Lindsay - March 21, 2016

Feeding baby goats at the Russels

I went on exchanges with Sister Mary Mccombie!!!!!!!

Hello Everyone! I hope you all have had a great week! Our week was so good! And it was Spring Break, so we had our doubts that a lot of people would be gone! But they weren't! It was truly a tender mercy of the Lord:)

On Tuesday, I went on exchanges with Sister Mccombie. She is the sweetest sister I have ever met! She is happy ALL the time, and she is so kind and loves everyone. She is also really bold in lessons, and will ask them directly if they will come to church (even if they have health problems:) So usually our days have consisted of canceled appointments. But we saw people non-stop! We went and saw Roxy, and that was a really good lesson. Becca (a less active), came with us, and she made some inspired comments in the lesson. After lunch, we met with an older women who the ward council referred us to go and see. She told us that she never has visitors except for their home teachers. She was really touched by our message, (the Restoration), and we could tell that she has a strong testimony. Oh I forgot to tell you about her dog. Oh my gosh, when Sister Mccombie and I came to the house, the dog started barking non stop! He was a chiwawa, but his eyes literally bulged out of his head! It was the funniest thing! Of course I didn't want to pet it cause he looked like he wanted to bite my hand off!! haha! Later that day, we decided to go over and see Becca's aunt. We came into her home, and her grandson comes in and we start talking to him. He apparently had been baptized when he was 10, but his mom was in jail, and so he had had a rough life. But he told us that he wants to change, and so we taught him the Restoration! It was an amazing lesson! And Becca and her sister Rachel came and joined in with the lesson too. It was awesome!

On Thursday we saw Roxy again, and we went through the baptismal questions. It was really good to go through those, so we could cover any other concerns she had. She did really well, and she believes whole heartedly in being honest. So that is good! We then went into town so we could get an oil change and tire rotation for our car. So we took a lunch break and had Dairy Queen! We both got butterscotch dipped ice cream cones. It took me back to my childhood! After we got our car fixed, we went over to Frank's house to have a lesson. Frank had gotten really mad at Chelsea, and her daughter, and so he was pretty frustrated. He was also fixing a car, so we just asked if we could say a prayer with him. Sister Steele said the prayer, and by the end of it, he was crying. he told us, "Thank you." and then went over to the car to start working on it again. It was so sad. But he texted us later saying that when we said that prayer, that a wave of anger left him, and he felt more confident. The Lord is truly mindful of his children. Even in a small prayer, the spirit can uplift and strengthen those that are struggling. It was such a sweet experience. 

After that we saw Ida and Jim (Ida is a non member, and Jim is a less active). They are an older couple and we stated our purpose frankly and boldly. But apparently it went over their heads. We told them that they weren't doing their part by reading the scriptures and going to church, and so we thought they would get the hint. wrong.... they totally missed it. So we are just going let the ward know that they need home and visiting teachers:) Later that night, we met with a referral given by our bishop, and he had been taught the missionary lessons before. But he showed interest in taking them again! We got to know his religious background, and how God has strengthened his life. His testimony was so simple and so full of faith. We were truly led by the spirit in that lesson! The bishop's daughter also was present in that lesson, and she helped our new investigator as well. When we invited him to be baptized he said, "Someday, I will." We asked him what made him hesitant. He didn't necessarily specify what was holding him back, but Sister Steele was so inspired as she went on to talk about how he doesn't have to be afraid to be baptized. It was a really good discussion. We truly felt that his heart was softened during that lesson. We are so excited to teach him, and help him to make the necessary steps to prepare for baptism!

On Friday we did a lot of weekly planning! I would have to say that it was the most effective weekly planning. Every time we talked about an investigator, we would pray for that specific investigator before we planned for them. We did a lot of praying that day! But it was so worth it! We went to the John's for dinner, and her cooking reminded me so much of your cooking Mom!! She made southern fried chicken (like the breaded chicken you make Mom), with mashed potatoes, milk gravy, salad (with avocado, bell peppers and onions:), toasted bread and German chocolate cake for dessert! Oh my lanta it was good! I am so sorry everyone that I am detailed in explaining meals! haha! Later that night we taught the Marble kids (Jade and Gavin). We taught them about the gospel of Jesus Christ and the steps of repentance by going through head, shoulders, knees and toes. First you acknowledge, or know you did something wrong, then you feel sad and guilty, and it weighs you down on your shoulders. Then before we go to our knees, we go to our pockets and repay what we have done wrong. Then we fall on our knees and pray to be forgiven, then we go to our toes, and we kick that sin right out the door! They were such good listeners, and we reviewed it a couple of times so they could remember it:)

On Sunday, we had a wonderful day! We had stake conference, and someone from the seventy came and spoke to us. At the end of the talk he said something like, "To all those who are non-members and are investigating the church, stop wasting time and get baptized!" Wowzers! It was great to hear him say that! After that comment, he shared with everyone that he was a convert. Then he proceeded to tell his conversion story. It was amazing! I loved every minute of stake conference! We visited a few people before we headed off to dinner with the Russels. They are the sweetest couple, and they have baby goats, so we bottle fed them:) Sooooo cute!! Then we went to the Hargis home because we hadn't seen our bishop in a few weeks (he is a doctor). So we talked to him about our investigators and the ward. After that meeting, there was a stake meeting for the youth at his house. Sister Hargis made some scones and had a bunch of different toppings. Then 60 youth came!!!  Wow! And bishop asked us to speak at it!! Plus there were a few non members there so it was awesome! We talked about missions, and how we decided to go on a mission. We asked the youth who were planning to go, those that were unsure, and those that weren't planning to go. We talked a little bit about how we can be missionaries even without a name tag. I felt the spirit so strongly during that lesson! And we got to know the youth a little bit better. So that was our week! Best Spring Break ever for sure!! I love you all! I hope everyone who is on spring break will have an amazing time!

Sincerely,

Sister Dunn