Week 59: Rain..Wonderful Lessons..Humidity..4th of July!..more rain.. Even more great lessons!‏

Dear Family!

 

What a great week to be alive and serving as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints! You know..it was a great great week in Flowood MS. So many wonderful things happening. Lots of Rain and humidity, but I have grown to love it! yes..rumor is true I have still been wearing my cardigans and have a nice subtle tan line..ha! ..but besides that we have found so many elect already this week and better yet this transfer..which can you believe is half way over?! Yikes! Well..Since time just keeps getting shorter and shorter ill cut right to the good stuff..

 

First off I would like to proudly announce that after weeks of trying to get around Flowood ( with just me and Lady Garmin..excuse me..sister Garmin..lol) That I can almost get around all by myself without the GPS! Yes..we can go to the church, most stores and subdivisions, and the library all without the GPS.oh and home on good days! lol. Things are getting more familiar and the area is really starting to take off.
Which leads into what I wanted to tell yall next!

We are finding so many wonderful people to teach! I don't know if I told yall..but last leadership training president Tucker asked us if we really had found all the elect in our area last transfer..This question really struck me and made me want to do all I can to say that I did everything I could and If someone didn't come unto Christ it wasn't because we didn't find them or invite them...SO! we have been harvesting like crazy.. ( hence the awesome tan lines).. One such family we have found as a result of the harvesting is a couple in their 50's. All their kids are married and grown out of the house. They couldn't let us in when we did the initial door approach because they were busy, but set up a time to have us back. When we went back we used 'how to begin teaching' really well and didn't try to shove everything at them at once ( which is something I think a lot of missionaries..including myself.. try to do) We left the saviors peace and blessing, invited them to continue to read and pray about the book of mormon, come to church and set up a return appointment. They weren't able to come to church this week but will be attending next week. We are meeting with them on Thursday and I will tell ya more about them next week..

Next! i want to tell you about the Most AMAZING OTHER LESSON EVER!...so.. Sister Mokalake really wanted a 'black forest cake'. They apparently don't sell them here in the states but have them all over the place in South Africa..The way it was described to me it is a lot like that one cake that Nick made..? The one with the angel food cake stuff then the whip topping stuff and fruit layered in it..? Not a very good description please forgive..but non the less..We had a few minutes before we had to be somewhere..So we stopped in at this bakery in town to see if they sold the cake. No such luck..one of the girls was really nice though and said she could put whip cream on the side of their chocolate bunt cake with berries on top..we said sure. So She got one and it looked really good..so i got one! When the lady handed it to me she said " I did it and it looks like mickey mouse!" to which i replied.." How did you know i love Disney?!" ha.. I proceed to tell her that i worked at Disney world and yeah..she loved us.. ( not the end of the story..) So then we sit down to eat our cake..and I asked one of the guys that worked their to take our picture. He took it and then comes over to the table and says "No way..your from the church?!"... What do you say to that? haha..ehh yes way? ha.. Well that is kind of along the lines of what we said. anyway..to make a long story much shorter..Heavenly Father blessed us with an amazing other lesson right then and there..we at cake and the man went..called his wife and then he came back..pulled up a chair..and we taught him the restoration..It was amazing..all while we ate our cake. Yes life is good and Flowood is golden..haha

 

Well I bet you are wondering about our amazing investigator that I tell you about every week?...Well she came to church again this week..yep! That makes 5 week in a row. Amazing!.. She has really been seeking to know if all of this is true and what Heavenly Father truly wants for her. Her answer has not come though and she was getting really discouraged. Later she told us she came to church praying that some sign or something would tell her what she was supposed to do. We also asked her to pray about the date of the 21st of July for baptism. Which she did. She is so prayerful and so sincere it is wonderful. We met with her on Sunday night and had two of the guys that are here for the summer selling security come with us..(they all served missions and are great teachers) They bore great testimony and the spirit was so strong in our meeting with her. She committed to the 21st and even for a specific time which i went and wrote on her calendar. ( we always are writing stuff on her calendar..lol) I know that the Lord knows she is ready and that is why we are in her life right and that is why he blessed her with the gospel..i have been reflecting again and again on the experience we had before we were to teach her the first time. There was so much opposition and we almost did not go to the appointment and was going to reschedule..but because we went She truly was prepared and we have been able to help her see the blessings of the restored gospel in her life. How great is this work?!I am so excited for her!!..Some funny things she said that I wanted to share with you were...first we were talking about Adam and Eve and she said " He set them up for failure!!" ..and then the second..when we were talking about her baptismal date..we kept saying " have you prayed about your date?" and to her that sounded like.. a date..like a date date..where someone takes you out.. too funny. :)

 

Another really fun thing is on the 4th of July some wonderful members from the Madison ward had a bunch of us over for a 4th of July BBQ. It was so nice to be in someones home for a holiday and so sweet of them to have us over. What a great family with an amazing spirit and story.

 

Oh! and we have a new mission president and wife. President and Sister McDonough. They are wonderful. I would say that they are so sweet and nice. President McDonough is a spiritual giant and a great man. They are both very kid and loving.I am excited to know them better. Though for a short while it will be good. Interviews are either this week or next..So then I'll have more to tell ya! Maybe even some more pictures..haha. :)

 

There are probably more stories..but I cannot think of them right now.

Things are going great with the ward. Not perfect..but a slow and consistent progress is being made to build a better repore with the ward members. We can see the improvement daily..as a result we know more and more referrals will come as we continue to build that trust. Things are going great and I feel so grateful to serve here at this time.  One blessing is so many of the wonderful relief society sisters have agreed to come with us on exchanges this week! We are so thrilled and excited. It is such a blessing and a help to have members with us at every lesson. There is something so special about the testimony of one who belongs to the church. Go teach with the missionaries! You will be blessed. :)

 

Well that's it for me this week.. I hope that yall have a wonderful week!!

Love, Sister Urie

 

Tracting Tips: about 27 cents. We tract a lot..but people here must really value their money because its sure not on the streets!

Southernism: ..this is one yall've heard before..but you know you've been in the south to long when it looks like its about to rain and you say.." Looks like its fixin to storm.." yep true story..

Scripture:
Doctrine and Covenants 123:16-17
You know, brethren, that a very large ship is benefited very much by a very small helm in the time of a storm, by being kept work ways with the wind and the waves.Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed.