Week 3 in Big Spring.........

This is Elder Backus with President and Sister Augustin.

So Im not going to lie, this past week was pretty rough, haha easily the hardest one on the mish. I mean I have missed everybody back home since I left, but this week it was just amplified, and I got really homesick!  It kind of really stunk, but really you just have to learn how to overcome it all. I was reading one of Elder Bednar's talks which talked about the enabling power of the Atonement. We sometimes tend to think of the Atonement only for sinners, but the truth is that the Atonement is for all of us, to strengthen us. Its not only for repentance, its also for growth. That talk really was a "mission changer" for me. After I read it I got feeling a little bit better and started to try and work even harder. We had a good couple of days to end the week! We were walking down a street in a rougher neighborhood when we saw some mexican guys throwing a football around. My companion was a little apprehensive, but I told him to follow my lead. I talked with them and asked them if we could play a game. If me and my companion won, then they would have to let us talk with them for 5 minutes. If we lost, then we would leave them be and never bother them again. Haha well they took up the offer, they thought a couple of white boys like us couldn't play...haha they called me Justin Bieber...hey. Haha well my companion and I beat them pretty easily, I just threw it high and my companion would grab it, he is about 6 foot 7. Haha they were shocked, they kept asking "do they teach you football in your church?" Hahaha so afterwards we got to talk with them about the church. We answered all their questions, and our 5 minutes turned into about 45. One of them was Joe, who recently got out of prison for selling dope. He has 6 kids and no job, and really didnt believe that God even cared. I really didnt know how to answer his doubt, but we just shared our testimonies about our Heavenly Father, and somehow, someway, (the Spirit actually) Joe seemed to really understand. We left them all with our information, told them to keep practicing their football skills, and scheduled return appointments with them. One thing that I definitely have learned here is that the Gospel is for everybody. Many people would consider Big Spring a "hopeless town" There is a lot of crime here, and most people are very poor. I was terrified to talk with anybody here really. But once you share your testimony of the truth, they always listen, and they ALWAYS, even in the smallest degree, feel something. The gospel is pretty awesome haha.

I will be skyping you guys at around 4:15 on wednesday, I cant wait!! I will tell you all a lot more about the people i am teaching and such, but I really just want to hear from you guys. I love you all so much, have a great couple days, and I will see you on wednesday!

Love, Elder Backus