Wow! Today is my 14 month mark! Crazy! I can't believe that another week has come and gone...
This past week has been good! Monday we went with the district and played tennis. I stink at tennis and I have to admit that since I broke my foot playing tennis back in high school I always get a little nervous to play.. but it was actually really fun. There are some really great Elders here! I just love them so much! Elder Taggart is from Tooele, Elder Howell is from South Jordan(?), Elder Crofts is from Shelley, Id, and Elder Robison is from some small town near Shelly.. I can't remember what the name of it is. Oh and of course my awesome companion is from Orem.
Monday night we all went to the Schriver's house for dinner. Jerry, the husband, just got baptized on Thursday! They are the coolest family! We had shish kabobs and rice and this yummy macaroni salad and beans!! Oh I was in heaven!! It was so so yummy! Jerry is an excellent cook! We also did a family home evening with them about the Book of Mormon. It was so much fun! Then we roasted marshmallows and made s'mores!
Tuesday was a good day. We went on a team up with our ward mission leader's wife, Sister Cox! She reminds me so much of mom! She is just this little cute woman who is so fashionable and loves jewelry! We went to go see a couple of less active members. We were able to sing to them.. which is actually something that Sister Miner and I have been doing a lot of lately. I am exercising my talents so that they will grow! :D
Later Tuesday we went tracting for 4 hours.. we didn't even realize that we had been out that long.. we only stopped because it had gotten dark! We found 3 new investigators and we had some really amazing lessons with them! We even extended a baptismal commitment on the door step! I have never done that before!! I guess the spirit is really working through us and we are really trying to be bold. It's been very different since we have decided to be bold and loving.. we have seen a real difference in the people that we teach! I am so grateful for the power of the spirit!!
Wednesday we went and saw some more less actives and sang some more! people love it! It really has a way of softening hearts! We also had a Relief Society activity about walking to the temple. We learned how to stretch and what kinds of things to wear. Their goal is to walk 180 miles by April conference. If you do one mile a day that's really not too hard! Sister Miner and I threw down a competition with the sisters to see who could walk it fastest! We walk at least 3 miles a day! :D I really love this ward so so much!!! I never want to leave! Oh I almost forgot that Louisa a member in the Spanish branch feeds us on Wednesdays and this week she made potato taco's with spanish rice and fresh salsa!! I was in heaven.. oh man if I am not careful I am gonna get so fat!!
Thursday we did our weekly planning and did some tracting.. not much success.. but that's ok. We went to Dalton for Jerry's baptism! He is so awesome! And he looked so happy! They asked us like 10 minutes before the baptism if we would sing and we threw it together quickly but they all seemed to really like it.. I forgot some of the words.. I get SO nervous singing in front of people!! I am really trying to just get over that fear and share the talent that God has given me. After the baptism we went out as a district to get celebratory cheeseburgers!! I love cheeseburgers!! I am famous for always talking about how much I love cheeseburgers!! haha I bet Ya'll never knew that!
Friday we had District meeting and we then we ate carne asada tacos! It was ok.. haha I have had better. We will just have to get someone here to show us how to make some legit tacos! After DM Sister Miner and I went to see another less active.. we had a really good lesson with them and invited them to church!... and we sang to them! It was really emotional for them.. they are going through a lot right now. I was so glad to be able to share my talent yet again! Friday night we went to Granny Burnes'! I love that lil ol lady so much!! She has the biggest heart! Skyler and Shelby sent me a Halloween package and they included pictures of Presley and Sister Burnes was just eating him up! I can't wait to meet the lil guy!
Saturday the Irions came down to Dalton for the Spanish Conference. Sister Irion came tracting with us!! We had such a good lesson with this sweet woman. At first she was pretty closed off, but then we sang to her and she started crying and she could really feel the spirit! Sister Irion was in the Mormon Tabernacle Choir so she is really good! I was super intimidated! But I did my best and I think it turned out well. Sister Irion just went on and on about how much she loved tracting with us and what good teachers we are! It felt so good to hear that affirmation that we are doing a good job and that she was proud of us!After tracting we went back to Dalton and helped Sister Irion make lunch for all the spanish Elders. We made sandwiches! It was so much fun! I just love her so much! She really is the mission mom! I hope you will all get to meet the Irions someday!! They are the kindest people!!
Saturday evening we went to go see a less active and invited them to come back to church.. she was going to another church.. I think a lot of people here don't realize that this is the ONLY true church. They think that it doesn't matter what church you are going to as long as you are in church..We went to go contact our investigators that we found on tuesday and all but one weren't home. Clyde is such a true southern man! I love him lots! His son was there when we got there and we started talking to him and crackin jokes! He is really funny! Then Clyde got home and he said that he had to go feed his baby goats! So we got to go feed baby goats with him!! Took me back to living in Fielding!! Oh good times... hahaha!! We got to talking about how to kill and pluck a chicken and Sister Miner has never had the privileged of doing that so we are going to go back over there next weekend and kill and pluck a chicken!!! Oh the thinks we do to share the gospel!! haha it was really fun!!
We did some more tracting and I have to admit I was hungry and tired and really irritated because no one was wanting to listen. Sister Miner wanted to do one more door and I very reluctantly went with her.. I am so glad that she was so persistent becuase we actually met a really great family! Cindy just lost her husband a couple of days previous and she is battling breast cancer.. so needless to say, she is going through a lot right now. We sang again and again the spirit filled the room and brought tears to their eyes.. we gave them a copy of the Book of Mormon and promised them that if they read and pray about the message we share, they will find the answers and peace that they so desperately need right now.
Sunday we did the chuch thing.. sadly no one came this week... boo! But we will do better next week! It is SO SO hard to get people to come to church!! People in the south are kinda lazy! But I love them.. but they are lazy! We had dinner at Sister Sclafani's house! She just got back from a mission in the Family history library in SLC! She is so awesome!
She made me really want to reasearch all the history and records that have already been found for our family. We then went to go visit yet another less active. The Reeds. We had a good lesson with them and invited them to come back to church. We sang. We cried. We testified and they are so awesome. They have a long way to go to get back, but I know that they can do it!! They even signed up to feed us every Friday for the month of November.. We will have to tell Granny Burnes that we will have to change hers to another day.. hopefully she will be ok with that! :D
Well.. that was my week.. lots happening.. I am exhausted. I think that when I get home I might sleep for a month straight! I am loving it here and I learn a grow so much every day! This gospel has blessed and changed me so much! I love this talk! You should read it this week and think about the love that God has for each of you and how he shapes and molds us daily.. I hope I haven't already shared this with you.. but If I have.. read it again..!The Currant Bush
I am so grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who loves me enough to cut me down sometimes so that he can lift me higher!
