A bad evening gone good

Tonight we had an appointment to teach the second discussion to Lagery, our young man who showed up at Church two Sundays ago. But when we called him to tell him we were on our way to meet him, he said he wouldn't be able to meet with us tonight, and that he would call us back in a few days. That sounded pretty much like he was no longer interested. We were "devastated", as Elder Holland described how a missionary should feel whose message is rejected. It was probably the worst few minutes we've had on this mission. But as long as we were already headed for Falmouth, we decided to drop by the Fraziers and see if Sis. Frazier could tell us where some of the less-actives live who are on our list to visit. We had the most amazing experience there. Brother Frazier actively participated in our visit, telling us who the people were on the list and where they live and why they don't come to Church, etc. He and Sis. Frazier were acting very cute and happy. Then Brother Frazier, the man who is so quiet and shy and hard to read, brought out his wedding photo album for us to look at. We feel he has finally accepted our friendship, and we have made some significant inroads into his heart. A man who isn't interested in the Church or its missionaries wouldn't act the way he acted tonight. It was the encouragement we needed. We are elated.
After the Frazier visit, we had an appointment to meet with Sis. Stubbs, another less-active sister who actually came out to Conference yesterday. We wanted to get to know her better, so we asked her then if we could come to her home today. She agreed, so we went, planning to read with her 3 Nephi 17, because we know that the Book of Mormon converts/reactivates better than anything else we could do. When we finally found her house (small, two rooms with the beds in the living room, no electricity, wooden, no road or even good path to the door which you have to climb up cinder blocks to enter) we had the nicest visit in the dark with only a kerosene lantern for light. We couldn't read, and Dad went back down to the car to get a flashlight so we could find our way back when the visit was over. As we visited, a man named George Williams popped his head in the door, was invited in, and became part of the visit, ending with him asking Dad if he could go with Dad 'ministering' . Although Dad had to tell him no, that it was against mission rules to have others ride in our car, he then asked if he could be present next time we came to visit Sis. Stubbs. We all readily agreed. It was a delightful visit, and Sis. Stubbs has a 5 yr-old son and a 5 yr-old granddaughter living with her, so I had fun visiting with them. Dad tried to take pictures of them, but we couldn't figure out how to take a picture in the dark. Next time we visit, it will be daylight, and we can read and take pictures both.
All in all, the evening turned out better than we thought it would. We are now home, planning our day tomorrow, printing out some of the Conference talks for the less-actives. And we will continue to call Lagery to see if we can see him again. Life is good!