Old Trucks and Fire Hydrants

This is only the beginning. Had a good week. Hard week. Tiring week. Beautiful week.

I keep having these moments of realization. I look at things my way, and then in a second everything changes, and I do too. I've had a lot of that these past couple of days. Just the other night I was sitting in the car after we saw everyone we could think of in the area and we had an hour before we could go in. I thought, "Dang, now we need to kill an hour of time." Then after I thought that... I was like, "Hmm.. I probably shouldn't ever be trying to just waste away time... what the heck am I doing..." So I prayed for my perspective to change. I prayed that I can see things the way the my Heavenly Father wants me to see them. Everything changed. I wanted to run house to house and tell everyone that the church has been restored! ha but my companion wasn't down with that so we just walked like the gentlemen that we claim to be. I'm grateful for prayer. I know that they're heard and felt by a loving Heavenly Father.

We've been busy. Which hasn't really ever happened here. The members are supporting us and doors are opening. Sometimes without us asking now, people will give us the names and addresses of friends that we can visit. None of them have worked out so far but... they soon will. Or something will at least. I think and hope that they are starting to trust us more. The missionaries before me were amazing. So I'm lucky that I didn't come into a non-trusting ward. I'm just trying to figure out the difference between this area and "successful" areas. What are the variables? How can I help build this claimed "unsuccessful" area? I don't have very many answers. Though my questions aren't in short supply. I'm grateful for those too.

"One more door, Elder, you can do it, my friend." And so we did. And so came the miracle. Amber Anonymity is the name and description. I'll let you know more once I know more. Sorry for the anti-climatic build. She didn't show up to our set up appointment yesterday so it's still in some form of progress paralysis.

All else is constant. The schedule is set. The sweat and rain are persistent and my thumb keeps twitching. Yep, I'm starting to feel a little more sane. A little more spiritual. A little less anxious. I am blessed with subtle miracles every day. I'm grateful that I can feel and see the little things.

And it's all about the little things,

Elder Trent Jay Merrill