Hey family and friends! What a great week. Sounds like things at home are a little crazy, but this week was pretty sweet. On pday (memorial day) we had a BBQ at the mission home and then went to FHE where we got another BBQ! Afterwards we asked James Singly, the ward clerk, if he could take us to go see some people. One of the LA's we wanted to see actually lives at the house he does. He is renting a room from a members home. Tannah O'Banyon, a recent covert, also came with us to see Kylynn (that's her name). So we all kind of swarmed her house and had a lesson on the Atonement. Kylynn said she just had a few holes in her testimony. It was a powerful discussion and she said she would cook dinner for us any time! So we are eating there Thursday :)
Tuesday we biked to the mission home (again) and actually video chatted with Elders in the Jacksonville, Florida mission about how they do online proselyting. We got some good ideas. A little later I was talking to Elder Suggs who seemed very depressed (this is the Elder serving a mini mission). He decided he wanted to go home early from his mini mission and talked to President about a service mission. So he was excited but then found out their family would not be able to afford it. We had a heart-to-heart conversation on how God has a plan for all of us. A few hours later he was told that his mission was paid for, someone donated their car for him, and he could serve in a month. How awesome is that? Other events of the day. I found my favorite store ever. It only exists in Montana. It is called, "Candytown USA." Any candy you could dream of. Scorpion suckers, old fashioned soda's, and a soda fountain where they make the soda in front of you and the ice cream is PHENOMENAL. The whole store has a 50's theme to it. I could spend hours in there!
Guess what Wednesday was? Yep, another roadtrip! Longest drive of my life, but so much fun! President felt it would be best for Elder Suggs if both Elder Bonaro and I drove him back home. So he gave us the keys to his truck and we left about 8AM! Elder Suggs lives in Outlook, Montana, a town of about 50 people, only 15 miles from the Border of Canada. About a 13 hour round trip! We switched drivers halfway both times so that neither of us got tired. We dropped Elder Suggs off and decided to go to the Canadian Border haha. So we did! Got a picture of the gate and the flag! Border patrol there is a joke...you could walk to Canada haha. On the way back we stopped in Glendive (halfway) at a Taco Johns. Basically a knock off Taco Bell. Had actually a pretty cool experience. We went to order our food and the cook came up to us and asked if we were forced to go on missions. We exxplained that we actually pay our own way and choose to be here. Then he said, "Well I'm a Christian." Elder Bonaro responded, "Great! So are we!" And the cook replied "OH NO. Nononononno you arent Christian (as we're wearing our name tags in his face). We asked how so, and he said, "When you compare the Bible and the Book of Mormon, they totally contradict each other." I'm like..."Have you READ the Book of Mormon?" He claimed he did and we asked what difference there is and he didn't have an answer. He then said, "Well...Christians believe we are saved by Grace. Mormons believe you are saved by works." I quoted James 2:17, "Faith without works is dead." He said that was true but he couldn't "do this right now." So he left haha. Although we are absolutely saved by Grace when it comes down to it. But without works like Baptism, the sacrament, the Temple, etc then we wouldn't be showing our Faith. This occasion reminded me of a scripture found in D&C 100:5 saying that as long as we are preaching and speak the words that enter our heart, "you shall not be confounded before men."
It's been raining non-stop this week. We biked all day Thursday, so we were soaked and sweaty and muddy. My white shirt was brown mainly from sweat. "How neat is that." Anyways, we've been going down our list of 400 names of YSA to see who is who. JUst that day we found that 2 moved, 1 was married, and one wasn't on record. We found a couple people but not a lot of success.
Kind of a funny finding story...we were looking for a Shonda Schallenburger. We arrived at the home and a man answered. We asked for her and this guy shouts back asking if she was there. We here a reply back saying, "No!" We asked when we could come back and she replied, "Never." Interesting people. We couldn't see her at all. Later that night we found a Kyra White. Who was on our roster but turns out she has a child. She happily let us in and we talked. She is living with her boyfriend, still has a testimony but it is difficult to come to church working graveyard shifts, a child, and a boyfriend who is Catholic. But she said her Boyfriend is interested in taking the discussions! However he is a truck driver, so he is difficult to get a hold of.
Sundays. Again the best. Hasn't failed. So it was fast Sunday and the first person who went up was a special needs girl. This is how her testimony went:
"Something you need to know about me, I love Star Wars. I was watching it the other day and tried to compare it to the church. The church is like the Millennium Falcon. With CHrist as the Pilot taking us far far away back to our Galaxy to avoid the storm troopers. How sweet is that?! So true!
Spiritual thoughts for the week:
9 Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;
10 Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.
11 For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our flesh.
12 So then death worketh in us, but life in you.
13 We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak;
14 Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you.
15 For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.
16 For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.
17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;
18 While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.