Week #28 - What a week!

Hello Familia y amigos!

What a week! Usually the days feel super long and the week flies by...this week, total opposite! The days went by WAYYYYYY to fast and the week seemed to last forever!

So on Monday we went to Monticello and we went to a thrift shop with Sister Wadsworth (The senior couple serving in our branch) and she had a ball shopping with us! I seriously felt like I was shopping with grandma Caye! lol she just got so tickled when something she picked out fit! So we were able to get a couple of new clothes! Soooo much fun, but I have never spent 2 1/2 hours in a thrift shop before without ever leaving the dressing room! lol

Shopping in Walmart was like heaven just because everything was SO much cheaper than in Warren. We made it all the way back to Warren...and guess what we forgot to get...yeah so it is good that we are still on car week! ;)

On Tuesday we got to put on our jeans again and help Sister Eileen Smith clean her house. She has a bad back so we got to do some bending and scrubbing for her. She uses ever cleaner under the sun though, and I was most definitely NOT used to that. 

We made a ton of phone calls, like an hours worth of phone calls! Yes, I can actually talk on the phone now. It isn't my favorite thing. But I can do it! 

And we had a spiritual harvesting miracle! We were out spiritual harvesting on Parks st and we knocked on all the houses that looked inhabited. And after not very much success we decided to get in the car, pray, and then be led by the Spirit. We came to the main road and Hermana Howton parked. She pointed to two houses and I picked the one that was directly on Main st (we really only had time to visit one house.) We knocked and a voice said something. So we shouted, "the missionaries" and the voice said, "I said come in!" (I don't like it very much when we are the ones to open the door and step in, and it happens a lot more frequently than you would imagine!) Anyway we opened the door and I introduced ourselves and the lady said, ''yeah, come in, come in! Sit down, Sorry I missed you last time ya'll came I was in Little Rock." (we had never knocked on this lady's house before....what happened was that we had received this lady as a referral from the elders in Monticello. Her name was Ebony, and we had try to contact her but the elders had given us the wrong street name and we weren't able to find her house anywhere!) So the Lord had led us to Ebony and after talking with her for a little bit we discovered that she is actually the daughter of one of our investigators! How crazy amazing is that?!? So we gave her a Book of Mormon and set up a return appointment!

On Wednesday we had zone meeting and we were able to discuss the importance of prayer, faith, and works all together. I have never felt so inspired to do missionary work! Our mission president has really been focusing on the importance of using the how to begin teaching points and inviting everyone to be baptized during that first visit! Do you know how inspired that is?!? How to begin teaching is SO effective. I have no idea why the entire 6 weeks in the MTC wasn't spent on roleplaying, memorizing, and using it!

We went on exchanges and I was able to go to Bryant with Sister Miller. And it was AMAZING! All we did was use How to begin teaching and inviting to be baptized! We taught 5 lessons, invited all to be baptized and set one date! It was so amazing! All of that and we were able to avoid going contacting in Walmart. (Sister Miller had planned that for 8:30) and I was trying really hard to look forward to it....but I wasn't really succeeding. I have never had anyone ask to see my ministerial certificate and driver's license before either... that was a bit crazy...

On Thursday we exchanged back and we had a pretty interesting night. We visited with the part member family, Scotts. And the lesson was...well, it made my brain hurt. It was super overwhelming how much we read on Nephi's vision about the great and abominable church...yikes, that just happened to be where sis scott was in her book of mormon reading so we decided to help her. And her husband read with us...yeah. I am just praying that we can go back...

Friday was awesome because we used How to begin teaching and set a baptismal date with Shalanda! She is a referral from Sister Bryant and she has two daughters that are baptismal age! We are so excited for them to come to church. 

We were able to talk with a lady Ms. Wilkers who is in her 90s and she was out digging in a flower bed. She was also telling us how she still runs her own tiller! It was pretty impressive. 

Pentacostal people are nice but they scare me a little bit. We got a referral from a recent member to go contact these people. They read us the Bible verse from Galatians where Peter or Paul was telling the people that if anyone preached any other gospel unto them let their souls be damned... so we left them with a prayer....

Saturday was sweet! We were finally able to get a hold of Rabbit and talk with her. She is such a sweet lady and I want her and her husband to get baptized so bad. 

We were able to set 2 more dates this evening with Amanda and Michael Reed. They are the cutest couple ever. You would never imagine them being together but they are so sweet and they want to really learn for themselves! I know that they are going to get their answers and be baptized! 

Sunday was awesome. After church was potluck and then we were able to go and see Nora, she is struggling to quit smoking again. But she gave us an almost full pack of cigarettes... I have never handled so many cigarettes than on my mission... actually this week! Hermana Howton and I are not quite sure how to dispose of them....

I have to say that members are the answer to missionary work and Hermana Howton and I really saw that this week. We have been studying PMG 160-162. And what was really awesome was that we talked with with a member's less active son and received an invitation from him to visit his friend Johnathan. I can't tell you how many times I have knocked on Johnathan's door and never has anyone answer but that night he did and we were able to invite him to read from the Book of Mormon everyday. That experience really taught me that members ARE the key! So we are really going to be working on ITM-ing our members in Warren and start teaching more in their homes! 

Plus we had the opportunity to be an answer to a prayer last night. We decided to see an investigator that we haven't been able to see in a little while and we knocked on the door and she opened it and said, "Wow, I had just sat down in my chair and said, 'Lord, I could use some help just about now'!" And then we knocked! How amazing and perfectly timed is the Lord!?!

Being a missionary is the coolest thing ever! I am so glad I have been so greatly blessed! 

Keep up the good work!

Go and share the gospel because there is no greater gift that you can give!

Love ya'll so much!

Hermana Ives