Dearest family and friends,
Here is a quick overview of this past week (my time is far spent!)
Monday: Shopping everywhere. Sis. Tillman didn't have any short sleeve shirts. I didn't want her to die of heat stroke. We found some really cute shirts at this amazing outlet store that I didn't even know existed until today. We gave the cashier a pass-along card after she asked about the church. We had a great lesson with the Barney family (less active). We read our favorite scripture and told why. They are starting to come back to church!
Tuesday: Lesson with Sis. Jan Saylor about following the prophet (see 3 Nephi 3:19-21) and tithing. She is excited for her baptism and feels very much at peace with her decision. We met with a former investigator, Jimmy. He was nice, but not interested. We met with the Hudsons in the evening and read Alma 36 with them. Bruce shared a lot of experiences that were very dear to him. He was touched by this chapter and really enjoyed it. Margaret didn't say much. She is a tough cookie!
Wednesday: We met a "kiddie dipper" victim named John. He isn't the first one I've met. (explanation: the "Kiddie Dippers" are kids who were bribed by some very selfish/prideful Elders in the 60's to be baptized.) He remembered "two guys in suits" who told him they would give him a bag of candy if he went with them. So they loaded him and a bunch of other kids up in a van and took them to the church and baptized all of them. I would hate to be in those Elders' shoes.
We had a miracle lesson that evening. Bro. Dalton in the ward home teaches a family whose nonmember wife speaks spanish. The sisters have tried meeting with her in the past and her husband told them not to come back. Bro. Dalton talked with them and set up an appointment for us to go and see them. When we arrived no one was there, but then Dolores (the wife) showed up with her sister. We talked with her for a bit and then she told us to come back another time. Bro. Dalton pulled up at almost that exact same time and then she said that "actually, you can come in." We invited her to read the Book of Mormon and pray about it. They recently lost a baby and it is still really hard for them. Her husband did not come. She wants to talk with him before setting up another appointment, but we were able to have a lesson! and she has the Book of Mormon now!
Thursday: We met with Lewis. We went to dinner with his mom (Lettie) and him. Lettie has been a member since 2001 and she is a great lady. She loves sharing the gospel with everyone. We had a lesson afterwards at the church building and talked about how we could invite the spirit into our lives. We used some things from E. Bednars talk, "That we may always ahve his spirit to be with us" about how the Liahona is like the Holy Ghost. It is a really good talk! We also met with a former "do not contact" family. The wife is not a member. She is from Afghanistan and converted from Muslim to Baptist...because it was the closet church to her house. lol. She told us her life story...which was very sad, but was not interested in reading the Book of Mormon. Her husband is basically Atheist now. We were very sad to hear that.
Friday: Zone Conference! It was amazing. We read some from 3 Nephi 11. Pres. Cotterell told us this really neat story about how some elders in Mongolia didn't have the Book of Mormon in Mongolian (or whatever language they speak there) So as they were contemplating about how they could help the people they were teaching to know the Book of Mormon was true, they decided to translate a few verses from 3 nephi 11 and have them ponder those scriptures and pray to know they are true. Many people prayed about those verses and joined the church because they knew those verses were true. That chapter is such a powerful chapter of scripture. I love it. I thought it was a really neat story. There is so much power in the words and verses of the Book of Mormon. It really is such a blessing to have those truths restored.
Saturday: Sis. Tillman was sick. :( I spent the day going through the massive former investigator book in our apartment and calling a lot of them. It was unsuccessful, but who knows. Maybe something will come of it.
Sunday: Jan came to church! She particapted in Gospel Principles and in Relief Society. It is so neat to see her grow and the light and confidence she develops as she learns more about the gospel. We drove all the way out to Godwin (which is a good 30 minute drive) to see Deborah, our new investigator from last week. She called Sis. Ramage to let her know that she wouldn't be able to meet with us that evening. It was disappointing, but we had a good lesson with the Ramages on the restoration. We are going to help Sis. Ramage with her VTing to some less actives who no one knows anything about. I love working with members.
In other happy news, I heard from Sis. Welch that Nathan (whom we taught in Deep Run) contacted the sisters in Jacksonville (finally) and asked how he could get baptized. lol. She said he wanted to join the church before he left for basic training in the army and he is going to do it!
I also received a very happy email from Sis. Matthews who recently returned home and she found Matthew (from Greenville) on facebook and he contacted the Sisters in Greenville just recently and wants to start coming back to church!
The power of the gospel is amazing. It brings so much peace and comfort into our lives. I love every aspect of the Atonement. It gives us hope and that is something we need in the world today.
Have a wonderful week! Thank you for all you love and prayers. They do make a difference. :)
Love,
Sister J
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