Evaluating Investigator Progression

Thank you for your love and support. I know this work is very important, and that I am receiving many prayers a day. Thank you.

I have learned some great lessons from this past week, and continuing to try to learn the ones that are still in progress, I guess that is what life is all about. I am having some thoughts come back to me, so just bear with me.

There is a difference between having a testimony and being converted. Being converted takes years of sacrifice and evidence of faith. Many of us go through that stage at different times, but we can all tell when we are converted. Also, there is no plateau and no top in this life. It is just different levels of conversion, and we increase in our conversion each time we read or feel the spirit, or act upon faith and see the fruits of our faith. The older people reading this can attest that you can never reach the pinnacle in this life, it just won't happen. Just different levels of conversion. I read some quotes about that, but can really remember what they say, just know that most of that didn't come from my brain.

We have also been focusing on faith this transfer, and I think it was inspired, because I am learning the true meaning of faith. There are so many things that can grab our attention or cause us to lose focus, and it can happen at many different times in a day. But as we step forward with faith, doing those things we know we should by the spirit, I have seen that all things work out for our good. It is definitely not easy, but it will strengthen your faith. God is just trying to mold us to the level that he knows we can attain.

Another thing from this week is the principle of love. If we can truly develop charity (like Mom), the outlook on this life will be so full. We do not shrink, but we are confindent, enthusiastic, and faithful in what the Lord thinks of us. I have felt your love this week with all of the cards, and I thank you for that. They are so great! I have tried to really love people. To desire their salvation, and not get too frustrated when they openly deny it. Loving people doesn't just mean that I sit there on their couch and say that everything will be okay, and it is fine that they didn't read this week or anything. If we truly love someone, we should look at what the Lord did. He was always uplifting and building and sharing. The best gift we can give is 'living water' (John 4, I think). I love all of you.

On a similar note, we have been going through our investigators really seriously and trying to focus and get through those that are and aren't interested. It has been tough, and I was pretty forward with a man last night. But we must love those that are waiting for us. A cool experience about that: The zone leaders started to do that with the faith that the increased finding they were about to have would yield results. They met a couple named M****** and S*****. Long story made short, they got baptized on Saturday, and they bore their testimonies afterwards. Words cannot describe they spirit that was present in that room. M****** is a head teacher of a school in South Afirca, but came up to get some more degrees, he is so smart. But he is so humble, and has seen how the gospel has changed his life. He is going to baptize ALL of South Afirca. He wants so desperately to share this with everyone he knows. We are soon to have a BYU-Afirca. He is very smart, hard working, and carries an amazing spirit with him. I am excited for what happens. We have been doing that a lot, baptizing people who are going back to their native country. C****** will go back to Malaysia and make big splashes in the church there too. AWESOME! Excuse my American.

Here are some answers to Mom's questions:

1. About our investigators. This has a little bit to do about something Mom said earlier about how it is hard to drop people and see people dropped, but there are many out there who are ready to receive the word, and who knows what kind of seed we planted in the 'dropped' investigator. I don't really like saying 'dropped', because they are still on the Lord's list of investigators. However, the only way I feel comfortable putting them off our list completely is if we teach with the spirit. If we do not, it is our fault that they are not progressing. We must give them a reason to change, and then ask them to - 'Declare
Repentance'. If that happens, we must have enough love for the person waiting for us to drop the current person. This is another example of the importance of the spirit in the work. He can tell us when to drop and then where to go to find that person waiting for us. It is the single most important aspect in the work, which makes the rules are that more important. What all that has to do with my current investigators is that we are focusing more time on less people. We do not just drop others without teaching them, but with those that are progressing we try to meet with often and then there are the others that we meet with maybe once a week. I still feel like a have a lot to learn about teaching and finding and all that, but I can only rely on the Lord that what I am offering right now is good enough. So we are focusing on:

D***** and T****: I went on exchanges with Elder Somerville, my new zone leader, on Monday and it was great. I love exchanges, because I learn a lot, and my confidence waxes strong in the message and my abilities. Those leaders who can do that are great men. However, I don't want to have to rely on them for that. I want to be that type of missionary that can uplift those around me. Anyway, about D***** and T****. Elder Somerville was very foward with them, which they didn't like all
that much, or so they say. However, I saw a big change in them. They are very excited about church on Sunday, and I can see a baptism in the next few weeks! They want to get more involved and we just glowing after our lesson yesterday

K***: We got in touch with her again!! It was so great, and the lesson was really good too. She has some crazy notions in her head, but we have decided to teach things that will uplift, rather than to try and convince her against her negative notions. It is just nice to get back in contact. How we did it was cool too. A couple of months ago, I had left my scarf and gloves at her house, and her sister had taken them. Well, they finally came back, and we 'had to drop by' to pick them up. Luckily, we brought the bishop with us. I don't think that God had me leave my gloves there because he knew what would happen, but I am grateful that He made something out of my silly mistakes to make it possible for this wonderful lady to come closer to the church.

There are so many cool things happening, and the trick for me is to just focus on those. It makes everything seem so much more fruitful. I will give more updates on other investigators once things really start to pick up with them, and once I can remember better.

Scripture of the week: I left my scriptures at the flat, but I think it was D&C 88:118. Look it up, I hope it was good.

My miracle was K***.

I love you all, and I appreciate your prayers. I don't really know what I just wrote, so I pray that it is good.

Elder Davies