Preparing Hearts (Alma 13:24)

Items Sarah received in her "Greenie" Box

Date: Tue, 20 Mar 2012 15:02:34 -0600

I absolutely love you and I am so incredibly glad I get to email you every week.  Thank you for all your emails and letters.  I really appreciate it.

Last Tuesday we met with a man named Joe.  He is 68 and retired.  He is from Indiana. He was going to visit Florida and got as far as Tennessee before he felt the Spirit telling him to come to Utah instead.  He showed up at church a little over a week ago and said that he came to Utah to find out about the Mormons and get baptized.  Joe is absolutely amazing!  He has been so prepared for the message of the restored gospel.  He is really amazing and is getting baptized this Saturday.  Also, we are taking him to the Saturday morning session of General Conference next week, and he is very happy to be able to go and hear the prophet's voice.

On Wednesday we tried to go up to Farmington to pick something up.  Sister Davis had gotten a box that came to the mission office and it had to be refrigerated.  One of the couples that works in the office lives in Farmington, so they took it with them since it would be closer for us to drive.  Well, the directions we got weren't that great.  In the end, the couple had to just drive to us.  It was kind of embarrassing.  We also got some yummy homemade pita and hummus on Wednesday, and that was really good.  On Wednesday night we were teaching a family.  The parents were recently remarried and their children have varying levels of Gospel background.  We are teaching the nine-year-old boy who has not been baptized.  While we were there, the eleven-year-old daughter wanted to give us some dessert.  They had Amish friendship bread, so she asked us if we wanted some.  Then, just to make sure, she asked if either of us was allergic to Amish.  It was the funniest thing.  I think she must have thought that Amish was an ingredient, not a religious group.  Ha ha.  The bread was really good.

On Thursday we went to different auxiliaries to ask for referrals.  When we would get to the door of an auxiliary, we would ask them if I could practice my door approach.  (It isn't very good, and I need all the practice I can get.)  Luckily, most of them were super nice and let me practice.  I am still far from comfortable, but it gets a little easier every time.

On Friday we had weekly planning, which always takes a long time.  We also went to Orange Leaf, which is a frozen yogurt place that gives missionaries free ice cream.  I am often surprised by how generous the local members can be. 

On Saturday we went to two different baptisms.  We had Joe come with us to the first one so he would know what he will be doing in this Saturday.  Everyone there was super nice to Joe and just made him feel so loved.  I am so glad that members are so welcoming and encouraging.

On Sunday we went to meetings in four different wards.  It is sometimes hard to keep track of which investigator is in which ward and who the bishop is and all that.  It is definitely different being in Utah.  Instead of having several missionaries in one ward, there are several wards or stakes for each set of missionaries.  It is really nice to be able to go to so many different wards, though.  I get to see how all the wards are different, but in many ways the same.  The Spirit is there in every meeting, and no matter how big or small the congregation, you can tell that they love and appreciate church.

On Monday we visited more auxiliaries and taught a few lessons.  We taught Joe again.  In our lesson with Joe, there were six members of the ward present.  it was kind of crazy how much fellowship there is. 

That night there was a sisters' sleepover.  It happens every other transfer, and it is when all the sister missionaries in the mission meet at the mission president's house and have a sleepover.  We get there around an hour before we are supposed to be in bed, so we just have a little time to play a game and for the mission president to give us a little message.  It was a good thing, and I enjoyed it.  We were able to spend a little time in the morning talking to the other sisters and just getting to know them a little bit.

Today, we went bowling with some of the elders in our zone.  It was a lot of fun!  I bowled 108 in the first game and 171 in the second.  I got a turkey, but I didn't quite manage to get four strikes in a row.  Next time, maybe...I have no idea when that will be, but it was fun anyway.

I love you all so much.  I can't believe how much I have already learned and how much I learn every day.  The Gospel brings so much joy in my life, and I am grateful for the opportunity I have to share that with others.

Love,

Sarah