Hey everyone! I hope you had an awesome Easter Sunday. It was memorable one for me. The whole day just had a good feeling to it, and testifying about the message of the Resurrection has a profound power to it.
It seemed like we did not have one moment this week where we didn't have something to do. And those are the best kind! Monday was the start of transfers.But most of the driving took place Tuesday and Wednesday. So Powell is right in between the towns of Lovell, and Cody. Each about 30-35 miles away from powell. What we had to do Tuesday was drive to Cody, get picked up by the Meeteetsee sisters who drove us to Lovell, drove back from Lovell to Cody, and then drove home. So that was about 2.5 hours of driving just missionaries back and forth. Wednesday was even more driving. We got all the way to Lovell (30 minutes) and realized we left the keys to the Meeteetsee truck which was there in Lovell, in Powell. So we called the Sister Missionaries in Powell to go into our basement, get our keys off the table, and meet us halfway. So we got to Lovell way later than planned.Then drove back Cody to drop off an Elder, then back to Powell. Good thing I like roadtrips!
As for lessons this week...we had an all time high if 29! I am LOVING all the work going on in this area. It is now booming. However, we had a few lessons that I did not enjoy. Wednesday morning we met with a less-active lady named Sister Rankin. A chain smoker. Anyway, we've been doing a lot of service for her and have been really trying to help her come back to fold, since she got offended a millennium ago. We planned on teaching her the Plan of Salvation (being close to Easter). When we asked to share it, she replied, "I don't care." She's been reading the Book of Mormon but was under the impression that it was ABOUT Joseph Smith -__-. If we could just read the Title Page...She proceeded to say our church was false because of Polygamy, Baptisms for the Dead, Authority, and so forth. You know what is common without fail among opposes of the church? NOT ONE of them has PRAYED about the Book of Mormon fearing the answer that it could be true. And if it's true, they are false and have to change. A few months ago I shared scriptural evidence on this blog about Polygamy being an eternal principle in the Bible. Moses, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David, Solomon, all had TONS of wives. For the sole purpose of building a righteous posterity, at a rapid rate. That has ALWAYS been the case in the Bible since the beginning of time. The Book of Mormon is actually the ONLY book that counsels AGAINST Polygamy when it is not authorized (Jacob 2). I pointed all of this out to Sister Rankin and she refused to accept it. I flat out told her she does not believe in, or understand the Bible then. I was heated lol. Whenever someone attacks things they don't understand and are "past feeling" the answer, then sometimes they just need a reality check. But yes...I could have done it with more charity :) Working on it!
I roped my first cow Wednesday!...sort of. It was made out of PVC pipe. We came a cross some college-aged kids in the middle of the road roping a steer made out of PVC pipe in practice for the upcoming rodeos. So they taught me, Elder Rasmusson, and Elder Jackson how to rope! All of our first times. I got to be pretty good at it! (pictures below).
I've been really sick half the week. LAME. I got whatever Elder Rasmusson had, and then gave it back to him. So we both have it now haha. My head was throbbing, my body ached, I had no energy, and it was weekly planning....so I was especially miserable. But the Lord kept me going. Brother Davis had a knee replacement surgery Thursday, so we went over there and gave him a blessing. He was already walking! After the blessing Brother Davis hugged us and said he feels like he has a calling to be a temple worker and he needs to fulfill that calling. This man has been less-active for decades! I got chills and just wanted to cry. They've been meeting with the Bishop and are working towards the Temple :) One of the greatest people I've worked with so far. And the biggest change of hearts.
We taught a new part member family this week. The husband wants to come back to church. The wife is ":Wicken..." Which means you create your own God, worship the elements, and have a book of shadows...literally a spell book. It is more or less a witchcraft religion. Scary stuff.
This week was just full of miracles. We came across a single mother with an 11 year old son. She's had 5 knee surgeries in a year, and just moved here from Washington. She is not a member, but has been a "missionary mom" for 2.5 years to the Elders in Spokane. She is non-denominational but loves to feed us and is down to have Bible studies. She told us up front not to push her, but that when the time is right, she does have some questions about LDS Doctrine. We love questions! She owns a catering company so she has lots of food for us all the time. THe home she is currently in, needs a lot of help. SHe hasn't been able to work for a year because of her knees, so she's reached out to the church for help. What I love about Marianna is she is not just a needy lady wanting free welfare. She is so humble and has full intentions of paying the church back (which we obviously won't accept. So we have been extending lots of service to help her move things around, get her utilities fixed, and replant her garden. It's really a blast, I love service.Her son's name is Damon, but it is pronounced like Timon but DA-MOAN. He has extremely similar disabilities as Jesse and he reminds me so much of him!
Easter Sunday was awesome. We were invited to 3 different dinners and we have tons of left-overs! Each one had Turkey, Ham, BBQ, Potatoes, homemade rolls, GOOD STUFF!
This is getting really long. But we had 10 investigators at church and 11 less-actives this week! That was so exciting. I am still getting over the sore throat, but I feel much better. Tonight we drive to Billings for Mission Leadership Council tomorrow in Helena. More roadtrips! Thank you so much for the Easter Package family! I will put the parachute men to good use. love and miss you all! Don't laugh at my coordination. This was my first time...and I was in a suit haha but I did get good at it!
