Dare We Go Tracting?

Kirk and I decided to jump right into the fray, swallow our apprehension, and go tracking our 2nd week on the mission. Since the Stake President asked us to concentrate our efforts in Veyo (and even transfer our records there), we chose the apartments by the Spanish Trails Store. I was pretty nervous, thinking we’d get yelled at or mashed potatoes spattered on us (like in Elder Holland’s 2014 conference talk).

Well guess what? I was right! (well not about the mashed potatoes). We parked our car across the street and walked up to the front of the apartments where a young man, and a "crusty" older man were taking a smoke break. When they noticed our missionary name tags, they didn’t even give us a chance to say anything before they lambasted us about the church, the general authorities getting rich off our tithing money, forcing our religion on others, corrupt church, corrupt governments, corrupt police officers, rude Utahns, and on and on. And to make matters scarier for me, Kirk turned to the young man and began a conversation with him, leaving me facing the more obnoxious accuser. But . . . . by the end of our visit, they became our best buddies, kept introducing us to other neighbors, and gave us suggestions on which people could use our message. It was fun! We talked with people in six different apartments and met a family who said they were interested in having their daughter baptized.

Kirk says they softened when the older man stopped as I put on my sunglasses and told me I looked like Jackie Kennedy. Hmmm . . . what do you think? I think he definitely had a few too many!!

Veyo is a little farming community about 1/2 way between our condo in St. George and our home in Pine Valley - about 20 minutes either way. It is called Volcano country, and is home to the Spanish Trails gas station (in the famous Horse Crazy movie that Kirk stars in for 20 seconds!), the famous roller rink above the Spanish Trails, lots of tractors, horses, cows, crawdads, and wild blackberries.