Wednesday, September 18, 2024

Wednesday, September 18, 2024

• Discouragement setting in
• Battling the bats in the attic at church
• Missionary Correlation meeting
• Gospel Literacy meeting

Today was a funky day. I have been somewhat discouraged about my calling. I don't seem to be making any headway in anything. It is frustrating. We have 4 or 5 and maybe even 6 people in the branch that need assistance and will most likely need it the rest of their life. I have met with them and we have done a budget, but I feel that we never really get to the root of the problem and they don't like discussing their finances with me. They just want me to pay the bills. I have been pushing back a bit and they are complaining, not to me, but to other people. The funny thing is that I have not hardly cut anyone off, we have just talked about a plan and they don't like it. I keep telling Tina, what I need to do is just pay the money and we will be out of here in a year  and it will be someone else's problem, but I just can't make my self feel good about that. Then sometimes I say, I just going to cut everyone off and they will have to figure it out. Then I don't feel good about that. It is making for a miserable mission. I just wanted to help people better their lives spiritually and bring them to Christ, but all I am doing is battling members about their finances. It is frustrating. 

The past few days I have just felt like I am not helping anyone and I have had a hard time getting motivated. If we decided to serve another mission, I will specifically not that I do not want to go somewhere where they need a branch president.

We were home working on a few things this morning and then I told Tina that I got to get out of here. I had got a call that there was a package at FedEx to be picked up so I went down to get it. It was next year "Come Follow Me" manuals for the Vieux Fort branch. I took them to the church and checked the attic for bats. There were at least two up there. I read where they said Peppermint would drive them away as they don't like the smell. So I went and got some peppermint oil and cotton balls and soaked them in the oil and threw up there. We'll see if it works or it is just a gimmick. 

We called some people to come visit but no one answered. I think they are all afraid to let me come over because they think I might want to do a budget with them. 

This evening we went to the church to have a missionary correlation meeting with all the missionaries and Matthew. The meeting went ok, but not one note was taken, other than by me so I don't know how there can be any follow up on anything at the next meeting. Anyway we haven't been having the meeting at all, so at least they are trying.

Following that meeting we met with Sister Caren Kennedy about gospel literacy. Tina had started the meeting because our meeting ran long. We discussed who we could get as another teacher and what day to hold it on. We might do it on Sunday. Class space is a problem, but we came up with a plan and hopefully it will work out. 

One of our newest members Lyris Davis selling water along the road in from of the Castries market