Hello everyone!!!
Sorry for not writing a group email last week. I kinda got lazy haha my fingers just weren't up to typing any more.
So, lets start with an update on investigators!
Jessi & Barbara- They came to church for the first time last week but didn't come this sunday:( Barbara said they felt lazy and they didn't get up... but they regretted it and next sunday they will be there. We are still trying to get them to quit smoking. They quit coffee really quick but the cigarettes have been a lot harder for them. We go and visit them every other day and read scriptures with them and watch conference talks on their lap top. We had to move their baptism date to Dec. 6thsince Barbara's divorce with her last husband hasn't been finalized yet. We love them so much and we know they will be Baptized!
Donielle Whitiker- She came to the chili cookoff at the church this Wednesday. She had a great time and the food was dang good and they had Halloween games and a magician. She also came to church for the first time this last sudnay and loved it. Her 2 year old son was being a big stinker and would stop screamin and being crazy so she spend a lot of time out in the hall during sacrament. And he wouldn't stay in the nursery so she had to hold him the whole time during 2nd hour. She left early from Relief Society but she said she loved it. We went over to her house last night and taught her the Word of Wisdom since she has to be living it for 3 weeks before her baptism. It was awesome teaching it to her because she doesn't do any of those things. She says she just drinks water and pop and crystal light. So that was awesome! She will actualy be moving to an apartment complex right behind ours!
Libby Hyder- Libby has gotten super sick lately. Has a bad viral infection. So we haven't been able to teach her much. Gave her a blessing yesterday.
That's basically it for our investigators. We have a few new people we are trying to work with. We have a referral that was given to us by a member up in Nicholasville, its for her friend that lives in London and requested that the missionaries come and teach her the Gospel haha so hopefully that will be solid!
Oh it snowed this week on November 1st!!! I was soooooo happy! We were studying and our desk is right next to the window but the blinds were closed and I looked out one of the cracks and I saw something falling outside and I ran to the door and looked outside and it was dumping snow! It was awesome!
Earlier this week we cut a ton of wood for a member that isn't able to do it on his own. Of course we did that with Brother Johnson haha. We went into the forest behind his house with his truck and he cut up some fallen trees with his chainsaw and we split the logs. Lots of work. Filled his whole bed full of wood.
On Halloween we had to be inside by 6 or be at a members. So...we went to Brother Johnsons haah! He had bought a bunch of fried chicken and biscuts so we went there and ate and then we just layed on the couches and Elder Burns played the Ukulele and we sand hymns and just talked until about 8:30 and then we drove home. It was dang fun!
Oh and guess whos house we are going to after we get done emailing and shopping? Brother Johnsons of course! there really isn't anything fun to do here except go to his house haha and he needs some help loading some more wood that he cut for another member. Brother Johnson serves the Lord so much. He is always doing something for someone. With all of his free time of being retired he just helps people. Its awesome! He's going to come visit us in Idaho when Im home. He want to see Idaho!
Ok so let me share with you the Gospel truth that I learned this week and want to share. This comes from the talk, "High priest of Good things to come" By Elder Holland.
I highly recommend all of you watch that talk, it is amazing and it helped me so much. It made me reflect a lot on my mission and look at all of the wonderful people that I have met. It made me reflect back to myself when I was a struggling young missionary. And how I thought that my mission was a failure and I wasn't sure if there was anything good coming. But always, ALWAYS, there were good and even amazing things to come. A month and a half into my mission I thought we would never Baptize someone in that area, but we kept working at it in faith and we were blessed to meet and Baptize Gabriel. After working with Steve and Colleen for almost 4 months they still weren't accepting baptism and we were struggling to know what to do with them. But with persistent and patient Faith, they were both Baptized. When I was transferred to New Albany and after a few weeks of being there, we literally had zero investigators. I thought that we had done something wrong. But just around the corner of that trial, there were good things to come. Being blessed with 5 people to baptize while in New Albany and a few more after I left was more than just good things, they were miracles. Miracles wrought by Faith and hard work. Ether 12:12 "For if there be no faith among the children of men God can do no miracle among them; wherefore, he showed not himself until after their faith."
I sincerely testify that God performs miracles in our lives, if we but have faith. Miracles and blessings from the Lord are always just around the corner. The night gets darkest just before the dawn. And the burdens and trials of life get heaviest just before the Lord intervenes and makes them lighter.
