Tuesday, October 22, 2013

October 14, 2013

So can I first off say that last week was a crazy, busy spiritual week? Because it WAS!
Monday we went to Goodwill with the elders (they had to get their oil changed so we were their ride for the day) and prepared for the upcoming winter. After dinner with Sister Meaders we went to go visit a less active family - the Karchers. It turns out that the week before we had come to visit that Sister Karcher had been praying about going back to church because she wants to work on family history. Her son asked her "Mom, why don't we just go back to church?"

Tuesday morning began an exchange. I went to Wellsboro with Sister Kerby. I DROVE! It was a long drive though. We visited with a couple less actives and a recent convert. After our lesson with Dymond, the recent convert, Sister Kerby told me that had been the most interested she had ever seen him. He had been pulling out scriptures about service and missionary work and asking us questions about several things. It was an amazing lesson.

Wednesday we once again made the long trip back to Bloom. We did an exchange review and then headed out to work on the area book. We spent several hours on that but got much farther with it. Afterwards we went to see if we could be on campus at Bloom University and we are still working on that. From there we went to Brother Saffron. We didn't talk about what we had planned but instead about temples. That night we had an amazing lesson with a woman, Stephanie, who had met with missionaries before. We found out later that after she met with us, her whole world blew up. Satan is a PAIN!

Thursday we went to State College at the early hours of the morning to listen to and be trained my Elder Mervyn B. Arnold. The whole training was just WOW! I can't put all I learned into words. That night though was so said. It was heartbreaking. Our recent convert, Martha basically told us that she doesn't believe that Jesus died for her personally and that she can rely on him. It was a hard, sad lesson to be a part of. Probably the hardest I have ever been in so far.

Friday was stir crazy day because we were weekly planning up until we went to dinner at 5! With our area book still in the works it took longer than if it had been all together. That night, we took some of Elder Arnolds advice and headed to Weis to get ingrediants to make cookies. In the parking lot we talked to a woman named Pam and she wanted us to go visit her Mom. However, she is in the elder's area so they were happy for a referral. When we were in the store we ended up talking to an older couple, Kavin and Linda and inviting them out to church. We talked with them for several minutes about a variety of things. That night we found out from Martha that one of her friends is moving away and she wants to give her a Book of Mormon!

Saturday, I feel like we made thousands of bite sized cookies - four different kinds. It took us awhile. That night we had an amazing lesson in the Forsberg's home with Stephanie. We read the 2nd to last paragraph of the intro and then read Moroni's promise. She let us know that she knows its true but she is in the part where she is fighting with knowing and doing what is right.

Sunday, Stephanie didn't show up to church with her kids because she stayed up till 6 in the morning writing a paper (we have church at 9:30 am). We then went to go visit Janice, she is doing well. Afterwards we went down the hall and talked with Don. If we can jimmy rig it, he will come to church this week. Hopefully we will see if baptism is on the horizon for him when he speaks to the Bishop soon. After church we went to go visit someone the bishop had asked to only to discover they no longer live there. However while we were down there we met several more people that we are going to visit tomorrow (Tuesday). Then we picked up the elders to head to the Steenburgs for dinner. It was crazy but it was amazing. The whole message was shared was that Jesus Christ was always there for them.

October 7, 2013

Last Monday, right after studies we went to the chiropractor for Sister Stovall. While talking to him we found out that he had at one point worked for a Mormon. Not much later we went to a Mexican restaurant - Playa Cancun - if this place had to go food, it would be my favorite place.
 
On Tuesday we spent longer than normal at the food cupboard. Not only did we bag potatoes this time but we also bagged chicken. Of course, at one point we had to run to the car to put in quarters so that the meter would not run out of time. We barely caught it in time. We went to Genea, she is a less active and doesn't want missionaries visiting her anymore because she is tired of explaining herself. We then went over to Janice and showed her how she could watch General Conference on her TV. That night in Margot's lesson, Brother Dick spoke to her needs. When asked what she would do if she knew that the Book of Mormon was true she said "Be baptized, next." She started crying during the prayer when she asked if the Book of Mormon was true. It is slowly starting to hit her.
 
