This week was great! Mainly because I received a package from you people! We get the mail every night as we return back to our house and I had a hard day but that package made everything great! I especially loved the band-aids and the chocolate. My companions and I have loved eating it too.
Last week I forgot to mention that in our meeting with Sister Murdock she told us not to get fat hahaha. She gained 25 pounds on her mission. She said if we didn't want to be miserable then we should watch our weight. Now everytime we eat a dessert, we say, "Sorry Sister Murdock!" I blame the members for feeding us such delicious food! Sister Remington bought a scale this week....the results were not as bad as I anticipated. So hurrah for eating!
Last week we started volunteering at the local Food Bank. I love it so much! The employees are so nice and we see a lot of our investigators there too. We stock shelves, make bags full of personal items and clean. There really is no better feeling than serving just to serve.
I finally met our bishop! He is a fourth generation Steamboat-ian and lives on an acreage. Dad was would fit right in with most of the people I have met here. Last week we helped bishop put together, clean, and spray-paint cots from WWI for his hunting cabin. It was a good time.
Funny story: we met a less active who I told you about named Bradley. You probs don't remember him but as we talked to him he told us he would love to come to church so we arranged a ride for him. He didn't come. So a few days later when we saw him walking in park we called to him and headed in his direction. Next thing we know, he's running away and pretending he didn't see us. HAHA. Now we love to say remember when a less-active literally sprinted away from us? Good times, good times.
Yesterday we went shopping at the thrift store downtown. I got some sweet new threads for dirt cheap (aka a shirt for 2$ and a skirt for 5). WOOT.
This past week we had a lot of success with member present lessons. They are always the best simply because their testimonies bring the Spirit so strongly. We had a sweet lady, Leah come with us. I have honestly never felt the Spirit so strongly and quickly as she testified of how her relationship with the Saviour and the Atonement has changed her life. I love the ward members!
Last week we randomly happened upon a Baptist and a Jehovah's witness
discussing the Bible in a trailer park. They are both named Keith so we now call them Keith squared. They were both very kind and we had a great discussion about all of our different beliefs. Sharing our beliefs and testimony with them while hearing theirs strengthened my own testimony that we have the true Gospel of Jesus Christ!
With Jamie, our recent convert, we went to the library to check out family history. She is awesome and so dedicated to the Gospel! While they were looking at one computer I got on mine and found that the farthest back I can go is 1060. 1060 for crying out loud! Somebody has been doing some great work!
I'm learning more and more how the mission is all about loving people! I have met so many interesting people with so many amazing experiences and the best way to bring them to Christ is to show His love for them through my actions. We have to do this a lot especially with less-actives who know but have just forgotten. We met some sweet people who are less-active and haven't gone to church for 50 years. They were the nicest and had the cutest home. Although they expressed they had no desire to come back to Church, we were able to share our testimonies through the scriptures and I know they felt the love of God again in their home.
We also met Sandra while trying to locate a less-active. She has a labyrinth in her backyard (look it up, I had no idea what it was). She is an Episcopalian and is retired. It was so neat to hear all about her beliefs and how she has lived her life and then to share our beliefs. We are meeting with her again too!
On Sunday we had Danielle and Ashtay come to church with us. They are from Jamaica and are 13 and 7. Because it was Labor Day weekend the ward was 90% visitors. Ashtay, the 7 year old, is my new best friend and always sits by me. As a visiting black family from Florida walked in, she leaned over to Danielle and said, "Hey look, it's our family!" It was the sweetest thing ever! Testimony meeting was amazing and it's so great to know that you can feel the same Spirit at Church wherever you are! Danielle and Ashtay are so sweet and say the cutest prayers whenever we visit them. Ashtay even sang us a Jamaican gospel song. She's quite the performer.
On Sunday we had coordination meeting with Fred. His wife, Don-Ela, always has a jar full of Oreos. It's the worst/the best! Fred is really awesome and is trying so hard to do his calling! Don-Ela told us this is the most he's ever worked at it! The Lord is truly hastening His work, not just with missionaries with members too! Fred is 70 and reminds me so much of Dad it's funny. We'll have to do a reunion trip and they can meet and become best friends!
Everyone here is fit, way older than they look, and drives a Subaru. I honestly thought one of our investigators was 25. Turns out he's 42.
This week my personal study has been great! I am learning so much! One thing that changed my perspective of life is hope. Hope is not an uncertain thing, as we might often think. (As I, I hope I it rains today or I hope I lose 20 pounds by
Friday). Rather it is the most certain thing we have in life. Hope is the assurance that God will keep His promises if we do our part. All things are possible to him that believes because they really are possible, we just have to believe! We have to take personal responsibility for believing, hoping, and having faith that our Heavenly Father will help us if we try to do what is right. There are so many fabulous if/then statements in the scriptures. If we do this, then we will get this blessing. What I love is that they are not if/maybe statements. If we do it, we WILL receive the promised blessings! There is no uncertainty. It's not if I keep the commandments, then maybe I will prosper in the land. NOPE. You will! Knowing that God will keep His promises gives me such a motivation and determination to do my very best! Because I definitely want all that He has promised me! A lot of people we teach don't have much stability in their lives. But being able to share with them this knowledge brings them so much comfort. There is something more to this life and we don't have to wonder what will happen to us when we die! Isn't that the most comforting thing?
So after we have that hope that God will do His part, we then need faith, which is showing our hope by acting! Jesus Christ actually paid for my sins. If I try my best, keep the commandments, repent and give my will to the Lord, I can live with my family, Heavenly Father, and Jesus Christ forever. It's this knowledge that allows me to keep such a positive attitude while being doing something that's demanding and difficult. This quote by Elder Ballard sums it up perfectly! "Adversity becomes ADVENTURE in the service of the Lord!"
Hope you all have a fabulous week!
Fav. trailer park-Dream Island
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