Success isn’t always dependent on results

Hello, As always, my week was good haha. It was probably one of our driest weeks (especially the weekend) in regards to how many people we were able to contact and get to church, but we still had some pretty good lessons and experiences. On Tuesday, we had a lesson in the morning with a woman named Sandra. She was really sweet, and we talked a lot about the Atonement of Jesus Christ and how we can overcome any trial in our lives by keeping our focus on Him and praying to God for the strength or comfort or blessings we need. After that, we had District Council for a bit, and then we went to a lesson we had with a member and her friend, Letty, but Letty never showed up lol, so we just had a good lesson with the member instead. She's also on the Ward Mission Committee, so we were able to have a good discussion about the missionary effort and how it could incorporate the ward more. Then, we had a dinner and lesson with some other members; the Spirit was super strong, and we were able to give the husband a blessing afterwards. Later, we went to the church to make some phone calls since it was dark, and we did a little experiment. We prayed, then I opened up the Book of Mormon to start reading outloud, and then Elder Schumann-Curtis would call whoever came to his mind. We did that a few times, and nearly everyone answered and was down to talk another time, which was pretty cool haha. Also, all the scriptures I read applied to exactly what we were doing haha, and it really demonstrated the power of prayer and scripture study has when we diligently and faithfully seek answers and guidance. Nothing too crazy happened on Wednesday, we mostly made phone calls or tried stopping by houses throughout the day. At one of the houses, there's this dog that is always barking at us whenever we pass by (which is a recent development, Elder Schumann-Curtis had talked to the people who live there several times before). We tried knocking on their door today, but unfortunately, the dog's leash was long enough that it was able to run up to us and lunge at us, so Elder Schumann-Curtis ended up being able to make it to the door while I had to stay back because the dog was blocking the path lol. When he tried to come pass the dog again, it lunged at his leg haha, but we were both able to make it out alive. Then, we had dinner with Justin/Jaycci, and we had a lesson with their kids about the armor of God (Ephesians 6). Later, we had a lesson with a woman named Judie (she's quite the character haha), and we had a good discussion about agency and why there is opposition in the world (see 2 Nephi 2). We also taught her a bit about who Jesus Christ is (she grew up Jewish), and when we explained to her that Jesus Christ and God are two separate beings with different roles that we worship/pray to God the Father in the name of Jesus Christ, she told us that that made a lot more sense than what she had heard about Jesus Christ (since most other Christians lump Christ and God into one essence/being). As we were sharing our testimonies towards the end, she also commented that she could "feel the faith oozing from us" haha, so we told her that was the Spirit, and as we were leaving, she told us, "I can't believe I'm saying this, but please keep in touch." Elder Schumann-Curtis has been meeting with her off and on for a while, so it was pretty nice to hear that from her. On Thursday, we had interviews with President Smith, which ended up lasting for most of our day haha. We had to catch a ride with the Morgan Hill Elders, but since one of them is a district leader, we had to be in Gilroy by 8am for the Leadedship Council they have with President, and since our interviews weren't until later in the afternoon, we had to stay at the church for several hours haha. It was really good though, we ended up talking a lot about temples/the tabernacle in Exodus and the symbolism and commonalities with each of them in the leadership meeting, and President and I had a good interview. Before I was in the room, he told me that he wanted to take a walk with me first, so most of our interview was actually outside as we were walking around. We had a good discussion, he talked about what he has admired about me, and I kept getting the implication that he was considering putting me into some kind of leadership position soon (like a trainer or simply leading my area next transfer). So if my hunch is right, then that'll be...interesting lol, I guess we'll see what happens in the next couple of weeks. My companion and I were also given a challenge from the APs to get 8 people to church in person each week, not just over zoom. After that, we took Aiden (Justin's eldest son) to Baskin Robbins so that we could finally start to actually teach him without his siblings there to distract them. He told us about his theories regarding where we come from and where we're going, and he was actually pretty close to the plan of salvation. He even said that there must be a time after we die where we're just resting/learning before we go to heaven (i.e. the Spirit World) haha. He's a pretty deep thinker