February 25, 2013
Well, it's been
another good week! Mostly haha.
The Great news is
that I had my first baptism!! His name is Stephon. The amazing part of it is we
first met him on the 16th, after he had called us to start taking the lessons!
We taught him the first discussion, and it went really well. His wife is a
lifelong member of the Church, and their oldest son has been baptized as well
(he is 10, they have a 6 year old girl and a 4 year old son as well). They had
recently moved here to Newark from California, where Stephon had been attending
church some, mostly to just be with his family. They started attending church
here about a month ago, and Stephon felt like he was truly ready for the
lessons, and to be baptized. Elder Cook and I were the lucky ones to be able to
do the teaching, as well as answer his questions and get him completely
prepared for baptism and receiving the Aaronic Priesthood. The incredible part
of it was that before we really understood how ready Stephon was for baptism,
our mission president told us to challenge him to be baptized before that
following Sunday (it was Wednesday he told us). As well, we got another
prepared couple on date for baptism in the middle of March. So awesome!
Tuesday night Elder
Cook and I went to a part member family's house for dinner, along with a
recently converted couple. It was quite an experience... haha
To really understand
why though you have to understand more about Newark and the ward here. The
Newark ward covers the entire northern half of Licking County, which has a
definite gradient of social classes. The farther south and east you go,
the lower class it gets (In general). In the middle of Newark though there is
an area that some call "Little Texas," where it is basically as white
trash as it gets. Old, tiny, falling apart houses/apartments, all within 5-10
feet of each other, all crammed in the same area of Newark. As one of the
members puts it, "you have to be careful where you walk so you don't step
on a syringe." And unfortunately it's true. Lots of drugs, smoking, gangs,
and people living entirely off of welfare. We have a few investigator and
members that live here, so we spend a little more time there that I'm
personally comfortable with. (Though I'm getting more used to it, which is a
little scary as well. haha). After getting over the culture shock between what
I'm used to and this VERY different lifestyle, I've learned that though many of
the people there you wouldn't want to meet in a dark alley (or a well lit one
at that), there are some truly humble and good people there. You just have to
look past the rough exterior and lack of teeth, and love them like Heavenly
Father and Jesus Christ do.
Now that you know
more about the area, I'll tell you more about the people we were having dinner
with. The Newly baptized couple, Jimmy and Jenny, are jumping head and
shoulders into missionary work. They have been called as ward missionaries, and
are HUGE in contacting and fellowshipping people, especially in this
"Little Texas" area. Jimmy and Jenny more or less grew up there,
dealing with the gangs and drugs, so they're pretty well known in the area,
particularly Jimmy. They've really turned over a new leaf from that lifestyle
though, moving in with another couple from the ward, in a better part of town,
so that their kids can be raised in the gospel away from the dangers and rough
lifestyle of that area.
Jimmy, Jenny, Elder
Cook, and I are working toward getting this couple, Enoch and Cassie, to church
and to get Cassie baptized. She believes in the Book of Mormon and in the
church, and Enoch has a strong testimony, but they both are struggling with the
Word of Wisdom, particularly smoking. Unfortunately, that's a huge problem out
here, in both keeping people from being baptized, as well as keeping inactive
members from coming back to church, even when that have the desire to.
More importantly
than getting Enoch and Cassie to church though is their three daughters, ages
6, 3, and 1. We don't want them stuck in the "welfare cycle" like
their parents and most of the people in Little Texas. Luckily Enoch and Cassie
are starting to see more of how the church can truly help them, not only in
raising their kids, but in them finding better jobs and making sure they are
provided for.
We have a lot of
families in the area that are more of less that same as Enoch and Cassie. It's
something very hard to see, especially when they can't pull themselves out of
the mud..
Finding new
investigator is something that I've found is really difficult. The mission
president really presses the importance of getting referrals from members, but
the members in our ward are either not willing enough to step out of the
comfort zone, or they've already given the missionaries all or most of their
referrals. And it's hard to find solid investigators through tracting, even
though for the most part the people here are all really nice!
I hope you all are
praying about who you know who may be being prepared by the Lord to recieve the
gospel, praying for missionary experiences, and not being afraid to open up
your mouths and talk about the gospel! 70% of baptisms come from member
referrals, so try to get some of those in :) haha
Something really
funny about Ohio.. If you're not an Ohio State football fan, people don't want
to talk to you as much. And if you're a Michigan fan, they will (kinda but not
really) literally cross the street when they see you coming, pick up dirt-clods
or mud, throw it at your head and then key your car. hahaha. So I'm now a big
OSU fan. Go Buckeyes!! hahaha
It's really
ridiculous though. There is an overwhelming amount of red and grey. Everywhere!
haha
Not a whole lot else
is noteworthy. I've been sick, but I'm slowly getting over that.
Love you!
Elder Toombs
PS, nice job with
the truck Nathan! ;P
PPS The first
picture is of Elder Cook and I, along with Stephon (the guy with the beard),
and Brother Campbell, the member who baptized Stephon. They both happen to be a
couple of the coolest people evah! haha.
The second picture
is a good one of my district from the MTC. COOLEST PEOPLE EVER! I miss them
already haha.
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