in the park. It is a fun way to fulfill our missionary purpose. I
taught some handball to the newer missionaries and one guy asked if he
could jump in and play doubles. He quickly got bored and said, "ok
let's cap at 15 and then Elder Hooper and I will play each other". I
thought that was kind of funny. This man I was playing with was
awesome. He was a big guy with some cool tattoos and has had a really
rough life. After our first game, in which he beat me 15-10, we took a
breather and talked for a few minutes. He expressed to me during the
game that he was released from jail 6 months ago. Now while we sat I
asked him to tell me more. He was a heavy drug addict, but has been
clean now for 3 months. He just moved out into the area to get a fresh
start and was playing handball to keep his mind occupied. He has
multiple degrees and worked in pharmaceuticals. I told him about the
Savior's Atonement and the cleansing power He has extended towards us.
We played another game and I beat him 15-13. We talked some more and
had a tie breaker game- he got me good 15-7. He is such a good man. I
pray that he can continue to stay clean and be strong. It was near to
feel the the love the Savior had for him.
Elder Goodson and I went up into Williamsburg and Greenpoint to look
for some less active members. It is evil out there, but we had some
fun. While we were waiting for a bus to come, there were these guys
(who were mostly drunk) playing frisbee outside the bar across a busy
street. It was funny to watch them to right over the tops of these
cars. They said hey it's the Jehovah Witnesses. I quickly said nope,
we are Mormon. They threw the frisbee to us and my companion grabs it
and makes a novice throw back to the man across the street. He throws
it to me, I throw it back, and I just bombed the throw back twice!
After a while I grabbed the frisbee again to redeem myself (I mean
seriously, I have played ultimate frisbee a ton, I can throw a
frisbee!). I gave him a perfect toss back. He threw it back to me and
I just make a "no big deal" catch and send it right back. The drunk
guys were going crazy haha! I made a few other leaping catches and
nice throws back. I said "ha, I was just husslin' you guys". They were
all shocked (so was I). I think they liked us after that.
So I did a bad job at keeps up with my journal so I can't remember all
the details of this week, but this is do want to add. This is the
Elder Hooper tip of the day haha: There is power in simply thinking
about the Savior! One thing that I have felt my entire mission is the
importance of remembering the Savior. In addition to the importance of
this as part of our covenants, thinking about the Savior throughout
the day gives us unimaginable strength. Simply picturing Him in your
mind, memorizing a scripture about His Atonement, or watching a Bible
Video on LDS.org brings peace and guidance! Try it throughout your day
today and see what you think. If you like it, keep doing it!
Sorry it is short this week!
Love,
Elder Hooper
30 Day Challenge Starts today.
No comments:
Post a Comment