Salt Lake City - Day 2

So far, this trip has been so eye-opening into the culture of both Salt Lake City and Provo/Orem, Utah. Before coming to Utah, I had never been in a culture where the majority of people are not Christians. Being surrounded by the Church of Latter Day Saints and those who identify as Mormon has broken my heart in more ways than I anticipated.



I wasn’t prepared for what we saw during the tour of the Mormon Temple on our first day in Salt Lake. However, later that night with the Thompsons, experiencing fellowship, and learning more about their ministry here was refreshing and encouraging after such a discouraging afternoon. We prepared afterwards for the next day, but the next morning our plans changed. 

We ended up praying and walking through three separate neighborhoods for three hours. While on our prayer walk I felt a strong sense of peace and encouragement knowing that as we prayed for hearts and ears to be opened to the Truth, God was at work. Even though at that moment we didn’t see the fruits of our prayers, I remembered that God works through prayer. I cannot wait to see what comes to follow as Zach Thompson and Timothy O'Day go back to those neighborhoods to continue God's work.

Sunday evening was a very inspiring and encouraging time as Timothy gave details of the demographics of the area. He also continued to give us advice and training on how they share the Gospel with various people in this area.



Monday morning was a very heartbreaking time as we drove through the county seeing the various Latter Day Saints wards and churches and saw how predominant the religion is here. We then went up to a lookout overseeing the entire county allowing me to realize the size and the lostness here.

That evening we finally got a chance to go door to door to offer prayer and cookies to a local neighborhood. At first, we hit several unopened doors and people who just kept their prayers very generalized. As we continued, several of us were able to engage with people who identify as LDS or Mormon and got the opportunity to learn and talk with them.

Personally, Cody Finch and I were able to engage with a newlywed couple and hear their thoughts and beliefs while always bringing the discussion back to Truth and the Gospel. During this unexpected conversation, the spiritual war was very real and evident. As Cody and the husband carried the conversation, I sat there going back and forth feeling this burden and tension anytime the husband was promoting Mormonism. As we were leaving, the couple was very open to continuing discussion about their faith with Zach and Timothy. While debriefing, it was apparent that the interaction was something only God could have ordained.



As a Christian, it was extremely encouraging and thrilling knowing that even just one seed of truth was planted in this couples' life. I look forward to hearing what all God is doing here as the Thompsons and O'Da's continue to obey and follow God’s will by sharing the Gospel.