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| Back at MSU for a day |
December
23, 2013
Hello
family!
We
had such a wonderful week here--probably one of my most favorite weeks on my
mission!
On
Tuesday, I went on exchanges with the MSU sisters. Sister Anson and I got
to go to MSU and work with Sister Richardson! Holy moly, it was so
awesome to be back at my stomping grounds. I taught some of the people I
worked with while I was there and it was so fun to be back. We even
managed to fit in some lessons with Bruce and Yifan! Unfortunately, Hu
Wen Qi is out of town, but it was so fun to see those guys. Man, I love
them so much. Bruce and Yifan are both doing so well. Their
testimonies are growing stronger and stronger, which strengthens my own.
It is amazing to see people who give up everything for the gospel!
We
went back to Williamston Wednesday and we taught scripture study class that
night. We talked about the Christmas story and sang hymns to go along
with the verses. The Spirit was so strong there. The investigators
were so touched and everyone was in awe of the sacrifice Christ has made.
It's especially humbling to think of him as a small baby and think of all of
the things he would have to endure. As President Hess put it in his
weekly e-mail, "He came in to the world a helpless baby. From the moment
He was born, he stirred up darkness and the wrath of Hell tried to take his
life before he reached his first year. He met opposition wherever He went. But
He just kept going, always saying that He was here to do His father’s will. In
obedience to His father’s will he never faltered, even in the last great act of
His suffering, death and atonement. He gave everything He had and invites us to
do the same." How beautiful! We ended the lesson by watching “Mr.
Krueger's Christmas.” I was touched by his exchange with the newborn
Christ child and how we can each have
intimate relationships with the Savior as we study the scriptures, pray, and
become more like him. Man, I love Christmas.
We
have been finding and looking for new ways to share the gospel. We met some
really awesome potential investigators this week. They are busy until
after the new year, but I am way excited to meet with them! Also, a lady
named Sister Jeffery in our ward had a great idea. Sister Jeffery
visit teaches Sister Nelson, who recently had to move into a retirement
home. Sister Jeffery thought it would be cool for us to do Family Home Evening
at the nursing home. We went to The Marquette and talked to the
coordinator and she was stoked by the idea! We are going to start in
January and do FHE's there every other week. I am so excited! What
a creative way to share the gospel! The work is progressing here!
We
got to eat with a family this week and they invited us over for a "Shepherd
Dinner." It's a tradition they do where the children dress up like
shepherds and they each get to pick their food to contribute to the dinner. Then
we sat on blankets and read the story of the shepherds as we ate. It felt
like I was doing the Jerusalem Dinner again! It was so fun to be with
the Conveys. I am amazed by them inviting us to participate
with them in their tradition. Sister Convey even gave us goodie bags at
the end with hand warmers inside! Hallelujah!
Which
leads nicely into my last point....ICE STORM!!! This taught us a ton
about the blessings of being prepared and how good the members are here in
Williamston! So it started getting really icy on Saturday night (we ate
dinner with the Hunters that night and Brother Hunter gave us the sad news
about church being canceled). We were pretty bummed because we were
expecting SO many investigators to come! Sandy was going to finally be
able to make it but now we have to push her date back, so we were a little sulky.
But as it turns out, it was a huge blessing because the weather turned out to
be crazy!!! We got a call from our district leader on Saturday night telling us
we would have to stay in until 12 p.m. and then call before we left. We
woke up Sunday morning and we didn't have any power in our apartment so we had
to do studies by flashlight. Members kept calling us to make sure we were
ok and I was so touched at how willing they were to help! We got a text
around 11:50 a.m. that said we would have to stay in the apartment until
further notice because the weather was worse than they expected. We ended
up staying in the whole day! It was crazy, and I definitely missed doing
missionary work. Our power ended up coming back on around 6 p.m. and we
got to study a ton, which was a huge blessing. I guess trees were falling
over all around town and the light signals were out. The roads were
really icy and conditions weren't that great. It was a crazy
adventure! We will see how it affects our Christmas...most of the members
we were planning on eating with don't have power and/or water, so this week
should be fun. I am excited for our Christmas plans, though. We are
planning to see lots of members and less-actives so it should be amazing!
I'll
talk to you soon,
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