh & after sacrament meeting, (I am so proud of our members) without us introducing him to members they came up & introduced themselves & talked to him. I was so proud of Brother Moos who asked him if he had seen him yesterday at the beach baptism & talked to him about running & invited Sam to join the running club he is a part of. It was jaw dropping awesome, I was so happy. Oh & Joanna with her sweet 2-year-old Leo was at church, this is her 3rd or 4th time coming, she is so excited to get baptized, she just is still debating on when to do it because relationship things. I can't wait for her though! Oh & our investigator Jasmine came & seemed to like it as well. :) 

We were able to have a lesson with Sam after church & gave him a Book of Mormon & testified that either what we were teaching was completely true or completely false & this was how to know. It went great & Sam without us inviting said he was planning on coming again next week - say whhhhaaatttt!!!! :D What a great Sunday!

Let's see some people we are teaching, Kat, Joanna, Marcus, & Leo, Jasmine, Robin, Tori, April, Chilene, Dasia, Sandra, Sarah & her mom (I forgot the mom's name), Rene, & Sam. We might be dropping a couple of them because they aren't doing their part.

We set a baptismal date with Kat, I love her, she reminds me of my recent convert Betty, not personality but testimony & faith wise. Kat has this delightful southern black women accent & she is adorable when she doesn't have her teeth in it is hilarious. I really feel a strong, close connection to her, I feel like we are kindred spirits & it feels like visiting with an old friend.

I realize I better get this sent but I love you all oh so very much. Hebrews 11 is a great chapter on faith. On to hope for the week. :) 

All my love & more! Oh & if you could include in your prayers this week, one of my favorite members in the ward Sister Ali Oakey she spoke in church yesterday for Father's Day & she announced that she just found out that week that her father who has cancer has 6 months left to live. Please keep her in your prayers. This women is incredible, her talk was beautiful & her testimony strong & pure, it was powerful. This life isn't the end, we have so much to look forward to & we will be reunited with our loved ones in a state of never ending happiness. Our Savior lives & so can we.

Much love,

Sister Bush