I just want to climb to the top of a huge mountain and like
scream for joy. This week has been UNREAL. Sister Folsom and I decided that the
only way we could adequately even begin to describe it is like the feeling when
you get a first kiss and then you close the door and you are just flooded with
happiness and like butterflies. Except.... these are like spiritual
butterflies. Like Holy Ghost style. I just am in love with my life right now.
Like we went to bed smiling and I dont think we have stopped smiling. My face
hurts. GAH. I dont even know where to begin.... MIRACLESSSSSS. We are up to our
ears in AMAZING THINGS.
NICK
Gah. Okay, so Nick is the boyfriend of one of our laurels and he
has been progressing so so well. He could get baptized tomorrow if he
wanted. The Merrill's (his girlfriend's family) have just like taken
him in. I am pretty sure that he is closer to Brother Merrill than he is
to his own dad. Everyone in the Merrill family except for the dad is
out of town and Nick wants to do as many lessons as he can before his GF comes
back. He is like so committed to doing this on his own and not having his
feeling for Kenzi influence his decision in getting baptized! It is so
exciting! So Brother Merrill is there for all the lessons and it is
amazing! And he is well on his way to getting baptized. He asks such good
questions and I can just see it in his eyes that he knows it is true. The most
powerful thing is when an investigator takes that leap of faith and prays
in front of you to know if what we are teaching is true. We asked him to
be baptized last night and he said YES!
KAREN'S GUARDIAN ANGELS
We got a referral from the spanish elders the other day because
they tracted into this amazing woman named Karen! We were on exchanges and I
was way nervous because this was like my 2nd real lesson that I had taught and
Sister F wasn't there. But we prayed and had faith that It would go smoothly
and goodness.... it did! We stopped by and she told us that she is in such a difficult
situation. They dont have a car that works, dont have money to fix the car and
because they dont have a car they can't go find a job to get more money. They
also can't afford groceries, they dont have a ride to go and buy groceries.
They dont even have money to pay for the city to pick up their trash. So her
husband Catalino walks 5 miles into town everyday to stand on a
corner to find work for the day.
I have learned on my mission that poverty is real and there are
people here that are trying so hard to make a life for themselves but they just
keep getting kicked down. It is so hard. But Karen saw something in us and so
she let us in. We taught Karen and her two kids (Aiden, 9 and Victoria 16) the
restoration and they were so so excited about it. In the middle of the lesson
Aidens friend comes to the door and asks him if he wants to come play with him.
Aiden says he can't, closes the door and then comes and sits back down on the
floor next to me! WHAT 9 year old kid turns down playing to hear
about the restoration of the gospel! It was so so cool. We invited them
to the 4th of july breakfast and by some MIRACLE got them a ride and an instant
fellowshipper in the ward. Oh man. SO awesome.
On saturday we went back and Karen started tearing up and said,
"miracles are happening since you have been in my home. I know that it is
you guys! I know it!" She told us that her brother mailed her money for
food randomly and THEN her husband got offered a full time landscaping job! I
said, "Karen that is so great! But how is he going to get there if you
dont have a car..." she started tearing up again and said that the person
is going to pick him up everyday and drop him off everyday. Wow, what a blessing. They came to church
yesterday! Victoria's boyfriend even came! They were all wearing jeans
because they dont have any church clothes. The ward didn't care, didn't judge
them, they swarmed them and took all the kids to the right
classes. They fully, fully, embraced them and it was amazing!
Sacrament meeting was packed for some reason and so there wasn't room for me to
sit by Karen. I was SO nervous that she was going to like raise her hands and
say "HALLELUJAH!" In the middle of someones testimony because that is
what she is used to, but I couldn't tell her anything or explain things to her
because there wasn't room! I was a nervous wreck.... And THEN In the middle of
testimony meeting Karen leaned over to Brother Hawks sitting
behind her and said, "I am sorry sir but whats the priesthood?" he
quickly got up and knelt next to her and explained to her what the
priesthood was and he was talking to her for a good minute or two.
It is amazing. The members here are UNREAL. They keep thanking
US for letting them serve and helping with our missionary work. We just have
to keep telling them that they are the ones that are going to be blessed.
SO neat. Karen kept hugging me and saying that I was her guardian
angel. We are going to buy her groceries and drop them off at her house because
they dont have anyway of getting to the store! I think the ward will help them
out if she keeps coming to church. So cool. I love love Karen and her family.
We are going to ask them to be baptized this week!
