When the Smoke Clears

This week was... nah it is just too impossible to use one word to describe in an entire week of ups and downs. Overall we some amazing big steps being taken. Our main focus at this point in time is Wayne.
     He has been taught everything, come to church multiple times and has read the Book of Mormon more then most preparing missionaries. He is awesome. This past tuesday we did what we call the stop smoking workshop. Our mission has a specific 15 step program that we teach to help smokers quit. As we began talking with him, his wife Sarah came and began to listen in. She typically would say hello and then go back upstairs. Turns out that she wants to quit smoking too! We taught it and committed them and shared a short lesson. It was so great. I cannot believe a one hour lesson like that can just wipe away any negative experiences that week. We visited the next day to see how it was all going. Sarah had gone and bought all the supplies she needed, while Wayne still hadn't. They are both doing okay quitting, but it is really going to be a long battle. In the long run I know it will all be worth it. We started teaching Sarah too and she came to church yesterday, has begun reading the Book of Mormon and even watched Waynes Restoration DVD. I am sure she will follow in the footsteps or even possibly lead out in being baptized with Wayne.
 
       There were definitely some long difficult days this week too. Two lessons with die hard baptists. They not so graciously attempted to correct our misguided ways. The benefit of having those lessons, is actually experiencing opposition in all things. It is such an empty feeling when the Spirit isn't in a conversation about the gospel. I also did two baptismal interviews this week for some other Elders in our district. One was with a 10 year old ADHD kid, and it was amazingly funny. I couldn't contain my laughter as he displayed his excitement! If only everyone had that kind of desire and enthusiasm to literally run from room to room jumping up and down exclaiming how excited he was to be baptized! I also had a second interview with someone who was supposed to be baptized a few months back, but their spouse tragically died just 2 hours before the actual ordinance. That was entirely different kind of excitement. Wayne was able to attend that baptism and could really feel the peace there.
 
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We visited Debbie and her husband to drop off a Bible and Book of Mormon for them. It was a nice visit and we invited her husband to church again. And he came! And he stayed all 3 hours! We were pretty amped about it all. Thats about it from me. I sure love ya. Elder Dumke
 
This is Elder Brown from East High.