We are so happy to hear that she's having another great week doing the Lord's Work! We received this email today...
OHHH MY!!!
Honestly, the Lord is working miracles here and I am so grateful to be in this mission, in this area witnessing them!
This week was great. After p-day last week we went to dinner at a member's home.. when we got there it was interesting because we didn't realize her husband was not a member of the Church! When the elders had gone there for dinner in the past.. the husband always went into the other room to eat and stayed hidden while they are there because he doesn't want to hear it. BUT. We when we went, he came into the kitchen while we were eating (kinda weird country food btw. haha) and started talking to us. He was asking us where we were from and stuff like that... then we said we were gonna share a message and so he left the room. We tried to convince him to stay and listen but he was like "eh...I will make you a deal, next time you come for dinner I will listen to what you have to say...plus, that one (pointing at me) talks funny, shes got an accent. I could listen to her talk all day." Haha!! It was sooooo funny because HE has SUCH an accent.
It's so southern and country here..haha But anyway...so, he goes into the other room watching TV and we began to talk about the restoration with Sister ____, his wife.. but. As we are teaching the volume of the TV slowly gets quieter and quieter until by the end the husband came and sat down and listened to us! We involved him in the conversation to try and find out why he doesn't give the church a chance. We wanted to know his beliefs and stuff.. It's so sad because his wife has even been through the temple and she wants to be sealed to him. (In the temple, members of the Church make more specific covenants with God to live the commandments of the Gospel; one of the ultimate covenants is that of Marriage, being sealed together for time and all eternity) So we are going back for dinner next week and I am so excited because I think we can make a difference with him!! We got in the car after and we were like, "What just happened!?! That was so cool! We are totally going to help him feel the Spirit of the Lord!" So that's exciting for next week!
Then.. I went on exchanges for the first time on Wednesday with the sister leaders (like district leaders, but only girls!) in Hampstead and that was fun! I liked seeing a new area and learning different things from the sister I went with. We did some door-to-door for like 10 mins in a neighborhood and I took the lead on the second house.. we knocked and it was SO good! I was so proud of myself! It didn't even feel super awkward or anything haha.. it was pretty natural. It was a younger guy with a girlfriend and a daughter inside. He said we could come back.. so we got an appointment for those sisters to come back and meet with him but he said his girlfriend might not be interested.. But we will see! I told them they have to let me know how it goes!!
Then.. we FINALLY caught up with this girl to follow up from last year when she had met with the elders. Her name is ____. She is 13yrs old and ELECT as they get! She learned about the Church about a year ago... but her step mom isn't a member and lives with her dad... who isn't active in the Church anymore. But, she said she "loves the story of Joseph Smith" and she reads the Book of Mormon all the time!! I was like WHAT?! That's so cool! She is so spiritually sensitive. I CANNOT wait to see her progress.. This week is going to be great for her.
She reminds of Kaylie SO MUCH! (a friend of Raini's who met with the missionaries last year at college and ended up joining the Church!) It's cool. Oh, even though she speaks Spanish, she also speaks a lot of English..so we do a combination of the two when we teach her.
Then yesterday we found this family that is gonna be fantastic! The mom is SO funny and she has 4 kids all of baptism age. Her daughter came in the room when we got there and were talking and we could tell that she was intrigued a little bit. She is 12. When we left, we gave them both Gospel of Christ pamphlets. The mom felt that God was punishing her and she knows she needs to be going back to Church and that she knows she needs to stop doing certain things in her life. She is super great. :)Pray for her...she needs it!
OH! and we had this family who the mom is a less active and the dad is not a member and hasnt ever let her take their 2 little girls to church.. because he doesn't agree with organized religon. Well, he actually came and sat in on the little scripture study my companion did with her exchange sister on Wednesday---and now he is taking the lessons!!!!!
THEY ALL CAME TO CHURCH YESTERDAY and he said he liked it and the mom was crying during sacrament meeting.. she was totally feeling the Spirit a lot. Oh man! This is SO exciting to be a part of this work...helping others come unto Christ... Like I said last week, this area is SOOO ripe...I think we had 4 or 5 people a that we had visited this week ATTEND CHURCH. It's just so amazing.
Anyway... We are doing so great out here. I love my companion. During companion study we have been having really good discussions about things we learned and implementing them into our teachings and practicing the things we are not as good at.. its just really great.
We are going to be a great companionship by the end of this transfer!! We hope that we don't get separated anytime soon!! She only has 6 months left of her mission and we realized she could potentially be here the rest of her mission! It would be fun if we could be together that long.. but who knows what the Lord has in store.
I want all of you guys to go and read in Preach My Gospel (I think its page 160) it's titled "The Importance of Members". Every member should read this and try to understand that they are so important in finding people who need the Gospel in their lives. We as missionaries CANNOT do all of this on our own. We need as much help as we possibly can get.. and when someone is brought into the Church by someone who cares about them and can support them all the way through even when the missionaries leave, they will feel the reality of the truth of the Gospel so much more. And it will become more meaningful to them and they won't fall away.. So please help the missionaries out as much as you possibly can!! "Lift where ye stand" .. do your part in sharing the Gospel with those you come in contact with everyday!
Also. Feed the missionaries meals!! We only have 2 meals for the next two weeks... and we are gonna starve!!! Or we will keep surviving off the candy supply we have accumulated. haha. NOT good..
Oh.. Saturday night the Bishop told me he wanted me to give a 20 talk on Sunday morning! So that was fun cramming!! haha. But I talked for 25 mins!! I was so surprised. It was a good talk, too. It was about God the Father.
After church one of the members came up to us after church and said- "Which one of you just came out on your mission?" and I was like oh.. me. haha..and she said, "I can't even tell! You both are just such great teachers!"
Such a compliment!!! I seriously love it out here:))
Ok...I'm saving the best for last:
Remember our investigator, ____ from last week?? She was a former investigator with the elders that we followed up on, and we went to her home...her nephew was there, too... and she wanted to start meeting up again..anyway
Well, she is getting baptized the 25th of this month. WOOOOOOOOOOHOO. We are so excited!!!
Ok, well that's all for this week! Thank you so much for the packages..they were GREAT! I love you sooooo much!
LOVE,
Hermana Weller.
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