#23 逃離 táolí (escape)

(Insert clever intro here)

Well another week has blown by and I can hardly stop to breathe before the next one comes. This really is flying for those who were wondering. Tuesday I woke up, grabbed my bags, and drove for the next 2 or 3 hours up the central coast. Stopping in Oxnard, Santa Barbara, and Santa Maria to drop off missionaries, and unload luggage. It was a lot of fun to see some of my old missionary friends again and it has been awesome to be back in the SLO zone! This place is awesome. 

We have 16 missionaries in total and they are all a party. It's been funny to talk with the Elders in Templeton about the area and the people and such. ( some will remember that I spent 6 months in that wonderful area) so it's been cool to see.

Now as for the title we have had a few escapes this week, but don't be too worried. The first escape was the escape of a tortoise of someone we are teaching. The tortoise was in their front yard and when we left we forgot to latch the gate. About 5 or 6 hours later we got a call from the person being taught and reported that the tortoise was missing... that was awkward... luckily they called back about 5 minutes later to tell us it had been found. So that was fun. 

The second escape happened when we were out driving and we saw an elderly woman pushing a wheelchair with all her belongings on it. We thought we saw something fall off we parked and grabbed it for her. Long story short it wasn't hers, and we would spend the next 30 minutes helping this lady to her bus station. As we were talking with her we noticed she was wearing a hospital wristband... that was a little weird. Then later in the conversation she said "I call this the great escape"... me and Elder Mundt both looked at each other like: "did you hear that too"? So we may or may not have helped someone escape a mental ward. Who knows, if the cops show up we will know.

Alright now let's get all spiritual and stuff. Something I have observed this week is the importance of acting in the Gospel. We have a looooot of people we are teaching and we realized that frankly only a handful of them are actually progressing. The more we talked with the people we teach the more I noticed the difference. Those that were growing and progressing were keeping commitments, they are reading, they are praying, they are coming to church. They are taking action outside of what we teach them. While those that aren't progressing have not been: Reading, praying, or coming to church. Simply put, the gospel is a law of effort. It requires action and growth. As missionaries we meet too many people who just want us to teach them and then they will be converted. With no desire to actually grow. The are stuck on cruise control so to speak. They want to get places and they want to go. so they come to us, we fill their spiritual gas tank. And then they sit in the parking lot, or set cruise control to 25 mph on the freeway. 

The gasoline of the Gospel is meant to take us further than we ever thought we could go. It is made so we can become new creatures, and achieve unimaginable glory. Do not underestimate the power of the Gospel in your life, do not simply cruise along the covenant path satisfied with the current view. Gas it to the end, and see what God can do with you.

Anyway, that was a lot. Thank you all for your prayers and support. Here are some pictures to reward you

1. The SLO District!

2. Pismo Beach at sunset