I hope
you all like the alliteration . . . sorry it's not grammatically correct but I
hope it doesn't make mom cringe too much. Well, it's been an amazing week here
in Williamston! Everything is different from the singles ward, but
different in the best ways. I am grateful for the opportunity to have a
change because I am learning so much. Here are the details of the new
area:
We cover
the Williamston ward and there is also a set of elders in our ward. Williamston just underwent a ward split right
before I came. The ward is about 1/7 the size of what it used to be so
the members are really having to step up their game to keep the ward moving
along! With the change, our apartment is not in the ward or our area
anymore. We are on a car rotation but this past week we didn't have a car
so it was an adventure for all of us to coordinate where to go. We walked
a lot of places which I absolutely loved! The trees are beautiful and the
weather was perfect this week. Plus there were many crunchy leaves to
walk on so it was just really fun. Sorry I don't have pictures of the new
area or companions yet but it is beautiful here! We have some awesome
investigators here. I haven't been able to meet all of them yet, but we
did have a few lessons.
Thomas
is a college-age student. He is a miracle find! The sisters
got him as a media referral (it comes in as a text on the cell phone) so they
went to find him. It turns out he didn't ask for anyone to come and he
doesn't know anyone Mormon so it's like Heavenly Father sent in the referral
Himself. But Thomas was interested in learning more. We taught him
the gospel of Jesus Christ this week and set a date with him for November 16th.
He works every Sunday at Walmart--we are hoping a miracle will happen with his
work situation so he can come to church! He is such a sweet guy and
really loves reading the Book of Mormon.
Jazzameen
is hilarious. She is a middle-aged woman who used to be Jehovah's
Witness. She is reading the Book of
Mormon now and is waiting to get her answer. Whenever she would try
to say "murmuring" in the scriptures, she would say
"mothering." She is so funny
. . . I don't really know how to describe it but here is one funny incident.
She went to conference last weekend at the stake center and ordered a pizza
into the foyer so she could sit outside and eat it. Needless to say, she told us she didn't learn
very much.
Dayra is
another investigator. She is actually from Guatemala and doesn't speak
very much English. She has a very hard life--she has 3 children and her
husband got deported to Mexico so she cares for them by herself. Her
littlest daughter is in and out of the hospital and is very sick! We went
over yesterday with Katie Parent from the MSU ward. She recently got back
from her mission in Argentina. The lesson was awesome. Dayra has so
much faith! She said such a beautiful prayer at the end of the
lesson. It was cool because I could understand most of the Spanish they
were saying. Hopefully that will be the same in Brazil.
We do a
lot of door-knocking which I have really grown to love. It is such a huge
adventure and you never know what the person on the other side will be
like. People say the funniest things, too. One couple started
telling us if we really wanted some good work in the area then we should take
up bowhunting deer. Apparently people get paid for that because there is
an overgrowth of deer in the area. It made me think of Napoleon Dynamite
haha.
I am
really loving being in a family ward. All of the people I have met are so
awesome and really have strong testimonies of the gospel that are apparent in
how they raise their children. Oh and the Hunters are in my ward
now! We are having dinner with them on Friday. The things I am
learning here are teaching me so much about how I want to be. I love the
gospel because it is a gospel of progression and change. I live for
constantly learning and becoming better. And the only way to do that is
through the Atonement!
I am
excited to keep working in this area and to see the miracles that happen.
It's been a huge blessing to be here so far. I am not the best
door-knocker currently but I am learning more and more every day about how to
help the gospel message resonate with people. If anyone has any tips let
me know!
Here is a
quote I found this week that I liked: "All
the water in the world, no matter how it tried, could never sink the smallest
ship unless it got inside. And all the evil in the world, the blackest
kind of sin, can never, ever hurt you unless you let it in." I think
it applies to discouragement and doubt as well. We always have the choice
to be happy!
Have a
great week. Love you all!
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