Hey guys,
I thought I
would answer a few of your questions first. As far as the monuments go,
apparently it's a pretty common tradition by the missionaries here and so my
companion Elder Stubbs said it was something worth doing even if we had to wake
up at four and bike to the monuments before five thirty. As you can see the
pictures we really spectacular and even more so on the camera because I've
managed to play around with it and have pulled off some awesome clear pictures
I even got compliments from the other elders I live with, so I assume they Re
pretty good.
As far as
the bed bug problem goes, we haven't had any trouble with them this week as far
as we know, so keep our fingers crossed, or maybe they aren't hungry, fun
horrible fact, bed bugs can live up to eighteen months without food (blood).
But I'll inform you on the run down in upcoming weeks, but Nothing I'm too
worried about and nothing you should be to worried about.
This week we
pulled off some pretty good numbers, we talked to eighty people, gave away
seventeen Book of Mormon's, and now have four more investigators making
thirteen for us, but it's pretty pathetic when you can't even get one to commit
to baptism. The hardest part that we struggle with is commitment first off, but
second, most of these people were born and raised Catholic, which means they
have already been baptized or so they say. And so it is really hard to convince
them otherwise, the only way would to compare and share about the baptism of
Christ and how it compares to the Catholic Church's way of baptism.
Of by the
way mom and dad there is a really good book I am reading for personal study and
it is really good, I encourage you buy and read it (it's on LDS library). I
can' remember the name of it so I will email it too you in another email.
I probably
shouldn't be telling you this, but why not it makes for a good story. First off
I want to thank all of you for your prayers, because I know for a fact that God
and angels are watching over me.
The other
day I got in a bike accident, and a pretty bad one at that.
My companion
and I were heading down Georgia towards the chapel for a meeting with the
Branch Presidency, well on our way we were stuck behind a bus for a ways and
you know how clean of air those things let off. So there were four lanes of
traffic two going one way and another two going the other. So going down
Georgia we are stuck behind this huge double bus on the inside lane. Well all
the traffic on the outside lane had gone by and there was nothing to be seen
and since the bus had stayed in the same lane for the last five minutes I
thought this was a good time to pass the stupid bus...wrong!!! I switched onto
the outside lane and about halfway up the bus the stupid driver obviously
doesn't signal or check his mirrors, because he starts cutting me off and
pushing me into oncoming traffics. So here I am left with three options stay
where I'm at and get hit by on coming traffic, try to slow down and get nailed
by the back of the bus and get run over, or three attempt the crazy and pass
the bus before I get hit by on coming traffic. So I took the third option and I
made it past the bus and crossed over safely, or so I thought. My death was
just delayed because as soon as I crossed over past the bus there was a truck
and a ramp (the kind used for hauling cars) with side bars on the ramp. In a
unfortunate attempt to dodge and weave I was launched up over the ramp a little
over six feet in the air, over the man of the truck, then over my bike in front
of a moving bus to land on my back and then to tuck and roll. I got up less
then a second later only to find the same stink'n bus about three feet from my
head. I pulled myself together to find nothing on me black, broken, scraped, bruised
or anything. It is quite comical writing about this now, but I'm not done; the
best part about it all other than having a good story and a miracle in my life
was the fact that when I picked myself up, there was a guy on the street who
witnessed it all who shouts "Jesus does it again" "How do these
people not believe in Jesus I saw for myself he pick you up and swooped you
down" it could be very possible, all I saw was my life pass before me, it
resembles a very bright white light. Yes, I was in shock for the next while
after, but thanks to the power of prayer I'm alright. A little while later I
was talking to my companion about it all, who was behind me and he said it was
a real miracle because he thought I died, he was like you could have died
multiple ways and you didn't. The only thing bad that came out of this was a
sore wrist, may have tweaked my back a little bit, not much though, and my back
tire rim kind of got bent out of shape, literally. So that was another
adventure of the week to go and buy an new rim and fix my bike, but very much
worth it in comparison to my life.
What I
learned from this experience was the great importance of prayer and obedience.
Nothing may have broke physically, but my pride did, this was a real humbling
experience that testifying that God is watching over all. From what I endured
in that five second time frame I should be dead or very much hurt. I have no
idea how I picked myself up within a second of final impact. I literally did a
waterski fall where you totally eat it except the difference is I wasn't
landing on water, but rather asphalt. It truly was a miracle in my life and
something I will look back in remembrance that God has a plan for all and he
will watch over us in times of need as long as we ask, and then live worthy to
receive. I thought about it a little and I came to this conclusion of why would God want to help us when we
aren't willing to obey him, it's like asking for money when you aren't willing
to work for it, you just demand it.
So I thank
all of you for your prayers, know that they do mean a lot, and I pray for you
guys daily. Take care and enjoy the week.
Love,
Ethan
(A little
further explanation that he sent in a subsequent email).
So what
happened was I passed the bus and I thought I was in the clear and I would have
been had there not been a truck in the middle of the road and it had a ramp
trailer, the kind a car could been placed on and towed. So it had bars/rails on
the side so nothing would slide off, so I tried to dodge the ramp, but would
have hit the bus and so I went up the ramp on an angle hit the side and flew
off my bike in front of the bus along with my bike and then I made friends with
the asphalt.
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