Hello, hello, hello,
It's been an interesting week. Last Tuesday we went and saw
two of our investigators. One we've been working with for months and one we've
been working with just a few days. It's crazy to see how prepared someone can
be. The one that we met just a few days before has been grasping our message
far better than the one we've been working with for months, and she was one of
the last people we thought would be receptive! That's why you don't judge a
book by a cover, or their shelf life.
Wednesday was great. We were able to see Yvette and she is
doing really well and is reading the Book of Mormon. We also saw Amanda and
taught "PRO" (Pray, read, obey) and she loved it. Everything we do
now is "totally pro." Haha. It's great to see how far she has come
and the difference in her we've seen since she decided she wanted to change
rather than us deciding for her. We also had dinner with a less active sister
and it was so much fun! I now how to make a 3 course meal in 20 minutes in a
microwave, you'd all best be prepared.
Thursday was pretty low key, highlight though: We were
teaching Diana the 10 commandments and we use hand signs to help people
remember them. So for #6: "Thou Shalt Not Kill" we form our hands
into guns and put them in our holsters. Haha. And she went on this HUGE rant
about how that is just too American and how Australians only kill each other
with knives. Haha. It was so funny because myself, Sister Swan, and Sister
Edwards (the member that came with us) are all American and the whole knife
statistic just made me think of Crocodile Dundee saying, "That's not a
knife, THIS is a knife." I got quite the kick out of it. After that, we
went back into the spiritual side of missionary life. Amanda, her children, and
Yvette all came with us to see a baptism in the stake. They all really liked it
and afterwards said, "You know what, you are all invited to my
baptism!" It was pretty cool. Watching a baptism usually makes or breaks
an investigator's desire to get baptized, so I'm glad it got her excited.
Friday we had our zone training meeting which was most
excellent. You never know how competitive missionaries are until you put
Scripture Jeopardy on the board. You also don't know how strange your sense of
humor gets on your mission until you put Scripture Jeopardy on the board...
Haha. After our training meeting we went and did some service with Amanda and
had a lesson with her. I just wish you could know the love I have for her and
her children! We mentioned I'd be out of the area for Saturday and she said,
"Umm, can I petition that? You're not leaving!" She was relieved when
we said it was only for a day, but when transfers actually do come, oh boy. I'm
not the one to tell her.
Saturday I was on exchanges with my dearest Sister Teahe!
She goes home next week so it was fun getting to be together as companions one
more day. We went and did service which was quite the adventure. It was pretty
fun though to be honest. It was 100 degrees plus, we had to pull every piece of
grass on a huge property, and there was rotten fruit everywhere. :P But it was
a blast because we got to talk about old times as we worked and the three hours
flew by. Then we went and taught the Plan of Salvation to some new
investigators, taught a lesson to a recent convert family, and did a bit of
tracting. It was such a fun day. I love Tahidaho! :)
Sunday wasn't overly exciting. Church was great, most of our
investigators were sick, and Sister Swan gave a great talk. That was life. I
love Sundays though, the Sabbath is a delight! :)
Monday was quite the adventure. It was Canberra day and
missionaries work on holidays, so no p-day. :) Sister Makabenta from the
Philippines and I were on exchanges. We went and saw our beloved Nana Julie,
did some tracting, and saw some miracles. We went and saw some less actives and
part member families, and it seems like God is just really helping people with
their desires! Out of no where two of the parents of recent converts decided to
give up smoking and drinking. I had to have their eleven year old pinch me to
make sure it was true. The Wellings had Amanda and her kids over for FHE and it
was fantastic! First off, I love the Wellings! What a great family. And Amanda
loved FHE so much that she wants to start doing it every week! Member
missionary work at its finest.
It's been a great week (well, whole mission) with lots of
laughs and lots of spiritual moments. I know that God loves us and wants us to
be happy. It's not easy sometimes, it's not easy a lot of times. But it isn't
supposed to be easy! It's supposed to be hard. Trials and hard times don't
happen to us, but they happen for us. They give us the opportunity to hit our
knees, cry unto the Lord, and use the atonement in our lives. If life were
easy, there would be no point for the atonement. And I know that Christ did not
suffer and die in vain. He did it for you, He did it for me. The atonement is
always there, we just have to use it. I'm so grateful for my loving Father in
Heaven and my loving Savior. I'm grateful to be in their service especially
coming up to Easter. That's my weekly dose of testimony, but before next week
check out: Followhim.Mormon.Org
All of my love,
Sister Danielle Laree Stott
Picture: Since I was called a stereotypical American with
the whole gun fiasco, I thought this picture would suit. :)
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