Elder Calvin B. Smith email 10/19/09

Dear Family,
Here is the news, it is an excerpt from my journal.

Excerpt from this last Sunday (beginning writen before church). "Its starting to get pretty cold here in Greenwood. It was about 50 degrees and raining outside yesturday around 1:00 pm. We finally had to turn on our heater. It has rained most of this wee, that was no fun at all. We met a cool family this week. They seemed very interested and it looks like they will come to church today. I don't know if I wrote this don't yet already, but I am staying in Greenwood for another 6 weeks, that will take me to 4.5 months in Greenwood. This last week has been pretty dissappointing - concerning two of our previously most promising investigators. We had our weekly planning session Monday morning. We spent much of our time talking about how to best help three of our investigators and had a great church tour planned with one of them. We prayed for inspiration and spent a lot of time planning for these people. After the planning session we excitely marched out the door and rode off on our bicycles in the rain to go see one of the investigators we had been planning for. We knocked on her door and the first thing she said was "I can't come." We asked, "Can't come where?" She explained that her boyfriend would not let her come to church for complex reasons. She tried to explain a little bit and we offered our help, but she said "no", she couldn't come. We asked if she would like to continue talking to us, talking the lessons and she said no to that as well. The awesome church tour we had planned for another investigator didn't work out, the investigator just never showed up, didn't call, and was unable to answer our calls. She later called and apologized and explained, after we tried to set up a return appointment, that she just wasn't ready for something like this, a change in churches, right now. Our third and last
most promising investigator we had at the beginning of the week read and prayed about the Book of Mormon and said that God had touched her heart, she had a vision, and the answer was "No", the church was not right for her.

We knew that people were not showing upt to a lot of appointments we were making with them, so one day we decided to keep track of how many appointments were actually working out. Over the course of three days 16 out of 16 appointments straight bailed out on us or were not present when we rode out there. I wish people were just more straight forward, and honest.

Well, I am in sacrement meeting now (in my journal). Before church, Elder Wall and another Elder went to all 5 of our people that were supposed to come to church. No one answered the doors, and no one answered the phone, none of our people came to church.

I am comforted, however, knowing that I have helped people this week, we visited a few less actives and recent converts. We were able to get a less active recent convert to church. I just wish we were able to get our investigators to church." (End journal entry)

I thought I might also share with you my weekly numbers. Hopefully they mean something do you. If you need explaination for any of the numbers I share, please let me know.

Investigators with a baptismal date: 5
Investigators who attend sacrament meeting: 1 (not an investigator but we
have been instructed to count him because he is a nonmember.)
Lessons taught to investigators with a member present: 0
other lessons taught : 19
Progressing investigators: 1
new investigators: 16
lessons taught to recent converts and less active members: 2
leads: 23
Contacts: 216

Well, I hope you are all doing well!

Love,
Elder Calvin B. Smith