This road literally
went on for miles! Pride almost started to set in .
Hey y'all!
First of all, happy anniversary on the 18th to mom and dad,
and happy birthday yesterday to mom! I hope it's been a good week for both of
you (: Sharon, thank you so much for your letter! That is exactly what I
needed. Have you seen the new video, "He is the gift"? We're handing
out pass-along cards, but I still haven't seen it! We got to see a preview in
the MTC, but that's totally not fair that we don't know what it's about.
Here in Barnesville, it hardly ever snows. The big
thing was an ice storm last year, and everyone freaked out about that.
But all I've had is rain. Today is almost hot, even! Although I wouldn't
mind having a little snow to play in or just look at right now (:
Well, this week has been pretty exciting! I'll start out with
the best part - the baptism! Tia finally got baptized after trying 3 other
different times! This time she was so ready though. She just gets
it. She was so excited to be baptized so she could go to the temple and
have eternal life! Haha she's shooting a little far out there and maybe missing
a few details along the way, but I'm just glad it all makes sense to her
now. We were talking, and she finally understands why missionaries would
sacrifice that much time to come out here. She totally gets it now, and
didn't reject the idea of going on a mission (: She'd be an amazing missionary.
Tia's baptism! With
her dad Ron, Sis Watts, Tia, me, her mom Jenny
(recent convert) and little
brother Keegen.
West, on the other hand, didn't make it to his baptism. He had a death in
the family the night before and was super busy with that, and then we just
couldn't get in touch with him, and after lots of craziness and waiting, we
just decided to do it next week. Dang it. He's also so ready.
But satan is coming at him, and he's gotta act soon! Keep praying for my old
man.
Lucille is great as ever. It was really sweet, because
in her confirmation blessing the bishop blessed her with better hearing and
sight (haha she's pretty much deaf and blind) and this week she went to the
hearing doctor and got a new hearing aid! I'm not sure if that's what he meant,
but hey she’s doing her part! She tells us that she's never going to forget her
girls. Ahh I just love her!
This week we spent a ton of time up in Atlanta listening to
Elder Kopischke of the 70! We had a multi-zone conference, and another day we
had a fireside for everyone. That was amazing! He talked a lot about faith,
and how there's a cycle. desire, give it some room, do not cast out,
swelling, enlarge/enlight, increase in faith - all from Alma 32: 27-29.
But once we get to the 'do not cast out' stage, that's where Heavenly Father
takes over and the rest is up to him to give you the swelling and
increase of faith. Haha okay so it sounds better when he said it, but you
get the main idea.
(To the ward also:)
One thing that Elder Kopischke talked about really stuck out
to me. We spent a solid hour talking about how to get investigators to
church not just by inviting them, but using power in your invitation.
Yeah, we go to church to renew our baptismal covenants, but they haven't made
any yet! But church is also a place where we can receive revelation.
We're supposed to invite them to come to church with a question and treat it
more like an experiment than anything. So we tried it out with Ashley
(Bro. Adam's teacher aide). What an inspired move. We invited her
to come to church with a question, and also reminded her that she has to come
to church twice before she can get baptized. She hasn't been yet because
of the distance, but she was so willing to come this time! She even moved her
baptismal date up to December 2nd, which is the earliest she can get baptized,
and still have both me and Sister Watts be there! Ashley came to church (early,
even) and brought her mom! Aww, what a stud! She is so solid. Also, as I
was reading in personal study this week, I came across 1 Nephi 17:41 - because
of the simpleness of the way, there were many who perished. (talking about
Moses when he held up the rod with the snake) It amazes me how many
people will stop doing those primary answers - go to church, read scriptures,
say prayers - especially in the hard times; because those are the most
important! That's the time that you have to cling to those simple things!
You're getting divorced? COME TO CHURCH! You have a question? PRAY! Your life
is crazy and hectic? READ THE SCRIPTURES! It's that simple. Don't be the
one who doesn't look at the serpent because it seems too easy.
Alright, back to investigators. Okay, so continuing
with Ashley haha. She's amazing! And she was my very first lesson that I
taught when I got here. What a miracle that I get to see her get
baptized!
Ooh so Amy and Cory! They're the family that we found when
we got a flat tire and had to use their bathroom. We invited them to come
to a ward Thanksgiving dinner last thursday and they came! They fit in
perfectly with the ward, and it was just so awesome to see them there! They're
totally going to get baptized. Also, Sis Blocker facebook stalked Amy and
found her post about us! So precious. Anyway, I'm just super stoked about
getting them started on the lessons! And they said they'll come to church next
week too! I was thinking about it though, and I'll probably be gone by the time
they're baptized :( I almost wish I could just stay and help them get
there. Haha but Amy did say she wants to keep in touch with us so we're
good (:
Yesterday was interesting haha. We were at a member's
house, when this random voice informed us about a tornado warning.
Apparently throughout the whole city ,they have speakers just for tornadoes and
such. I felt like I was in the hunger games or something! Anyway, we
hurried home in the pouring rain and obviously had no idea what to do.
Here, let me tell y'all just in case you're ever in a tornado! Hide in the
bathroom with no windows, and put a mattress over you. Who would have
thought? Haha I was almost hoping something cool would happen just so I would have
a good story, but no. I don't know if it's because I'm a missionary or
what, but I wasn't even scared. I know that Heavenly Father is protecting us,
and I know because of my patriarchal blessing that I'll make it past my
mission. Speaking of, I had a mini opportunity to teach music.. OKAY. So
I taught Sister Goggins about repeat signs. Haha it's a start, right?
Hopefully I'll have more opportunities to teach music like my blessing says, but
for now, I just play the piano in about every meeting.
Hiding in the
bathroom with our mattress for the tornado warning!
At our zone meeting, I talked to President Harding and he
said that there is a possibility of me leaving the 4th, but still not positive.
One of the AP's told us we should be getting info this week.
Honestly, I've been thinking about it a lot (just at night.. it's not bothering
my daily work I promise!) If I stay, I am totally okay with that. I can't
wait to keep helping the people we're working with right now! But if I go, then
I know that the people in Taiwan are ready for me, and I can put my zhongwen to
good use. But I will labor wherever the Lord calls me. For now, I'm here
in Barnesville and happier than ever (:
Sister Facer
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