Time has once again slipped by and it's September. I remember just arriving to Kentucky and it was the end of July. Now August has gone and September has arrived. I have about 5 more days here in Kentucky until I leave to go Brazil. It's unbelievable that my VISA has come and unbelievable as well that I will no longer be serving with the other missionaries, church members, and natives of Paintsville/ the USA. I don't think I fully understand how much I will miss this place until I actually do go.
This week in a nutshell was productive. I use the word productive because Elder Kelly and I have been meeting quite a lot of new people. The thesis of this email would mainly show the importance of being a friend and how blessed it is to be one and have one. I don't know if I've touched on this subject before but if i have please forgive me in advance.
Being a missionary, you talk to a lot of people. I can honestly say that I have met people from every part of the spectrum of personalities. A few things that I've learned from the 8 months I've been out is the importance of listening and showing interest. People often want just someone to talk to, someone to listen. We often see poor, humble people in humble homes and circumstances. Often people just pass them by but we take time just to sit and listen. I don't say talk because they just want to be heard. We hear them. It reminds me of Christ, no in no way's am i comparing myself to him, but I try to live like he did. When Christ was teaching and helping he didn't go to the rich or the people with no problems he went to the people who were in humble homes and circumstances. He listened to them then he blessed them. What an impact we can have if we just listen.
I invite everyone to to find someone to "listen to" someone who has problems, or is elderly, or even a parent. They always want to hear about us but hey! have we ever wondered how they were.
God bless whoever reads this message and let people know it's great to be a listener.
Sincerely,
Elder Kochenderfer
This week in a nutshell was productive. I use the word productive because Elder Kelly and I have been meeting quite a lot of new people. The thesis of this email would mainly show the importance of being a friend and how blessed it is to be one and have one. I don't know if I've touched on this subject before but if i have please forgive me in advance.
Being a missionary, you talk to a lot of people. I can honestly say that I have met people from every part of the spectrum of personalities. A few things that I've learned from the 8 months I've been out is the importance of listening and showing interest. People often want just someone to talk to, someone to listen. We often see poor, humble people in humble homes and circumstances. Often people just pass them by but we take time just to sit and listen. I don't say talk because they just want to be heard. We hear them. It reminds me of Christ, no in no way's am i comparing myself to him, but I try to live like he did. When Christ was teaching and helping he didn't go to the rich or the people with no problems he went to the people who were in humble homes and circumstances. He listened to them then he blessed them. What an impact we can have if we just listen.
I invite everyone to to find someone to "listen to" someone who has problems, or is elderly, or even a parent. They always want to hear about us but hey! have we ever wondered how they were.
God bless whoever reads this message and let people know it's great to be a listener.
Sincerely,
Elder Kochenderfer