Wednesday morning brought district meeting. The zone leaders were there. For a part of the meeting we talked about how the work is exploding in each of our areas. After the meeting we went to visit a less active on our records only to discover that she does not live there anymore, she is in jail. However, the person that lives there was very much interested in talking to us. Carla, was asking how she could get her daughters baptized, if they could eventually do what we are - a mission, and she told us about her own life. While we were talking with her, her daughters came home from school. One of the them asked if she could come with us. We set up a return appointment for Friday. We then headed over to meet with Brother Saffron. According to Sister Stovall, it was the most focused lesson she has had ever with him.
 
Thursday we visited the Hart's. From there we visited with Martha and ended up talking with her about temples and family history. After the lesson, we went to track down someone that the Danville elders had found in their records but was in our area. Dave and Cynthia were sick but kind. We helped them figure out where the church was located, talked with them about General Conference, and then as we were leaving they gave us homemade bread and organic eggs. The first loaf is almost gone already. We had dinner and a lesson at the Oast home. Margot is a student at Bloom and had been taught by Sister Oast. When they first met, they were excited to see each other again. The whole lesson focused on showing Margot that she had already been doing a lot of what she is asked to do.
 
Friday started out with sickness. I am convinced that our apartment is cursed. Sister Stovall got sick and is still sick with a cough and a couple of other issues. She just feels yucky. We went to Bloom Care to visit with Janice, only to find them beginning music hour. We helped out and then had a lesson with Don, Janice helping out. Don grew up RLDS. He questioned why there wasn't a prophet on earth today, he has read the Book of Mormon, and wants to know what to do so he can be ready to go home. Don is in a wheelchair but not the typical age for assisted care. He has a surface understanding but not a "knowing". Before the lesson with Don, Carla called and cancelled - her grandma was in the hospital.
 
Saturday was in all reality spent at the church because of General Conference. We had a mini potluck with one of the women in the ward. It was an amazing experience.
 
Sunday we had breakfast with the Jordans, they live out in the middle of nowhere. Then we spent the rest of the day at church watching General Conference.

September 30, 2013

Monday we went to the fair. We basically just looked around at exhibits and things. We were there for an hour and half. It was a good time. The elders were rather interesting with their antics at the fair.
 
Tuesday was a busy day. We began with going to the food cupboard. We bagged peaches and potatoes. We watched the DVD Finding Faith in Christ with Martha. Sister Boik was there with us and we were able to talk about what is bothering her - tithing. That night we had a lesson with Margot. At the beginning it was a bit rocky. As the lesson went on things changed. We committed her to pray with real intent. She has been praying but going through the motions really and we believe she will see the difference.
 
Wednesday I woke up sick. I went to District Meeting anyway. We ended up having the meeting outside because they were cleaning the church - shampooing the floors. After lunch, I asked for a blessing. I slept until the next day to prepare to head to Martha's baptism.
 
Thursday after I showered and changed, I had a black spell because I hadn't eaten due to sleeping. Sister Stovall found me sitting on the floor. After eating, I had more strength. I got to learn about family history while we were waiting for the font to fill up. Witnessing Martha's baptism from the side was amazing. She was a champ because the water was freezing - there is no heating in the building.
 
Friday was a day of health. I worked a lot on my health. I was also able to receive a blessing of comfort and counsel that has helped.
 
Saturday we helped out with the soup kitchen that the ward put on. It was amazing to talk with people and help out so much. We were able to talk about the gospel so easily with them. We ended up going to visit a potential, Courtney, but she wasn't home. However, we had a third companion in her dog for a little while. It was funny. We went to the broadcast for Relief Society that night with one of the members, Sister Forsburg. It was amazing to be able to get to know the woman in the area and to be able to listen to the broadcast. So much was talked about.
 
Sunday we were able to witness Martha being confirmed. That was so amazing. She said that she felt "tingly" after her baptism and that it continued on. We saw Janice. After speaking with Janice we ended up doing an impromptu church for those in Bloom Care. We met a man that was part of the Reorganized Church and was very much interested in learning more from us. He is going to join us this Sunday when we visit Janice. We invited him to watch General Conference and he is going to watch it on his computer. WE invited everyone we met to watch it, we met a lot of Catholics.


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