I don't really feel like writing a very long email today so sorry.
Things in Paris aren't going too bad. Randy and Mishell quit smoking this week for 7 days straight. They didn't go through all of the steps we asked them too because the cinnamon mouthwash was too strong for them, but they still managed to get through it. Cross my fingers they won't relapse.
On Friday there were tornadoes all around us. I thought I sent a picture from The Bemis's ipad but I guess it didn't go through. There were quite a few tornadoes that hit some surrounding towns in our area. Not too bad of damage. I believe there was one hit in Casey and another in Chrismon. I'm surprised you guys weren't freaked out about it at all. It's funny, nobody was worried about the tornadoes around here at all. I was hoping I'd actually get to see one. I think it was a miracle or something that there were tornadoes everywhere except for the county we were in--Edgar county. Brother Bemis showed us on his ipad the weather radar (or whatever you call it) and there was green and red all around us but a white space for Paris where we are. Lord must've been protecting us or something. Pretty cool. Could you look up some of the photos of the tornado and send it to my email so I can save it?
(added by Chris)
(added by Chris)
Brent is doing pretty good this week. He didn't come to church though so we will have to push his baptism date back. We taught him the Law of Chastity at the Bemises with "Head Shoulders Knees and Toes." It's actually a really effective way to teach even 23 year old redheads with pony tails. I don't have time to explain all of the details of it, but just think about how it relates to the law of chastity and you'll probably figure it out.
Speaking of chastity, I think it is a great thing. There are so many broken families everywhere and people divorcing. We tried helping a family with their problems (well I thought we should mostly mind our business, but Elder Clark didn't), but one of the guys we tried helping got delivered his divorce papers during our visit at his house. He kept his emotions in check pretty good. Maybe it was a good thing we were there then???
Well that is pretty much all that has happened this week, except for this morning Brother Eslinger took us fishing pretty early (woke up at 4:30) and I caught 2 blue gill and a small mouth bass. I learned a thing or two. It was nice to take a break from fishing for people and fish for fish. The last 4 weeks we haven't caught a single personfish. But we do have a couple of people like Mishell and Brent who are still thinking about going for the bait!
I learned a few things while fishing today. You've got to get up early in the morning before dusk and you'll get lots of fish usually, but soon after that all of a sudden they just stop biting. Of course it depends on the season and the weather you are fishing as well. In lower air pressure fish are out longer because they can't tell if they are hungry or not and so they keep on biting. In higher pressure they don't bite as much like today was. Also fish are usually easier to catch when they can't see you as well so it's better to cast into the shade. You should also not make much noise or you will scare them away. To set the hook in the fish's mouth, you need to pull back not too late or too soon or he will get away with your worm. Also you need to have faith (act on belief) that you will catch a fish or you have no chance of catching anything or the fish will catch you depending on how big it is. So how does all of this relate to being a fisher of men (aka missionary work) ? I'm not exc
Missionary work is hard. Some days I just don't want to do it, but it's good for the most part. Like fishing, sometimes we grow impatient when we aren't catching any fish (like the last 4 transfers about), but we must not doubt and keep our lines in the water as long as possible. The longer our lines are in the water, the greater chance we will have of catching a fish. It also matters what kind of bait you use. Some fish don't like certain baits and so you can't fall in love with a single bait. People are the same way too. Certain things will catch others' attention that for others it won't. As missionaries we should try all of the tools the Lord has given us and use our intellect to think of ideas to find people. Plus, life gets BORING when you do the same thing over and over again! I'm not exactly sure how the whole low/high pressure correlates. Maybe that has to do with people's agency and the type of environment you are in. You may not be having any "luck" because people are just not prepared or have not interest. It's not necessarily your fault. That I have a hard time with, because it is easy to think that if you are catching something you must be doing something right, and if you are not you must be doing something wrong. That, I have a really hard time with. Like right now, I hope I am doing my best, but at the same time I am not really sure. But anyways, I really like how fishing can relate to missionary work a lot and I will try to reflect more on that this week.
I said I'd have a short letter, but I changed my mind I guess. Hope you all have a good week. Go get 'em! Go be a fisher of men and not a lazy potato 🍪
Elder Soutas
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