23 August 2021
Hello everybody! It’s been a little bit since you’ve heard from me! Last week I flew out to Omaha! I am currently serving in Lincoln, Nebraska, in an area called Holmes Lake. Unfortunately, Holmes Lake is NOT a Spanish area so I will be speaking English during my time here. My trainers are Elder Smith and Elder Eich! Yeah, I’m in a trio. But trio life is great! My first full day in the area we moved apartments… Yeah who would’ve thought the first person I would help move on my mission would be myself. We left behind our own washer and dryer… and a microwave. Sad times.
I have met some very interesting people here, to say the least. Some believe in reincarnation, some believe that some Korean dude was a second Messiah, and some of them believe that we are not children of God and that God does not love us. But I have also met the nicest people, including our friend who has a baptismal date set for 2 weeks from now.
I want to share 2 experiences from this week that stand out to me. This first one might sound silly, but it shows that our Father in Heaven truly understands us, even the little things.The new apartment did not have a microwave when we moved in. This doesn’t seem like too much of an issue until you realize that the majority of what missionaries consume is freezer food and leftovers, since we don’t have a ton of time to cook. I had already been having a hard time adjusting to being a missionary, and being hungry and not getting to eat what I want was not making that easier. Before going to bed one night, I just prayed that we would be able to find a microwave so that we would be able to eat the food we had. (Sounds really silly, I know.) But the next day, on Facebook, an ad popped up for some lady nearby that was selling a perfect microwave for $15. The timing was just perfect that we got it first, and now we can reheat our leftovers. It seems so silly but Heavenly Father knew that that’s something that would help me as I’m adjusting.
The next story is a more serious one. It’s your stereotypical missionary story. We were knocking doors of less actives, and no one had answered all night. We got to the last house. It was dark and seemed a little sketchy, so we almost didn’t knock. When we decided we wouldn’t, the Spirit nudged us to just ring the doorbell. The man who lived there came out. He was on the phone with his mom, but hung up to let us in. He seemed drunk and kept asking us how we knew to show up. He told us that he has been going through a lot in his life and that he had nothing else to turn to but alcohol. His family is all in Utah and he has no one in Nebraska. We sat with him for a while and we gave him a blessing of comfort. We’re going to go back tomorrow. Yesterday, this man’s sister got ahold of us and let us know the full situation, which is that the very moment we showed up, his parents were pleading with him to reach out to someone, to find anyone to help him. We were an answer to the prayers of this man and his family. What an amazing experience to be apart of.
I’m about out of time for today, but I hope you have all had an amazing week and have an amazing next week! Oh and shoutout to my dad: Happy 50th Birthday!
Elder Aldrich
Fotos:
1. We made this intro video for the ward, can't hurt to share it with you all.
2. First and last night in the first apartment
