June 2, 2015
Dear family and friends,
Lots of things happened this week, but most of all our minister friend challenged my testimony so that was a bummer, but my companion supported me and his testimony was nice and short which was a very bold move on his part, but we haven't been back. In testimony meeting, we had a random ghetto man come, that I contacted a few weeks ago with Elder Anderson, and so maybe we will go teach him.
I ate lots and lots of food which was bad, but it was super delicious.
Also, Tanya is this awesome member and she takes care of us and lets us vent when we are sad and does good things for us almost constantly.
Not much exciting happened this week and I'm sorry to report...love y'all.
Elder Joshua Rush
June 10, 2015
Josh's District before the reorganization
Dear Friends and Family,
If you ever decide that things are too hard, or too easy, remember that life isn't always pleasing. This week was my birthday, and it was as good as it could have been. In a simple and nice way, Tanya and the sisters got together and got me some nice cakes and made a party out of it, and we had a lot of good food. They all made pictures and cards and letters and things telling me nice things and wishing me a good birthday, its almost like I am home. It felt so sweet. Well really that is enough about my personal events.
In recent news, they closed our area to sisters, so it's just us now, and we have all their work and ours now. Challenges around every corner it seems. It's often us, and it's often just us and the Lord. We get backed into a corner and there isn't any other way out but forward, so you just run through whatever it is that has backed you down, and hopefully you can make it. It all has to do with our faith. I had an experience where I wanted to stop tracting a bit early because we had an appointment soon, but we decided randomly another door, and like the Lord always does in these tracting stories, we got in the home and we are teaching them again on Saturday. They are related to some members in Hammond ward and some hard times have hit them recently, Cancer and Depression and that sort, so it looks like we came to them at the right time. I hope they will flourish and continue with us.
How many marshmallows do you think that is?
Our Minister investigator continues to tell us that he is already a saved soul and that we need to go to the rest of the ghetto, especially among the youth, so we can save them. Still hasn't gotten to church, he doesn't have a ride and we have limited resources (including the resource of him trusting people we trust to give him a ride) So its a bit of a standstill as of late. We picked up the sisters investigators and the less-actives that they worked with and one of the investigators is ready to be baptized but she wants to walk when it happens, so we just need more faith that her walking will come back faster. Another one picked up from the sisters, is a women who doesn't seem to want to meet with us but surely when she meets us she will think different!!
It's hot and hard to tract for hours a day to find, and to suffer through some of the things people say, but it's not for me to say that things are hard, because pain is a mortal thing that we can only have a mortal tolerance for, nothing compares to the Saviour's true pain that he experienced in that sacred Garden. He truly "trod the winepress alone." As his disciples, we must experience some of what he has gone through just as Peter and Paul of old did.
That all sounds dark and dreary, but really, all of it gives me joy, at least not for the moments, but later. The blessings far outweigh the pain. Love you all and miss you all, thank you so much for the birthday wishes.
Love
Elder Joshua Dean Rush
