Wednesday, October 23, 2013

October 21, 2013



Dear Mom,
     
I don't have a ton to say this week.  I do have some stuff though. First off I got you package :) thank you! I can't wait to give everyone their gifts. The Gunther's loved the calendar and the note, they told me that is a very sweet note and they loved it. Second, I am so sad to hear about Miriam.  That is crazy!!! She will be okay though, I hope she doesn't have a bad case of MS.  My thoughts and prayers are with her.
        
So this week has been interesting. Sister Barkdull has been very sick. We went to the Doctor and got her some pain meds but then they reacted weird and she just started puking. I have really been learning patience, because I did have a headache too, but normal headache medicine worked for me. I have really had to have patience. I feel bad for Sister Barkdull though cause she was really sick, and she stuck it out really well though, but sometimes that is where I got frustrated haha, she has been calling me mom a little because she says "Oh I'm fine I can do it" and I have had to tell her no, and to rest and stuff and she gets frustrated with me, but oh well, I think if she rested earlier she would be a lot better by now haha. But she is finally getting better. :) Wahooooo
       
This week a couple things happened. So at the beginning of the week we visited with the Smiths, So Jacob is a member, but he is not active, and his wife Serena was the atheist, and I say was, cause she is not anymore! We got a call earlier from them and they asked why we always bring a member with us, and we told them it is so they know people in the ward. They were so relieved because they thought that they had done something and so we could not go over there alone haha. So we went over the next day for our appointment and we did not bring a member. Best choice ever. They opened up so much more!!! Serena, we found out went to read a copy of the book of Mormon, that she thought they had and it was just a bible. So she asked us to bring one, and so of course we agreed. We also found out they have been thinking about their little boy Malachi being baptized. They also love the ward and want to know when the next potluck is and the Halloween Party. We found out the real reason Jacob would not come to church. He finally admitted that there is a guy in the ward who he used to work with. Jacob 3 years ago was in an accident and now suffers severe daily migraines and so he can't work. Well this other guy in the ward really started to be mean to him and be cruel. So Jacob has not wanted to come. We told Jacob that this guy actually does not come, he had not been to church in 25 years, and that he just recently started coming back, but the last couple Sundays has not been there. Jacob then felt so much better and said he would try and come! They also said they wanted their kids to get to know us and so we are going over there this Sunday for dinner!!! We did not have an actual lesson, but we just shared a message and it was the best  thing ever to just sit and chat and get to know them, rather than just be the people that come and talk about church every week. I think we made so much progress with them :)
      
I swear I told you about the referral Jeff, who we just felt like we really needed to talk to and finally after like a month got a hold of him and gave him a Book of Mormon. Well we checked up on him and he admitted he was not too interested, but then we offered service and I also was able to tell him how we found him, the crazy story. And it made him feel really good. It was cool I told him that we are supposed to talk to him, and that Heavenly Father found a way for us to talk to him. It was really neat! I felt so good after we left, he was not even interested but yet I felt so good after cause I know that we did exactly what Heavenly Father told us to do, and I know we planted a huge seed and when the time is right I know he will be a member of the church.
        
This week we went to Belt Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The whole purpose of being in Belt was mainly for people to just see us and to talk to people. We have like no investigators in Belt. But it was cool because our first night in Belt we went to a former investigator's house, Jason.  He took the lessons in 2008.  When we contacted him a few weeks ago he didn't seem too interested, but then we thought we should go back so we did. He was not home, but we left a note on a mormon.org card. Then we walked down town (the like 6 bars in Belt) haha and within 20 minutes we got a call.  He called us back and was like "hey I saw you walking down town and then saw the card you left and I want you to come over again! That is saying something because no one ever calls us back from a mormon.org card, ever. We told all the elders and they were freaking out haha cause the ones who have been out like almost their whole time have never got a call back. He told us he would love us to come back, and so we said yes and set up an appointment for the next day. Unfortunately we ended up moving our appointment and then he did and so we have not seen him yet. But by him calling us back we know he is interested! We then taught one of our investigators in Belt. Cheyenne, she is 15. Hee grandma passed away recently and we taught her the plan of salvation. She started to tear up, and after the lesson she told us, "That was the first time that when someone has talked about my grandma I have not gotten frustrated or just wanted to change the subject, I felt warm" AWWWWWWW we seriously almost cried.  It was the sweetest thing ever.
       
On Saturday we helped Amy and Gus Olsen (your friends with Amy on facebook), we helped them paint and hang lattes, well I got the paint job, which seemed great, but it was a sprayer paint thing, and so my job was to hold up cardboard so it did not get on the house. It was fun, but I did not know I would be doing that, so I got paint all over my boots and my hair, it felt like a can of hair spray was in my hair, cause like I said the paint was put in this sprayer thing. Everyone was joking that the paint just blended in with my freckles. But anyways my boots are covered in splattered paint....so I either need to buy some more or you could send me some.
          
Well that is pretty much what happened this week. Today we hiked the GF for Great Falls, and it was straight up a hill, and I seriously am so out of shape, and then at one point we were hiking down I totally biffed it and scraped my knee! We hiked up there before sunrise so we could watch it, but we couldn't see it, because of the clouds, but we had a very nice devotional, and of course I was called on to bear my testimony, that happens a lot actually, and so I know I probably sounded really scattered because I had three seconds to pull my thoughts together haha. But I really have learned to love bearing my testimony, it used to scare me so much at home, but I love it now. I LOVE being able to testify and tell others that I know Jesus Christ is my Savior, and my redeemer, that because of the atonement we can have a friend who completely understands us and can help us. We can also have a way to change for the better and get back on the right path. I am so thankful for this gospel. I am so thankful to be raised in it. I love my Heavenly family and my family here on earth, who are also part of my Heavenly family.  Anyways after the devotional we ended up losing our phone, Sister Barkdull lost it, and it look forever to find, but thanks to a prayer we were able to find it and after that we said a prayer of thanks :) I love being a missionary.
            
                      -Love Andrea




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