Happy Monday!
This
week was just full of curve balls and surprises! So I've realized that
I've failed to mention a lot of investigators that we've been working
with for a while, but they haven't been our main priority because they
haven't been on baptismal date.
Oops! :X
We
got a referral from a member back when I was with Sister Warner named
M. We taught her the Restoration a month ago, and this week we read the
Book of Mormon with her. Since she's been out of work for two years, we
asked if there was anything we could do for her, and she asked if we
could do some yard work. We planned on doing that Thursday morning after
we switched back from our exchange with Sister Freeman and Sister
Alofipo.
As
Sister Alofipo was in my area on Wednesday (the first time that I've
been the driver in Fayetteville) we had a really cool experience where I
was pretending that I knew where I was going. (Who wants to need to use
the GPS when one has been in the area since May?) One of the
commitments that we've been working on is to hit the standard to invite
two to three to baptism, so our commitment was to invite two to baptism
before lunch.
So I was driving around close to home because
we were getting a titch 'hangry', and ended up in a neighborhood that
was in my plans anyway. We got out and met a guy named St. who was the
first person that we saw. It was so amazing because he accepted a Book
of Mormon, said he'd be baptized, and he's pretty interested in learning
more. St. told us to give him two weeks to read the Book of Mormon, and
then we could come back. Miracles! :)
We
had another lesson with G. and I., but unfortunately they didn't read
the Book of Mormon. G. did read the entire Restoration pamphlet that
week, and she was reading about the restoration of the priesthood. She
told us that since she read the pamphlet, she has a greater desire to
read the Book of Mormon now. We were planning on watching the
Restoration DVD with them, but they didn't have a DVD player! So I had
to quickly think on my feet to read 1st Nephi Ch 1 with them instead,
and they seemed to enjoy it. They both
committed to
reading every day as A. P. (Isaac's age, who also goes to the same high
school) talked about seminary, and how reading the scriptures really
benefited her every day life. I LOVE when members are present! :)
So
Thursday morning we ended up getting a call from President Harding,
asking if Sister Alofipo could pack up her stuff and move. CURVEBALL!
There was a sister from Hong Kong that just arrived in the field two
weeks ago who has been really sick, and has gone on two ambulance rides
the first week. She was being sent home that day, and Sister Alofipo was
asked to take her place in the Twin Oaks Ward (just east of the Atlanta
ward!). It was a shock since then President asked if Sister Sullivan
and I would become a trio with Sister Freeman. The Three Musketeers!
We've come up with our name- Sudfreevan, or Freesullweeks. :D
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| Sister Freeman and I. Don't you love our matching looks? |
So,
instead of Sister
Sullivan and I going to do yard work at
M.'s, I stayed and helped both of them pack, and Sister Sullivan asked a
sister in our ward to be her companion, since Sister Alofipo was going
to leave before Sister Sullivan was getting back. (She had three hours
notice.) It was amazing because we called a lot of sisters asking if
they could do service with us, but Sister Sultan was the one who could
do it. We found out that Sister Sultan's kids actually grew up with
M.'s, and she knows her really well! M. was meaning to ask if we knew
Sister Sultan, but always forgot. We feel like she's really going to
progress now that she has a solid friend in the gospel. :)
Another
investigator that we've been working with for a long time (before I
even came here) is J., who reminds me a lot of K. from Atlanta. She is
such an amazing woman, and is very in tune with the spirit. She already
knows that the Book of Mormon is true (just like K.) but she has a
really hard time
with
the priesthood (ditto), and doesn't want to get baptized a third time.
J. has been really busy with schoolwork, and she got sick recently so we
haven't had a sit down lesson with her in about three weeks. She told
us that she was going to the doctors tomorrow, since they haven't been
able to figure out what's wrong with her, but the spirit revealed to her
that it's cancer. I've been recommending to her that she needed a
priesthood blessing for a while now, but finally she agreed to it after
we explained it a bit more!
We
went to her house later that evening, and it was so miraculous. J. told
us that she prayed twenty minutes before we arrived that if our message
wasn't true, that God would prevent us from coming this evening. She
waited and thought, "Well, that's that." and then we rung the doorbell.
Whoa! She continued to talk more about her story to catch the priesthood
holders up to speed, and J. had a
beautiful blessing.
It warned her about how she needs to censor what she reads, watches,
and listens to because Satan is trying to find a chink in her armor, and
once he's found it he's going to do significant damage. She was blessed
that she would completely heal from this illness of hers, it's only
temporary, and that it won't take her away from this life. The hair on
my arms were standing straight up because the spirit was so strong in
that room. (Just like K.'s.) After the blessing she told us that she was
in awe, and that God sent to her that blessing. We talked more about
prophets, and she doesn't comprehend that if people baptized her in the
name of Jesus Christ, then why does she need to be baptized again if
there is no greater authority than Christ? My next plan of action is to
re-create the same lesson that Elder Newman taught K. about the
priesthood. Not just from Jesus Christ, but from the very beginning
including the New Testament, and the 5th Article of
Faith.
We
went over for dinner at Lo's house and it happened to be her birthday
(she didn't tell us) and it was awesome because she's the only member in
her household. As we were waiting for dinner we were able to hold their
cat Bart who is SUPER fluffy! :D D., her son is kitten sitting and Tina
looks like my old cat, Trixie when she was a little kitten! I didn't
get a good picture with her, oh well. :) During dinner, we were being
ourselves and getting to know them because her husband isn't a fan of
the church. The night before I re-enacted my Gollum impersonation for
Sister Sullivan and Freeman, and they begged me to sing Happy Birthday
to Lo. in Gollum's voice. It was so EMBARRASSING. But it made the entire
table crack up, and it was a great bonding experience for all of us. As
we left, we asked D. if he wanted to take the missionary discussions
since he's been coming to church, and he said yes! He told us
that he's
been in contact with the Bishop, which is also a good sign.
So
it was a sad day when the member from Cleftones wasn't at his home when
we stopped by for his appointment. But this week we met I. S., who was a
famous wrestler but who's now retired. (He has a WICKED mustache.) He
was overthrown by the famous Hulk Hogan, and we're meeting with his
family this Thursday. Cross our fingers it happens!
Sudfreevan
went to a store named Bloom, and we were able to do some service and
clean up their toy room. It's where orphans can come, and shop around
for free (they're given a set amount) and can choose to buy things from
clothes to toys to school supplies. So when the orphans come in,
everything is all neat and tidy. Our first service project as a trio! :)
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| Sudfreevan in action at Bloom! |
As we had stake conference, we watched this video which was so amazing. I testify that God is REAL. :)
http://www.mormonchannel.org/video/mormon-messages?v=3701964025001
-Sister Sudweekshttp://www.mormonchannel.org/video/mormon-messages?v=3701964025001
P.S. As we cleaned Bloom, The Triple Threat HAD to try this awesome Sumo wrestler thumb war game from Japan. Thumb wars never got so intense!
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| Who won? I'll never tell! :) |
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