Alright ya'll! Things have been going pretty great around here!!! Here's my update:
Tuesday
- After our studies we went tracting. We got out of the car with snow
slightly on the ground and our noses practically froze off our faces. TI
was SO cold! Sis Weight was NOT prepared for the cold. she ended up
pulling her hat down over her face and I guided her to the car. Was
HILARIOUS! We were planning on having a lesson with Scott Clark at one
at the McMurry's. Scott texted us saying he wouldn't be able to make it
to the appt because he was job searching for something local. We were
like, "Take a break and learn the gospel with us!" In the end he said
the spirit was really telling him he needed to meet with us!So we met up
at the McMurry's house with Sis. McMurry. He admitted thath e felt that
God told him to do whatever we asked of him.God must trust us a lot!
That feels really good! We talked with him a lot then went through the
10 commandments with the hand signals. He LOVED them! After that it led
into the baptism. we went over the baptism interview questions with him.
HE ACCEPTED A BAPTISM DATE FOR THE 29TH!!!! We were all so excited! all
his answers and comments were perfectly aligned with what we believe!
At 5pm we had a lesson with Lina and Juan with Sis. Bauserman. We
taught pretty much the exact same lesson we taught Scott. (not on
purpose). Juan LOVED the hand signals! We extended the baptism invite
and THEY TOO ACCEPTED! They wanted to before Dec, so it'll prob be the
same date as Scott's! She just has to call her husband Rex and make sure
he's ok with it because since he's a truck driver, he's NEVER home and
never knows when he'll be home. 7pm we taught Buford and Shanna doss who
had their 1 yr old grandson. Buford is the one Sis W8 and sis. Little
tracted into at the community college during exchanges. he was the
worker blowing leaves int he rain. Well, we visted them with Bro.
Gestwitz and ended up teaching the restoration of the church. They
opened up a lot to us! We talked about the HG and shanna (Buford's wife)
said she felt that we were the "real thing". That was cool! The spirit
was so strong. I know He was teaching for me when I felt i wasn't doing a
good job. In the end, they asked if we have a prophet today. YAY! Yes
in fact we do! President Thomas, S. Monson! Go to LDS.org to hear or
read some of his talks! Everything made sense to them! They believed
Joseph Smith had that vision! They accepted to read and pray about the
BOM and they might have one of their songs over next time for the
lesson! SUPER stoked! WHAT A BLESSING! So many souls are coming closer
to Christ! I absolutely LOVE being a missionary! and I have an AMAZING
companion!
Wed - in the morning I went outside to the car and saw that Sis. W8's water bottle was frozen solid! WAS HILARIOUS!
Thurs
- A ward member, Sis. Songer crocheted some hats for us. SUPER cute
and SUPER sweet! I made dinner for my comp and I - recipe my mom gave
me! DELICIOUS!
Frid - 5 MONTH MARK! I have
finally after a year am now able to add one month progress to my
mission! How amazing is that?! It really doesn't feel real yet ;) After
DM my comp and I met up with our ML and Nikki (just recent returned
missionary from NY) and went to an hour away house (still in ward
boundaries) - LA = Williams. We went inside and both Sis. and Bro.
Williams were really sweet! We got to know them before their 14 yr old
son Jonathan got home from school (not member - but interested). we
talked with them for a bit, then their 24 yr old widowed daughter,
Shasta walked in with her two sons - 6 & 4 yr old. We ended up
teaching the restoration. Both Jonathan and Shasta were intently
listening and the whole family said they'd come to the hour away church
on Sunday. Now that's a testimony / faith! At our dinner appt, we talked
with Scarlett (Rex's sister) and she said she talked to Rex on the
phone (Rex is Lina's husband who is LA) and said he cried about Lina and
Juan getting baptized! (happy cry) and he won't make her wait until
he's home from truck driving! Sis W8 and I were ecstatic! So...we're
thinking of Dec 6 for them, so they can have a Spanish baptism session!