like his dad, and I think once we explain the purpose of baptism, he'll be willing to do it like his parents did. After our conversation, he also bought a homeless guy a sandwich, so he's a pretty sweet kid. When we got back to our apartment, one of our neighbors (Jose; he was actually the first person I ever taught with Elder Schumann-Curtis) actually called out to us and told us he wanted us to come over on Monday, so that was pretty cool haha. Friday was the beginning of our slow weekend haha. Because of the challenge from our APs yesterday, we committed ourselves to inviting nearly everyone we met this weekend to church on Sunday. We started by making a lot of calls in the morning/early afternoon during our weekly planning, but almost none of them answered haha. We then had a lesson with Helen, and it was awesome. We talked all about the gift of the Holy Ghost and how it would bless her life by giving her comfort and guidance in all of her trials that she has, and the Spirit was super strong. We then asked her if she wanted to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost (i.e. through baptism), and she said yes without hesitation. She still wants to learn more about what it would entail before settling on a specific date, but she does want to be baptized and receive that gift. She's awesome, she's a really strong Christian despite the circumstances around her, and she's really open to learning from the Spirit. After Helen, a lot of the other lessons/contacts we had scheduled fell through and didn't work out, so that was fun haha, but we made sure to invite whoever we did meet to church on Sunday. Saturday was pretty similar to Friday. We spent a lot of time calling people and meeting people, but almost no one answered haha. We ended up ordering pizza while we were at the church, so that was nice, and we played a little bit of basketball with Aiden and his siblings, but there wasn't much gospel discussion. Even though there seemed to be very little success (my companion said it was the slowest day of his mission yet lol), we continued to stay diligent until the end of the night, so we were successful in that sense. We also had a dinner/lesson with some members, and the husband is...funny haha. He's a nice guy, and he's always willing to help us, but he always seems to find something to critique us about. At the end of our lesson, which was super powerful and spiritual, the first thing he said was "Good job Elders. Just a bit of advice: when the dinner/lesson is supposed to be 60 minutes total, don't do a 30 minute lesson" (we were maybe 10 minutes over the "time limit" lol). Totally took the Spirit away, and my companion had to contain his frustration haha. We thought the whole day was pretty comical when we were reviewing it later that evening haha. Sunday was also pretty comical haha. We had 0 people show up to church in person, and there were only a few who watched on zoom. Of course the week we try our hardest to get people to church is the week when no one comes 😂 We also had a few lessons scheduled that afternoon, but of course, they all fell through and had to cancel lol. It was still good though, we were laughing at the whole situation. We gave someone a blessing after church, and we stopped by Jaycci's since they couldn't make it to church, so we had our own testimony meeting with them haha. We also tried stopping by Eduardo, but he wasn't there. We've been trying to contact him all week (calls, texts, in person, all of it), but we haven't gotten any response so...that's fun, hopefully we'll be able to see him soon haha. We did have a dinner/lesson with the bishop and his wife, so that went well, and it was good meal to end our fast with lol. Like the title of this email says, our success doesn't always mean we get the exact results that we wanted. It reminds me of what President Nelson has taught: "The joy we feel has little to do with the circumstances of our lives and everything to do with the focus of our lives." I could've easily focused on the "lack of success" we had this week in regards to who we were asked to teach and how many people actually came to church, but my companion and I make sure to always keep our focus on the Lord and our own diligence in serving Him. Even if others don't exercise their agency, their free will, in a way that we would like or expect, we can have peace and joy in our lives when we keep our focus on Christ and we make sure that we have done all we can to help someone else. Because of that, even during the slow/dry weeks, my companion and I always strive to work as hard as we can so that we're satisfied with out work, and this can apply to any goal you're trying to accomplish. This world is imperfect and anything can happen in our lives, but we can have joy and peace and satisfaction whenever we keep our focus on Jesus Christ and strive to do and be our best each and everyday. With that said, I hope everything is going well and that you all can continue to become better people each day and always find the joy/miracles present in each day, no matter the circumstances around you. See you next week, Elder Enger