OUR BEST BUD FROM THE PRE-EXISTANCE
Sister F keeps saying that she is going to name her first born
son Matthew after this guy. That is how much she loves him and I couldn't agree
more. Oh man. Sister Merrill (the sister that was here before me) tracted into
him when sister F was on exchanges and they gave him a book of mormon and he
started to cry. He knew that there was something special about it. He is 28 and
is amazing. He reminds me so much of Adam Sandler only with a beard. He is so
so sweet. And he loves the Book of Mormon. He knows that there is something
different about us. And we can see him changing. He used to just blow cigarette
smoke in our face when we taught him but now he realizes that it wasn't chance
that the missionaries knocked on his door. He wants answers.
He used to be a truck driver and you can just tell from his
quiet dignity that he knows himself so well.
I just picture matthew driving through the vast countryside with
nothing but his thoughts and the rolling pavement. I know that we have
what he has been searching for. We invited him to church on saturday
and he was super hesitant but we bribed him... we said, "okay we will
bring you dinner?" no bite. "we will...... bake you cookies?"
nothin..... "we will wash your car?" didn't budge. then I had a
brilliantly stupid thought come to my head... I said, "Matthew... what if
we make you a rap song." He smiled so big and said, "YOU? Two white
city girls? HA! It's a deal."
He came to church.
We need to make a rap! gah! we came up with one line so far...
it goes:
"July 07 matthew came to church/ to find the good word/
pray ponder search."
pretty good right? right? We are going to try and incorporate a
baptismal invitation into the next line and present that to him tonight.
After church we stopped by last night and we pull up to his
house around 9pm and I kid you not... this was like something off of a church
movie. Like the best two years or something...
ready for this?
We pull into the driveway and Matthew is still in his pressed
collared shirt from church, sitting in his garage in a camp chair READING THE
BOOK OF MORMON. Sister Folsom and I looked at each other and wanted to cry. We
talked to him about church and he said that he really enjoyed it and that he
really likes that fact that we dont have crosses and images of christ on the
cross. He said, "That part of other churches has always made me feel so
uncomfortable. Why would I want to remember my savior that way, in pain? It is
nice to see that ya'll dont have that." Then he talked about how he really
likes the BoM and how he totally gets that it is true. He asked, "So what
does it say that there can only be 3 witnesses of the Book of Mormon?" and
Sister Folsom and I go on to explain how the book was just too sacred... blah blah
blah... and then after listening to our whole schpeel he says, "Well I
mean I get that.. but like I mean if it's true, why aren't these plates like in
a museum or something?" He is just so so legit. I love him...
THEN if our love for Matthew isn't already exuding out of
our ears.... We asked him to pray and oh man we just about died. It was the
most genuine prayer I have ever heard. I had tears streaming down my face by
the end of his prayer. It was amazing. He just talked to god like he would a
friend. He said, "God, i want to walk with you, if this is the right path
so I can do that, so I can walk with you and have you by my side, then help me
to know that it is right. I dont think that it is just coincidence that these
sister missionaries are in my life. I know that I have a lot to change, a
lot to work on but I can do it if that is the right path. Show me the
way to walk with you..."
WOW. I almost hugged Matthew it was unreal. Sister F and I
were bouncing off the ceiling the member that we were with is preparing to go
on her mission and she was so pumped too! Oh man. THIS IS WHY I AM
HERE. I know for a fact that we knew Matthew before this life. I can just
feel it. We better not get transferred TOO many good things are happening
in our area.... as Sister Folsom always says, "his spirit bore
witness to my spirit that he knows its true." TRUER WORDS HAVE NEVER BEEN
SPOKEN. Oh man..... I know this is like a way heavy email but it was a
good week.
6 investigators at church and 5 of them are
progressing. UNREAL. We had to go through the drought to get here. I may
have seemed peppy and all smiles in my other emails but these first 5 weeks
here have been hard and we have hardly taught anyone... but now our hard work
is paying off. I love this gospel and I can honestly say that I have never been
happier. Oh man. GOD BLESS TEXAS.
In closing let me just share with you something that Elder
Mortimer shared with us when we were talking about faith at a meeting on the
4th of july. We were talking about faith and how faith and fear are opposites.
FAITH<------->FEAR
Elder Mortimer said, okay so if faith without works is dead...
and they are inverses of one another, then fear WITH works is dead. So in order
to not fear we just have to act.
WELL SAID.
LOVE YOU.
Church is true.
xoxoxox
-sister king
Temple trip, so pretty!
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