On the way home, I was talking to sis W8 and I realized I would be at
the mission home right then to go home. As I was thinking about it, I'm
NOT ready for marriage .... or college! I'm glad / grateful HF allowed
me to still stay on my mission because of my year home! before bed, both
my companion and I prayed really hard that HF would allow us to receive
3 new opportunities with new investigators and other lessons. As I was
lying in bed, the scripture D&C 782 came into my head. I immediately
got up to look it up because I didn't want to forget it by morning.
There is no section 782. so I turned to section 7 thinking maybe there
was a verse 82. It only went up to verse 8. So I decided to read both
verses 8 & 2. I didn't understand the meaning so I left the
scripture open and went back to bed.
Sat - for
personal study I went back to the scripture I opened up to the night
before. I realized that vs 2 was us turning to God and asking for our
goal to be fulfilled and vs 8 was God accepting our request and granting
us our wish. I was super excited for the rest of the day! My companion
then pointed out to me D&C 78:2 which is practically the exact same
thing! how amazing is that!? Well, after our
mormon.org
hour we went tracting. We originally went to the same street we went to
last time, but as we were walking, sis w8 was like, I don't feel this
is where we need to be. I felt the same way. We ended up going in the
car, pulling out the GPS, and naming and writing down street names. Sis
w8 and I prayed about the names we wrote down and got two of the same
ones: Palmer and Poplar st. which ended up being right next to each
other. We went over and as we parked the car and started walking we saw a
man getting into his truck. 1) We yelled hello and started walking up
to him. He had to get somewhere so we went up and talked to his wife
(Lisa) and his only child / daughter (Phoenix - 18 yrs old). They were
really sweet and ended up letting us teach them the first lesson right
then and there (Restoration) Phoenix apparently knows Sammy Bauserman
(Bishop's son) In the closing prayer, we could tell Lisa felt the spirit because when we opened our eyes at the end, her eyes were filled with
tears! 2)As we left we went and knocked on their next door neighbor's
house. An older woman named Elizabeth opened the door and we found out
about 40 yrs ago she was baptized into the LDS church! She's a member!
She ended up loving us and said we could go back and talk with her! She
was watching a 92 yr old woman for her job and she lived elsewhere. She
actually lives near our ML. 3) After Elizabeth we were going to knock on
this one door, but we couldn't figure out how to get to the door, so we
continued on to the next house. As we left a little dog just followed
us. didn't bark or anything. Walked up to the doors with us and back
down. I felt it was God's way of saying we need to talk to his owner;
but we didn't know how to get to his door for there was so much stuff
blocking it. In the end as we were driving away, we saw a man pull up to
that house, so we quickly put the car in park, called after him and
quickly ran up to him leaving the car running and the doors open. haha! I
surely wonder what he thought when he saw us. But he ended up allowing
us to come back and talk with him!
THAT'S THREE!!!!!! THREE NEW OPPORTUNITIES!!!!!! WHAT A BLESSING!!!!!
Sun
- THE WILLIAMS CAME TO CHURCH! SO DID LINA AND JUAN!! WHAT A
BLESSING!!!!! so very much grateful!!!!! Unfortunately, Scott wasn't
able to make it. Going through a hard time right now. He won't be able
to get baptized this Sat, but maybe once he gets back from his truck
driving trip = 17 days in a row. He still wants to get baptized and
everything, and his testimony is still strong. Just going through a hard
time right now is all. We had a great lesson with Hector and watched
the Restoration movie. The spirit was VERY strong. He won't be ready by the
13th of Dec, so we'll just wait and see when he'll be ready. But we have
one firm baptism now = Lina and Juan = Dec 6th!!! SUPER HAPPY AND
EXCITED!!! (got to play the piano in primary! felt right at home!)
Happy THANKSGIVING WEEK!!!
What are you grateful for?
I am grateful for:
- My amazing companion Sis W8
- My area - Abingdon, VA
- The amazing ward (church) Members
- the scriptures - bible, bom, pearl of great price, d&c
- my talents
- my family
- the ability to be back on my mission
- my district
- my mission Pres. and wife
and so much much more!!! HAPPY THANKSGIVING! going to the McMurry's for dinner!!!
Talk to you all again soon!!!
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| Our homemade soup! | | |
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Love,
From Ms. Southern Virginia,
Sister Thomas
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| Our hats Sis. Songer made for us! |
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| Getting to play for primary! |
