Each week, we aim to bring X number of people to church, to invite X number of people to baptism, to have X number of new investigators. Sometimes, we try our hardest, but don't meet standards. That's okay, the goals are there to help us reach higher than we would have without them, not to make us feel guilty for not reaching them. It is better to work towards a goal and to not reach it than to have no goal. We have some pretty insane goals here on the mission, but I can't complain.
There were only 4 people at church yesterday. Just the missionaries. We'll work on that and I'll get back to you.
My (partial) letter to Miles: I saw Bryce's mom yesterday. She said a lot of people drink over there (Czech Republica) and hold business meetings typically in a pub where everyone will drink. I wonder if that's true in Slovakia? When drinking is such a commonplace thing, even more so than in America, it is a hard thing to overcome. What could entice people to want more than the comfort of their pubs and social settings? Those things are hard to ask people to forsake unless there is something very much better behind another door. To get a person to see in the eternal perspective is difficult. Most of us think linearly. When's my next meal? Vacation? Class? Job interview? What's next on the agenda? Unless those things are seen as relevant and connected to each other, they are often no more than isolated events. I mean, someone could certainly have goals that go from point to point to point, but there are shadows when there is no gospel perspective. A gospel perspective brings LIGHT and clarity to someone's life. The purpose of it all.
Miles's response to my letter: That's right, you must think and ponder about something first, but that doesn't mean you'll accept it. That's why sign seekers make no sense. No, they won't believe if they see a sign. Believing in God has less to do with whether or not you believe he exists (but, of course, that's in the foundation of your belief) but the next step is to believe that His ways are better than yours. Faith is when you change your actions accordingly.
Learning the language here, I'm pretty attentive to detail. I wonder why that is. Maybe because when you taught us kids, you showed us to do it like that. For instance, regarding Scripture Mastery. We had to get it word-for-word. Music has helped with that skill as well, it's helped me to have a more discerning ear. People are telling me I'm really good (of course I'm not yet, but I have a solid foundation) and I owe it to you for that.
No comments:
Post a Comment