Dinner Appointments

Dear Everyone,

I am sending the official letter to Mom so that she feels like she is being included ;) And to make up for President only emailing Dad. Wow- that is Hilarious!!! I'm pretty sure Mom should write a book about her experiences with the boys. Also, I am super jealous of that hiking trip. Is the whole family going? ;) 

I'm not entirely sure if Mom should go... she and Sister Tambasco would attract all of the bears. 

And yes! The power of stories is INCREDIBLE. :) That is one talent that I didn't think would come in handy, but Oh! It is so amazing to tell an investigator a story and watch their eyes light up as they suddenly understand a particular doctrine or principle. It is amazing.

When President Holzapfel was here, he would always quote the scripture in Psalms 121:4 “Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.” Afterwards, he would always talk about how the Lord is mindful of everyone- he remembers those people that were rushed to UAB hospital in the middle of the night, and although our work day ends at 9:00-9:30, his never ends. I thought it was a really nice thought, but this past week really brought a whole new meaning to everything.

 We had a less-active/recent convert that we haven’t seen in a while- Sister Jackson and I have been rather worried about her. She’s a great lady and has incredible faith, but she’s just struggling with the typical things that a recent convert has to struggle with. On Thursday, we knocked on her door and she said, “Oh! I’m SO glad you came! I have to tell you, the other day I had the AWESOMEST experience with the Book of Mormon.”  (Previously she hadn’t been reading the Book of Mormon on her own… Sister Jackson and I would go over to her house and read it with her, but she didn’t typically read it on her own. The past few weeks, Sister Jackson and I felt like doing lessons instead of reading with her. Lesson #1 learned. When we don’t read with her, she is more likely to read on her own.) When she started explaining what she had read, she got so excited she nearly burst. The entire lesson, she just talked about what she had learned, and then during testimony meeting, she got up and bore her testimony, and then she did it again during Relief Society. It was AMAZING!!! She is just on Fire!

 The Spirit prompted her to read Mosiah 2-4, and she sat down and read it all, and had an absolutely fantastic experience. It was incredible because Sister Jackson and I had been praying for her, and wanting to see her, but we weren’t able to make it fit, but the Lord used that time when we were absent to work on her. We never know what is going to happen when we are gone. The Lord works around the clock, not just during that one-hour period when you are there. Lesson #2.

 And Lesson #3 from that experience- the meaning one person finds in a particular scripture can be COMPLETELY different from the meaning you find in it. As she was reading, she was talking about how her prayers were answered, and how she gained a more personal testimony of the Book of Mormon and that President Monson is a prophet of God. What she learned with the specific scriptures she was talking about, made absolutely no sense to me, and I had NO idea how she pulled that lesson out of that scripture. But that was okay. She was having her own beautifully personal experience, and growing her own beautifully unique testimony, she should be having her own personally unique experience. And it was beautiful.

 So, that experience was really quite amazing. I loved it.

 Also, Robin and Randall are doing pretty well. (I realize I've only used their names when talking about investigators... I do have more investigators... I guess the most stories just seem to come from them... also, they are really working towards baptism. Robin is hoping to be ready by next week. :D :D :D Robin had bronchitis this past week, so we haven’t really seen her, but on Sunday Randall came to church and afterwards we all had dinner with a member family. On Saturday we had the Elders give her a priesthood blessing, which was an incredible experience. Wow. It just blew me away how much the Lord loves her. She is really seeking to draw closer to God, and it was pretty evident that he really wants her to come closer.

 It was a great opportunity to really help her feel the power of the Priesthood. We’ve talked about it a lot, but every church claims to have authority from God in one sense or another and in general, the people we teach don’t really seem to understand why we need authority (which doesn’t make sense to me… But I’ve always grown up feeling like God would be one do things in a certain order, and have limits on how we can use his name). I was incredibly grateful that the Elders were willing to give her a blessing and that we were able to explain the Priesthood in such a personal way.

 We also loaned Robin The Testaments. Hopefully she will feel the Spirit as she watches it… and feels less sick.

 On another up side- I gave my first Chastity lesson- and to a couple living together too!! Everyone seems to be living together… but honestly, the state doesn’t help a whole ton with that. If you are getting checks from the government, you get a whole lot more money if you aren’t married than if you are. (And the whole lot really is barely enough to make ends meet.) But, I digress. It went well… sort of.  It was SUPER awkward and SUPER embarrassing, and my companion did NOT help AT all… AND she was laughing at me the whole time… But it somehow turned out good. They had to pray about it, and they didn’t like being told that they needed to get married or stop living together before their baptism, but they had SUCH incredible faith. Wow. They are amazing. They worked it out, and we are still seeing them. I know I’ll have to give that lesson many, many times before I leave Alabama… I just hope everyone reacts the way they do.

And, as if three up sides were not enough, I have a fourth. Whoot! The Elders had someone get baptized on Sunday!!! We’ve never met him before, but he seems like a great young man who has a lot of faith and will make an incredible member. J It was a beautiful service, and it was actually in English. Oh! To see someone come into the flock like that- AMAZING!!! Baptism- do it! Missionary work- Do it! 

Also, enjoy having the missionaries over! Don't cook Spaghetti, Top Ramen, Sandwiches, or Macaroni... :) that is my 2 cents. Also, something I've learned. If you want to be a good missionary, just get used to having gospel conversations with everyone. Just talk about it. Most people aren't terribly shy about their beliefs, and if you aren't too threatening, it can provide really good conversation. I'd challenge you to try and have a gospel conversation with someone once a week. Just talk about the gospel- don't try to baptize on the spot, but talk about it. That is what the members who are really effective with missionary work seem to do. 

We don't really have a ton of dinner appointments... I think in 9 weeks we've had three... so a little more than once a month. Mostly if people feel like feeding us, they ask us if they can have us over for dinner. That is kind of how it works. Missionaries tend to befriend a lot of the less actives and old widows, so we don't really spend much time around those who could feed us, such as the families. 

LoL- yeah... the other day we went over to a family that reminded me of the Bennett family. Just looking at their house scared me. It was that huge. (I've recently realized that big houses scare me... If I'm not in a run-down apartment, I just don't feel like I belong there. Who would have thought someone who grew up in Woodland Hills would ever feel like that?!?!?! I'm going to be TERRIBLY scared to return home.) But they are the friendliest people ever, and they spend a TON of time serving and helping people out. They are really great people.

Well, now that I've written an incredibly long letter (and on a rather uneventful week...), :) and talked a bunch, I should head out. But, I love you all a TON!!! Once again, Dad, your advice is spot on. Thank you. I actually REALLY needed that advice. We had a lovely experience this past week where we got to give someone an ultimatum of sorts. (Basically you start keeping commitments and start taking us seriously, or we are going to have to stop taking you seriously... it reminded me a bit of what you said happened with Twig.) And we get to find out what happens tonight. Love HAS to take a HUGE role in this. Hopefully she will choose to keep going.

But- good luck with school! I'm envious!!!! Enjoy it. :) Good luck to Sabrina- I really hope you make the team. Love you all!!!

Remember the Church is True- and READ THE BOOK OF MORMON. In Relief Society, we were talking about what we would do/say if it were our last day on Earth. If I this were my last message ever, and if I could only say one thing, I would say read the Book of Mormon. Now. Today. And every single day of your life. Trust me, it can work miracles.

Love you all!

~Sister Pratt