Called to Serve

Okay first things first. Yes I love veggie chips! Amanda, thank you for sending them to me! Hahah.

P.S. sorry I forgot to tell you my P-day changed. It's on Thursday this week- but next week and for the rest of the Transfer it will be Tue.

 

Glad to hear things are going well. I hope dad is feeling better. It was fun to hear about Carson. Sounds like he had an amazing mission! Also... point taken... no getting into Cabs with strange people. Lol.

 

This week has been a whirlwind. We're working at the temple 3 times this week and so we only have roughly 4 hours in our area. God has blessed us with miracles, however. He knows our challenges and so we're being led to all the places we need to be. On Tuesday we had an hour or so and we experienced a beautiful miracle. The night before Hermana Crystal felt prompted to spend time in a specific area. We looked through some old names of people who had investigated the church, and we had several people written down, but when we finished I still felt like there was one more. So we looked through again and found one more name we felt inclined towards. That was the first person we stopped by to visit. The man no longer lived there but his cousin did. We ended up talking with her and she just kept saying over and over again... "I know it's not coincidence that you're here. I know it's not coincidence..." Then she asked us if she could come to church on Sunday. Usually we're the ones calling people Saturday night and begging them to come... This was a welcomed change. She's excited to read the Book of Mormon and meet with us again.

 

She was funny too, when she first came out of the house she was wearing this baggy gangster jacket. Later she took it off and said- I'm really a country girl, but when I moved to Kansas City I bought this so I would blend in. Hahahah. Oh man, it's a different world down here.

 

Yes Brother Hatt is doing well! His baptism is this Saturday :) Unfortunately our schedule is so crazy that we can't go! But we just keep telling ourselves that the important thing is that he's getting baptized- and he's close with the ward so they will all be there to support him. The Hatt's just blow me away. We went over the commandments with them in our last lesson and everything we taught them they simply said, "yes, we will live that." They also decided to go back to the month where they received the biggest bonus from work, and pay tithing on that, and every month since then, up till now. They said they wanted to show their commitment. They're also willing to give up happy hour at sonic on Sunday. :) I just love them. They're so inspiring. It's amazing how much I'm learning from the people around me.

 

At church on Sunday I was amazed by the testimonies and character of the people around me. We have a wonderful ward.

 

It is getting really warm here, and the bugs are coming out! The other day in our apartment there was a HUGE spider! It was disgusting. Hermana Crystal told me that if she killed it for me I would never learn anything. So I caught it under a cup and we flushed it down the toilet. She was flickering the lights on and off the whole time I did it. It was a very trying experience.

 

I also called a referral from the Visitors Center this week and talked with a woman (Aunt Pearl) who is just a gem. She reminded mea little bit of Dad, and so I knew exactly how to talk with her. She has gone to church on and off her whole life- Aunt Pearl is her name. She's really close with the ward where she lives. She's moving, however, and half the ward came over to help her get packed up and ready to go, and she cooked them all fried chicken for dinner. She also said the missionaries in her area needed new beds and she had two spares- so she donated beds for the missionaries. I asked her if she had ever thought about just becoming a mormon since she already spends so much time with us. She paused and said, "well no, I suppose I never have thought about that." I said, "Well Pearl, you practically are one, you just need to be baptized." she just laughed and laughed. We talked about the new place she's moving to and what church she would go to, I told her "Pearl, I think you oughta go to the Mormon church." She said, "You might be right..." I'm supposed to call her next week and see how moving went. She was such a fun lady.

 

Being a missionary is wonderful. There is a deep happiness and peace that comes from living life for others, instead of for yourself. There is true joy that comes from living the gospel of Jesus Christ to its fullest. I can feel it build with in me day by day.

 

Well I better get going but I love you and I hope all is well!!!

 

Sister Lewis