Week 7...I'm in Heaven!

Dear Family,

 

This week has been soooo busy. It's been great though. I have had the opportunity to ponder a lot about missionary work and I think I have learned a great deal this week.

Sis. Joseph and I had a lot of appointments fall through this week with our investigators, but we had the opportunity to contact a zillion people; most of whom were willing to listen, but didn't really desire to pursue much more after that.

When we were driving in Winterville, I saw a house that had a fire in the front lawn. We drove by and I wondered if they knew that their landscaping was on fire. I asked Sis. Joseph, but she said that she thought it must be intentional. We missed the house we were supposed to stop at and had to loop around on that street again. There wasn't anybody out there watching the fire so I told Sis. Joseph I thought we should stop and tell the people that their landscaping was on fire. So, we knocked on the door and he was on the phone and asked what we wanted to which we replied, "We just wanted to see if you knew that your landscaping was on fire?" He said "Oh my goodness, no!" and then we put out the fire on his lawn, gave him a pass along card, and that was the end. So I guess that was our service moment of the week: save a house from burning down.

One of our investigators, Sis. Jones had a setback this week. (I can't even remember if I told you about her...there are so many people!) Sis. Jones is married to a less active-he has been coming to church every week since we contacted them and he really desires for their family to be sealed and strengthened by the gospel. She was supposed to be baptized this past Saturday, but when we went to visit her this past week we could tell that something wasn't quite right. She told us that she didn't feel like she and her husband were really working together to build a strong relationship that could be centered on the gospel ( I thought it was so neat to see that she could identify that herself). She said she wanted to make the church a part of her life and not just jump right into being baptized. We set some goals with them for praying and reading everyday together and when we saw her at church on sunday, it was like the difference between night and day. She is normally a very reserved, quiet person, but this past Sunday, she was happy and smiling and laughing and talking to people on her own. We talked to her and she said that she could feel a huge difference. We invited her to be baptized on the 30th because her husband and herself are going out of town the following week. She said she would think about it, but she told the bishop she was planning on the 30th as well. It's so exciting to see the changes that occur in people as you share more about the gospel with them and they come and learn at church.

We also taught Trish this past week about the Plan of Salvation and the word of wisdom. The elders who taught her before had taught everything else and she had given up smoking for them, but still liked her coffee. After we taught her, she said she would give up the coffee and we are working on a baptismal date in August.

 

I'm loving the work here regardless of how hard it is...it's a great experience.

 

Thanks for everything y'all do. I hope everything is well.

 

Love you!

 

Love,

 

Sis. J