Hello family!!
Thanks for
all of the wonderful emails!! Wow, my inbox was full and was a nice
surprise!! It made me happy...that probably could also be cause I
haven't gotten a letter in a while...hint hint! :p Sounds like the ward
party and ambulance party went well!! Great job!! So...almond roca
huh.... :) Sorry that it's
so cold and snowy there. Stay warm!! This may be a shorter
email..sorry!
So, this week went by super fast because we were so busy that we
were running around everywhere!! We had exchanges and I went down to
Buckhannon, WV and it was really good! We had some awesome experiences
and we both learned a lot on that exchange! Since I'm an STL I need to
give advice to my sisters if they are struggling and help them out and
be an example for them. Hopefully I'm not messing them up too much! ha I
don't feel like that much of a leader because there are so many
wonderful sisters that could be an STL, so it's just humbling to know
that the Lord needed me in this position and that He trusts me doing
this work! :)
On,
wednesday
we were in an apartment complex before we exchanged back, talking to a
lot of different people and this family let us in. It was interesting
because the woman was interested and super nice, but was quiet because
the husband was doing all of the talking. He kept throwing out all of
these questions that I hadn't heard before (combining some polygamy
stuff in with it and stuff), but it was a really cool experience because
the Lord was with us. We were able to just bear our testimonies and he
really liked what we said and that we were really great. It's just an
awesome thing to have the Lord put words in your mouth when you need it
because He knows what each one of His children need and will help us to
say the things that they need! I love having the gift of the spirit
because it is just so amazing and it is such a help! To know that we
have the help of the Lord right with us is wonderful! We exchanged back
and Sister Richards and I had a great talk on the way back about our
exchange and how we can help these sisters! It's just a very humbling
responsibility to know that we are taking care of these sisters and that
we need to help them in any way and that they look up to us for
guidance and direction. To know that the Lord trusts us to know how to
guide them makes me feel very loved and that I need to continue to step
up to what the Lord wants me to do! I loved the exchange though because
the sister I was with was just so incredibly grateful for me because of
all that I have already done for her, and then on the exchange she just
said that she learned so much from me!! That was so nice of her to tell
me that! After that, we had a lesson with a part member family (Sister
Bxxx) and that was wonderful!! The spirit was super strong and we were
able to talk about Jesus Christ and His atonement, and the husband was
so interested, interactive, and loved what we were talking about. I love
him so much and think that he is just the sweetest man! He in a way is
like one of my adopted grandpas because he just loves us so much! I know
that he will become a member of the church, but as for when I don't
know. I think it will take time but he is learning a lot already! I met
him in July when I got here and he wasn't that nice to us and just
walked away when we came in. He now said we are the first missionaries
that he has ever sat down with and talked with because he feels so
comfortable with us and likes us. He said that he feels like he can actually talk and doesn't feel super pressured or forced into anything,
but he just feels like we can talk and that we are here cause we care
about him. That was really cool and made me so happy! You have to love
people and let them know that they are important and that we are friends
before you can tell them all that we know. He also said that he has
started reading the book of mormon and will read it all the way through.
This is coming from a man that has never been religious his whole life!
Every little thing counts and adds to that seed of faith!! We also
played volleyball that night and it was awesome!!! I went on a streak of
like 10 points while I was serving!! I only have one bruise from that
night from sliding and diving, but I did tear a hole in my pants when I
dove. NO!!!! haha Oh well. It was fun!!!
Friday
was an interesting day for us because a lot of things happened that
day. We met with Bxxx and Gxxx (our older couple) and they just love
us so much!! It was a good visit, but we didn't know that we had to do
service in our dresses when we came over as well. So, there we were in
our dresses hauling a huge dresser outside, across the mud, into the
camper, and then moving another dresser in. It was quite the experience
but still so fun! We had a lesson with a man that was interesting but
also so frustrating and bad. We met him a week or so ago, and heard some
bad things about him and that he had tried to pull away people from the
church. So, we were careful when we went in and we thought it was going
well.... I was watching him really closely trying to figure things out
and to read him, and then he kept asking really innocent questions that
helped us clue into things. We knew he had a greater knowledge than what
he was asking. Then he kept asking all these different questions that
were super deep and were just really bad. He asked me, 'Who is Jesus
Christ and how do I know Him?' I answered and it was really good because
the spirit was helping me. After that, I had the thought that I needed
to ask him, "Who is Jesus Christ to you", but I couldn't get it in
because he kept going on. Finally, I asked it and he couldn't answer it.
He kept saying these different answers that came directly out of the
bible but nothing about how he knew Christ - meaning prayer, study,
church, experiences, nothing of that sort. Things were just interesting
and he kept going into deeper and deeper doctrine that he knew and the
spirit was gone because he had alterior motives for things. Like, how do
I get into the temple because I need to get in there as fast as I can.'
That's where I drew the line. We finished up and left and we were both
so glad to be out of there. It's sad because he is a child of God as
well and we need to love him and teach him too but he needs to be a
little more prepared by the Lord before we go back there again. It was a
good experience though because Sister Richards and I both were able to
bear really strong testimonies while there and while we answered
questions. We felt the spirit so strongly and it was neat to just know
that wherever you are, you can stand in holy places and do what you can
to testify of the Lord. It amazed me yet again to hear some of the
things that came out of my mouth in that lesson because it was not me
but the Lord directing me. We were very bold and just testified about
the gospel and of Christ!! It was a hard but good experience for us!!!
we had an awesome lesson with one of our investigators, Bxxx, and the
spirit was there so strong teaching all of us! We were able to commit her to baptism and now we are going to pick a date in the next little bit!
She is so elect though and is so prepared to receive the gospel! She is
hungry for it and wants to know the truth and how she can become
stronger and come closer to Christ!! It was an amazing lesson though and
to see how she reacted to things in such a positive way was so neat!
She loved it and latched onto everything and said it all made sense! It
is just amazing to see how the Lord really does prepare people and how
He is so in the details of our lives!!! He knows what we need at the
right times!!
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