Day 336
This guy Taylor, a convert of about a year, told a really interesting story at a cottage meeting last Sunday. He was at a fast-food place in South Memphis, and this homeless guy was sitting outside when he turned off the car. The guy says, "Hey, why'd you turn that music off? I was jammin'!" Then he asks him for some change to catch a bus; he says his father just died, and he wants to go back home to pay respect. So Taylor reaches into his pocket for some change, and puts it in the man's open palm; but the guy just looks him in the eye, demonstratively lets the coins fall to the ground, and says, "Let me pray for you."
Taylor says the man offered one of the most beautiful, powerful prayers he's ever heard, blessed him, and then told him, in effect, to "go thy way". So Taylor gets in his truck, looks back--and the guy had vanished. He said he had just been praying for a change of heart, and he believes it was an angel sent to test him. But even if it was just some homeless guy, it's a neat story.
At District Meeting, Elder Sellers shared this scripture:
"Wherefore, I call upon the weak things of the world, those who are unlearned and despised, to thrash the nations by the power of my Spirit; And their arm shall be my arm, and I will be their shield and their buckler; and I will gird up their loins, and they shall fight manfully for me; and their enemies shall be under their feet; and I will let fall the sword in their behalf, and by the fire of mine indignation will I preserve them." (D&C 35:13-14).
And we all really liked it, so we all got tattoos and now our district is the Southside Thrashers. We are so gangsta. We're going to take pictures, and they're going to be in the next post.
We were waiting for a ride at a gas station a couple days ago, when this used tire fell off a tow truck doing about 40 mph, rolled right into my bike, and stopped. So this lady at one of the gas pumps yells at us, asking what size the tire is. Turns out, it's exactly the size she needs, so she throws it in the back of her battered 80s economy car. It further turns out that she's read the Book of Mormon and knows it's true, and wants us to come teach her. And if it hadn't been for that tire, we never would have talked to her. How about that?
It's been a stereotypical Orange Mound week. Seen a lot of bullet holes, beer cans, and condom wrappers. This one guy walked up to us, clutching a 40 oz. in a paper bag, and asked us to pray for him because he'd just been with a $5 prostitute, had not used protection, and didn't want a disease. So we tried to pray with him right then, but he points to the beer and says, "Man, I can't pray wit no devil juice in my hand!" Memphis has a moral logic all its own.
That same day we met this less-active lady who told us (almost with pride) that she had her first child at the age of 13, followed by five more before she turned 30. "I was very mature for my age," she says. Then we left her place and went to see a recent convert--a smart, pretty black woman--who has spent much of her life in prison for murder and multiple counts of gang-related assault. Her best friend sells her body for crack, and her 'fiance' lives in a drug rehab shelter for the homeless. This has got to be the weirdest, saddest, craziest place I've ever been in.
Then, just riding home around 7:30 that evening, we saw four squad cars in front of houses or pulling people over, within a distance of no more than two miles. We contacted a loud, angry, incoherently drunk man, and this other guy who thought we were cops and was obviously scared out of his mind--kept telling us what a nice job the police were doing, and how he appreciates that we keep him safe, etc. etc. Even after we gave him a card and explained that we're "from Jesus", he kept on complimenting the police force, just to be sure. It's like another planet.
Since everyone wants to talk about God with us (long as it's free), it's difficult to know whom we should really focus on. Looking for that one needle in a stack of needles. With man it would be impossible, but the Lord is showing us the people we're here for. Hope you're all well. Keep the faith!
--Elder Dolan
Taylor says the man offered one of the most beautiful, powerful prayers he's ever heard, blessed him, and then told him, in effect, to "go thy way". So Taylor gets in his truck, looks back--and the guy had vanished. He said he had just been praying for a change of heart, and he believes it was an angel sent to test him. But even if it was just some homeless guy, it's a neat story.
At District Meeting, Elder Sellers shared this scripture:
"Wherefore, I call upon the weak things of the world, those who are unlearned and despised, to thrash the nations by the power of my Spirit; And their arm shall be my arm, and I will be their shield and their buckler; and I will gird up their loins, and they shall fight manfully for me; and their enemies shall be under their feet; and I will let fall the sword in their behalf, and by the fire of mine indignation will I preserve them." (D&C 35:13-14).
And we all really liked it, so we all got tattoos and now our district is the Southside Thrashers. We are so gangsta. We're going to take pictures, and they're going to be in the next post.
We were waiting for a ride at a gas station a couple days ago, when this used tire fell off a tow truck doing about 40 mph, rolled right into my bike, and stopped. So this lady at one of the gas pumps yells at us, asking what size the tire is. Turns out, it's exactly the size she needs, so she throws it in the back of her battered 80s economy car. It further turns out that she's read the Book of Mormon and knows it's true, and wants us to come teach her. And if it hadn't been for that tire, we never would have talked to her. How about that?
It's been a stereotypical Orange Mound week. Seen a lot of bullet holes, beer cans, and condom wrappers. This one guy walked up to us, clutching a 40 oz. in a paper bag, and asked us to pray for him because he'd just been with a $5 prostitute, had not used protection, and didn't want a disease. So we tried to pray with him right then, but he points to the beer and says, "Man, I can't pray wit no devil juice in my hand!" Memphis has a moral logic all its own.
That same day we met this less-active lady who told us (almost with pride) that she had her first child at the age of 13, followed by five more before she turned 30. "I was very mature for my age," she says. Then we left her place and went to see a recent convert--a smart, pretty black woman--who has spent much of her life in prison for murder and multiple counts of gang-related assault. Her best friend sells her body for crack, and her 'fiance' lives in a drug rehab shelter for the homeless. This has got to be the weirdest, saddest, craziest place I've ever been in.
Then, just riding home around 7:30 that evening, we saw four squad cars in front of houses or pulling people over, within a distance of no more than two miles. We contacted a loud, angry, incoherently drunk man, and this other guy who thought we were cops and was obviously scared out of his mind--kept telling us what a nice job the police were doing, and how he appreciates that we keep him safe, etc. etc. Even after we gave him a card and explained that we're "from Jesus", he kept on complimenting the police force, just to be sure. It's like another planet.
Since everyone wants to talk about God with us (long as it's free), it's difficult to know whom we should really focus on. Looking for that one needle in a stack of needles. With man it would be impossible, but the Lord is showing us the people we're here for. Hope you're all well. Keep the faith!
--Elder Dolan