Dear Family, Friends, and anybody who I don't know (who somehow got roped into reading this email),
This week has been crazy! We had a crazy storm on Wednesday, and there was a tornado, but it didn't touch down where I was. So I'm doing okay! There were a lot of sad good-byes in Mountain View, but I'm grateful for the opportunity I had to serve there!
Jenks is pretty cool. Most of our area is the ghetto part of downtown Tulsa. So we see drug exchanges daily and crazy people constantly! The missionaries have been mugged here and their car has been broken into. So please pray for my safety! :)
I spent a long time in a car on Thursday, driving to Mt Vernon and then driving back to Tulsa.
Friday, I got to meet an ex-demonist and he tried to pull a prank on me. Nobody told me his back-story or that he was a little weird. They mostly said that I would have to meet him to understand.
So, his wife opened the door and it was pitch-black inside. We went in and saw that he had set up an altar in the middle of the living room. There was a platter of chicken livers, and he was kneeling at the altar. He had longer hanging over his face, so I couldn't see it. He turned and said, in a deep gravelly voice, "Greetings from the fourth moon of Jupiter. Let the sacrifice begin!" He dipped his hand in the platter of chicken and then held it out to us.
I figured this was a prank and they were trying to scare me. So I took his hand and shook it, saying, "Hi! My name is Elder Hegsted!"
He looked at me funny and froze for a moment, unsure of what I was doing. He screamed, "This one is unworthy!" Ripped his shirt apart and jumped on me. I'm a lot bigger than this guy, so I just caught him and kinda held him in a bear hug. I laughed and set him down. He flipped on the light and we had a good laugh about it. He said that he had done that to the previous Elder and he had scared him half to death! He asked if I had been a little scared, but I told him no. It had felt like a joke from the very beginning. The atmosphere in the house didn't feel like I had anything to be afraid of. So I wasn't!
He's not a demonist anymore, and he sincerely wants to change his lifestyle. I know we will go far with him.
I love you all! Have a grrrreat week!
~Elder Hegsted
This week has been crazy! We had a crazy storm on Wednesday, and there was a tornado, but it didn't touch down where I was. So I'm doing okay! There were a lot of sad good-byes in Mountain View, but I'm grateful for the opportunity I had to serve there!
Jenks is pretty cool. Most of our area is the ghetto part of downtown Tulsa. So we see drug exchanges daily and crazy people constantly! The missionaries have been mugged here and their car has been broken into. So please pray for my safety! :)
I spent a long time in a car on Thursday, driving to Mt Vernon and then driving back to Tulsa.
Friday, I got to meet an ex-demonist and he tried to pull a prank on me. Nobody told me his back-story or that he was a little weird. They mostly said that I would have to meet him to understand.
So, his wife opened the door and it was pitch-black inside. We went in and saw that he had set up an altar in the middle of the living room. There was a platter of chicken livers, and he was kneeling at the altar. He had longer hanging over his face, so I couldn't see it. He turned and said, in a deep gravelly voice, "Greetings from the fourth moon of Jupiter. Let the sacrifice begin!" He dipped his hand in the platter of chicken and then held it out to us.
I figured this was a prank and they were trying to scare me. So I took his hand and shook it, saying, "Hi! My name is Elder Hegsted!"
He looked at me funny and froze for a moment, unsure of what I was doing. He screamed, "This one is unworthy!" Ripped his shirt apart and jumped on me. I'm a lot bigger than this guy, so I just caught him and kinda held him in a bear hug. I laughed and set him down. He flipped on the light and we had a good laugh about it. He said that he had done that to the previous Elder and he had scared him half to death! He asked if I had been a little scared, but I told him no. It had felt like a joke from the very beginning. The atmosphere in the house didn't feel like I had anything to be afraid of. So I wasn't!
He's not a demonist anymore, and he sincerely wants to change his lifestyle. I know we will go far with him.
I love you all! Have a grrrreat week!
~Elder Hegsted