Elder Junk's Washington DC South Mission Blog: 8-28-2017

Mail:

Elder Carson Lewis Junk

Washington DC South Mission

5242 Lyngate Court

Burke, VA 22015

From: Carson Lewis Junk [mailto:carson.junk@myldsmail.net]
Sent: Monday, August 28, 2017 2:31 PM
To: Kathy Junk
Subject: I become a math tutor

Hello! How is everyone doing? It has been a great 5 days since I have last been able to talk to everyone! The days are still flying by and I am enjoying the sweet, funny, crazy, and spiritual experiences here in the Washington, D.C. South mission.

This week has again had ups and downs as far as contacting people goes. We have been really trying our best to find other investigators besides Pamela and Joe. We contact everyone in our area book and it seems that we are whittling down the list of investigators and potential investigators. This can be a good thing though, because we are still doing some cleanup around the area and finding out who really wants to hear the message.

I appreciate all the prayers for the investigators Joe and Pamela. Joe is doing awesome and came to church for the first time with us yesterday which was awesome! This was my first investigator I have had attend church so it was kind of a defining moment for me as far as missionary work goes. The ward is awesome and extended so much love and support to Joe and he said that Church was interesting and he really loved it. He definitely said he would be coming back next week and we could meet with him on Thursday. Pamela is doing better! She told us unfortunately that one of her friends she had hung out with a few times in the past had unexpectedly died. That would be very hard, but that is what makes The Plan of Salvation so beautiful. That she will be able to see her friend again, and it is all because of the wonderful Plan of Happiness and Jesus Christ suffering for us and going through the Atonement. The Plan of Salvation is my favorite lesson to teach because it truly is so awesome that we will all be able to live in Heaven and return back to our loving Heavenly Father. This Earth life is so short compared to eternity! Anyway, we had a great lesson with Pamela and we talked more about baptism. Unfortunately, Pamela wants to be baptized at her Baptist church. It is amazing that she is taking a step and coming closer to Jesus Christ, but sad she doesn't want to come to our church. She is still open to it though and our Bishop is going to meet her and help her with a program in the church called "MyPath" which helps people find better careers and jobs. Another awesome thing about the Church and helping others in life!

I definitely have had some of the most funny moments here these last 5 days. Elder Roper and I were walking home one night on the main road of Woodbridge the 1, or the Jefferson Davis Highway. These Highschoolers were jammed inside a small Chevy Cruze. For some reason when they saw Elder Roper and I walking through the crosswalk, they went absolutely nuts. They were honking their horn, yelling at us, flashing some inappropriate bird hand signals at us, and laughing there heads off! They were having the time of their life just looking at the missionaries! Anyway, I thought that was pretty funny and I just turned and gave them a good thumbs up. Shout out to those cute knuckleheads haha.

We also had a pass-off lesson with The Dale City Elders. This guy is a less-active member who was baptized in our ward but moved for a short period of time to the Dale City Ward. He got his member records transferred back to Woodbridge 1st and is now claimed as ours. His name is the famous Brother_______, and his catch phrase is "EAT THE BLACK BANANA" For some reason he only likes bruised bananas and claims they are better than the normal? This guy is a character and has a lot of problems with his testimony but knows that the church is true so he has the missionaries metaphorically hold his hand to help him. I will get to the point, he has a master's in English but is absolutely terrible at Math. Brother____ is trying to get a teaching license but the test requires to pass a math portion. He has also never read The Book of Mormon. SO The Dale City Elders have been tutoring him in math for 30 minutes in exchange that he reads 30 minutes of The Book of Mormon. We met with him on Saturday and I was taken back to 6th grade math. Elder Roper and I have to teach him the basics before we get to any material for his exam! Quite the experience!

Yesterday, Elder Roper and I were waiting to teach a member from our church. There were these two guys from Sierra Leone outside and we decided to talk to them. One of them named Jacob was easily one of the nicest guys out there. He was praising us for the work we were doing at such a young age. We talked to him and referred him to the missionaries in the area. I got a picture with him. He posted all these "live videos" of me with him on Facebook praising us and the lord and "The greatest Country in the World" Great guy and made me feel great and glad to be doing what I am doing!

I love this gospel so much and I am so thankful for the work and opportunity I have to serve the Lord for this short time. I have a strong testimony in Jesus Christ and how much he has done for us. I know that he has the ability to help us through any trials and things we are struggling with. After all, he suffered every pain and affliction out there and did it all for US, and for us to be able to have eternal life and live in the presence of our loving Heavenly Father. I love all of you so much and would invite all of you to realize the great joy found in this Gospel and Jesus Christ. Have a great week and talk to you soon.

Love, Elder Junk