Sister Sudweeks' Southern Stories: We Lost Our Phone!

Happy Monday!

This week felt so long, yet so short. It feels like I was emailing y'all just three days ago. I have less than three months until I'll be back in reality. Two transfers left to consecrate all that I have completely to the Lord! Time flies when you're preaching the gospel! :P

One of the members in our ward has this AWESOME chair!

We had a very successful lesson teaching Ca.'s sister V., and her boyfriend Sh. We taught the entire family the Restoration with the cups on Christmas Day, and V. remembered a lot of it which was exciting. Da., the 17 year old sister helps us teach every time we go over there, and V. and Sh. ask really good questions. They both had the gospel library app downloaded before we even started to teach them because we told them about it at Ca's baptism. They wanted all of the books on their phone just like Ap., Da., and Ca. :) They want to get married because Ca. told them that they should get married in the temple so it can be for time and eternity, and not just for this life.

Af. (our investigator who wasn't raised Christian) was so sweet and asked if she could say the opening prayer. She wrote down what she was going to say in English, so she wouldn't have to worry about translating it into English while praying. Af. first said it in her language, and then in English. We went over the testimonies of the three and eight witnesses, and of Joseph Smith. We were able to answer some more of her questions about Joseph Smith and how he translated the Book of Mormon, and we're going to continue to help her gain a stronger testimony of the Book of Mormon.

It was a pretty funny encounter. Sister Stewart and I both had the prompting to go to the exact same street where we met T. and his golf cart. We sat in the car making calls, nervous that T. was going to make an appearance in my rear-view mirror on his golf cart. We finally got out of the car, and we saw a vehicle coming towards us with a white ceiling, and almost had a heart attack! Thankfully, it was just a white car and not a white golf cart, and we went on our way. As we were walking we decided it was way too cold for him to be out and about because it was below freezing a lot this week. Sister Stewart had the prompting to go to the very last house on the street, and we met J! He has a family and did some deep soul searching when he was 18 or 19 and read the Book of Mormon. J. has issues about the church of man, and how many churches are becoming more like businesses. We were supposed to teach him yesterday, but he had to cancel.

We continued on about our day, and we realized that the phone was missing. We were far from J. and K's street, so we tore up our car and purses multiple times, and asked a member that was at the church to call it for us. Sister Stewart felt prompted that it fell out when she got out of the car to walk toward J.'s home, so we had to drive all the way back there (*cries* miles *cries*) to search for it at 8pm at night. It was so cold and we drove around, and no luck. There were a few people out and about walking their dogs, and they hadn't seen it. We got out of the car and had to walk around and PRAISE we found it! (Praise is my new phrase whenever something good happens. I'm going to say such Southern phrases when I get home.) It was the scariest thing ever because we had over 500 contacts on that phone! Never again!

Zone training was fabulous, and we were able to learn more about the Cycle of Faith. When Elder Kopischke came and had the first half of the mission, he taught it to them. But since we weren't there, we talked more about Alma 32:27-28 more in depth.

27 But behold, if ye will awake and arouse your faculties, even to an experiment upon my words, and exercise a particle of faith, yea, even if ye can no more than desire to believe, let this desire work in you, even until ye believe in a manner that ye can give place for a portion of my words.

28 Now, we will compare the word unto a seed. Now, if ye give place, that a seed may be planted in your heart, behold, if it be a true seed, or a good seed, if ye do not cast it out by your unbelief, that ye will resist the Spirit of the Lord, behold, it will begin to swell within your breasts; and when you feel these swelling motions, ye will begin to say within yourselves—It must needs be that this is a good seed, or that the word is good, for it beginneth to enlarge my soul; yea, it beginneth to enlighten my understanding, yea, it beginneth to be delicious to me.

The cycle of faith discussed in Alma 32. This was one of the BEST Zone Trainings I've attended!

A part of Zone Training was discussing the importance of Family History. This Elder's response about family history had us all smiling.

It was just amazing, so amazing we read the last half of Alma 32 with V. and Sh., and they were so focused and paid attention! We were taught that there are actions that people must do, in order to gain a perfect knowledge of things. Give priority to the word of God, don't cast out what you're learning with unbelief, have an inkling of a desire, and you'll receive certain results such as swelling, enlightenment, and good fruit. Sh. and V. know what they need to do to gain a testimony of the Book of Mormon, and they're making those steps to receive one! I asked Sh. if he's felt any of those words in verse 28, and he told us that we've been over a lot and he wasn't always included in the lesson because he was busy, but he felt something different whenever we were there. Now that he's been taking the lessons just for a week, he feels a lot more calm because of it. They're amazing! They have to find better jobs first so they can move out of the house, and then they want to get married, and then get baptized. They have a goal to get married by June, so it's weird thinking I won't even be in Georgia when they get baptized.

We taught Da. and Ca. part of the Plan of Salvation again because they need their new member lessons, and V. and Sh. sat in as well even though it wasn't directed towards them. Ap. received a priesthood blessing from Brother Avery yesterday and we're hoping that'll help her in progressing in the gospel. But she's been listening to the Book of Mormon on CD and praying a lot.

We went back to the Val's home (where we cleaned their house on Christmas Eve because Sister Val. had knee surgery) and we taught their three kids the Restoration- D., Se., and Jo. D. and Se. are on date for February 21st, and it's exciting because Sister Val. has been inactive for a minute, but she helped us teach the lesson to her kids. Jo. is five but he was still good during the lesson. :)

It was so exciting, but An. and her entire family came to church this Sunday! It's been over 2 1/2 months since An.'s Mom has come to church, and we're praying that her heart has been softened so An. will be able to get baptized soon. (This is the nine year old who was supposed to be baptized when I first arrived in Covington and then her mom withheld permission.) We've been over to that house weekly to see how they've been doing, and I'm praying she'll be able to get baptized this transfer.

One of my favorite quotes of this week is, "No amount of sorrow can make things right, only the perfect love of God can." We had sisters zone p-day last week, and that was mentioned in the Emma Smith movie. :)