Dear Mom, Dad, Lauren, and Ian,
I'll talk more about the title of this letter later, but
worry not! I, fortunately was not a victim of Bible bashing, nor did I
participate in it. Because, de la verdad,
honestly, it's really dumb. But anyway, I have a lot to tell about the week!
And about what I missed to tell last week.
So like I said, last week, I've been transferred out of
the lovely Punta Cana to go into the capital, Santo Domingo. Well, just outside
of the capital. Really, just outside of the city is a LOT of rain forest with
buildings in between. I personally am not a huge fan of big cities. Too much
noise and too little space for me. But in my area, called Los Tres Brazos, it
looks like those poor villages in Brazil like you see in the movies. There's
just enough space for me to feel comfortable. ^_^ I'm also training another missionary now!
In terms of a missionary, I have a son! And like my trainer, or my papa, he's
from Guatemala. His name is Elder Herrera. He's a really good missionary, very
well prepared. But I'll help him as much as I can these next 3 months.
So, Easter for me was pretty similar to Christmas; nobody
is very enthusiastic about it, but it's a pretty cool excuse to drink. Well,
maybe a little more so than Christmas. People like to go to the beaches for
Easter, or as they call it here, Semana Santa so the majority of the people are
gone. But the people that stick around drink all day for the whole weekend. The
AP's called and told us that for the weekend we had to be back at the house for
safety. But at least our downstairs neighbors fed us. They're so awesome!!! We
ate a dish with rice and a fish called Bacalao, it's a dried salted fish. Does
that sound familiar? They aren't members, but they know all about missionaries
because, one, they’ve had missionaries as neighbors for years, and two, one day
an Elder left his mission manual at their house and they all read it. So they
know all our rules! lol! They are Catholic, but the youngest son is working on
getting baptized! He came to church with us yesterday.
But yes, everything is going pretty well so far. ^_^ Now,
I'm going to talk about why it's silly to bible bash. It started when I went to
a service project with the Zone. I was talking with some missionaries from my
zone and sharing stories. Two missionaries went back and forth about how they
met people that constantly fought with them about the bible, and all the
scriptures they used to prove the person wrong and the missionary right. But
they said something interesting. They said that even though they had all the
right scriptures, the people still continued to fight with them. Now don't get
me wrong, I have respect for these Elders and their knowledge of the Bible; it's
something all Elders should have. But we should be careful about how we use
that knowledge of the scriptures. We use our knowledge to teach, not to
contend. Jesus Christ never contended with anybody during his ministry, even
with the Pharisees who always tried to confuse and contend with Him, with no
success I might add. As His representatives, we missionaries should be no
different. Besides, Bible bashing is a waste of our short and precious time.
There are three main kinds of people you meet as a missionary; those who want
to learn, those who don't, and those who want to contend. Those who want to
contend couldn't care less about what we have to say to them, even if it is the
truth. They simply don't care. You can use all the right scriptures to answer
all their confusing questions, but what you say goes in one ear and out the
other. All they want to do is confuse you and fight with you. I personally have
no intention to entertain these kind of people. I'll spend the little time I
have to talk with people who will sincerely benefit from what I have to say.
Sorry! That's much louder than how I usually sound! I'm
just pretty serious about this subject. :P But anyway, that's about all I have
for this week. I'll write more of my awesome adventures this next Monday! Happy
Easter Guys! Love you!
-Elder Froude
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