One of Michael Jackson's super cute baby kitties!
The Austrian family who fed us this week and sat with us at the Sister's Conference, which was fantastic.
The Robertozzi family--very clean and healthy.
Note from mom: This is Missy's letter from last week. She thought she'd sent it but found this week that it hadn't happened.
Family Dearest
Things are happening! The clouds are marvelous, the trees are changing, it smells like fall, the yards are starting to house those horrific blow up creatures, etc.
So, things that have happened this week include service. We finally finished clearing out that shed full of wood. There were spiders galore! but none of us were bitten, thank heavens! It was pretty gross though, because all the wood on the bottom was decomposing. When we'd go to throw it in the woods it would just fall apart everywhere. Ick! We also helped a member, Ernesto, bag up all his stuff because his apartment was being fumigated for bed bugs. Then we took everything out and hung it all back up.
On videos.lds.org there's a cool video about "Patterns of Light" by David A. Bednar, you should all watch it. We shared it with an inactive member who had been offended previously, as people do. She said just hearing the word "Holy Ghost" creeped her out in her childhood, and I think this video helped. The Spirit was super strong in her house after we watched it, and I know without a doubt that she felt it. She acted like she didn't afterward, but she did.
Also, with another less active member, we watched Dieter F. Uchtdorf's conference talk "You Matter to Him." She also felt the Spirit and told us how much she liked him and the other apostles. She said she'd watch conference this year, so yay! She also told us a crazy amazing story from before she went less active. She had just had her first baby and he wasn't doing so well. Her husband (not anymore) said they needed to go to Church, and she said she wanted to stay at the hospital with the baby, but he insisted so she went. Elder Boyd K. Packer spoke at their sacrament meeting, and afterward shook everybody's hands. He came to her and she told him what was going on and why she didn't necessarily want to be there. Later that day as she was at the hospital, Elder Packer came in and gave her baby a blessing. The doctor's had said he shouldn't live, but the next day they said he was totally fine to go home. They named him Boyd.
Another member told us how, before she even knew about the Church she was at the World's Fair in Chicago. She and her mother came to the Mormon Church booth and they saw a picture of the apostles. Her mom said, "Hey, they have twelve apostles, just like in the Bible. That makes sense." They walked away and as they were going, a man tapped her on the shoulder. He said to them, "Hello, my name is Gordon Hinckley. I couldn't help but overhear what you said. I'm one of those apostles." She and her mother soon afterward joined the church.
One more story that's cool. We have a member from South Africa who taught the Gospel Principles class. There
was a man in her ward in Africa who saved up all he had, and when the priesthood was available to him, he used
his funds to go to the nearest Temple, which was in London, for his endowments. He came back and in stake conference had a couple minutes to bear his testimony of it. The meeting was running short, and he said, "If only I had enough faith to stop time so I could tell you all that I want to tell you from my experience." As soon as he finished that sentence the clock stopped. Everyone looked at it amazed. He turned to the Stake President, and he told the man to continue speaking for as long as he wanted.
Oh, sorry, one more. We have an AMAZING member here who loves to share the gospel, Brother Thompson. Backtrack: Another member invited her neighbor to Church. The neighbor is a Muslim, but decided to come anyway. She has been coming for the past month, even though she doesn't understand much. The member who invited her doesn't want us to teach her friend yet. So Brother Thompson took it upon himself to start teaching her, and then when her mother came, to teach her too. During Sunday School they meet in their own classroom, and he teaches them the gospel at a level they'll understand. He's reading the new book about Mormons and Muslims so he can better understand where Mina and her mother are coming from. We didn't know about it until Sunday, when he pulled us into the class after they'd left. The board was covered with names and arrows and all sorts of confusingness. But he said that after the lesson, Mina's mother said, "This all makes so much sense." And he said in the closing prayer he gave, he was guided by the Spirit to say things he wasn't planning on saying and Mina's mother was in tears by the end of it. He said the Spirit was super strong. He said once he sets a foundation for them, he wants us to start teaching them the lessons. They are soooo prepared! Agh!
We got to teach Kevin this week. He came to the Stake Luau with Karissa's family and we got to talk with him. He said his parents were very unhappy about everything, but he wanted to continue learning and wants to be baptized. He's praying for a date. He and Karissa got in a fight, and he told her that maybe they should wait to get married until after he served a two year mission. I sure hope he does!
Dawn and Judy are doing well, and Bill is still on the mend. They watched the "Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration" movie, and they LOVED it! Hard not too.
We drove to Pennsylvania this week to see the Kings, a family in the ward. And to get there we had to drive through New York. That's right, three states in one day.
Ok, I think that's it. Big week. But it went by super fast! Eek! Poor Sister Bell is going home in two weeks, it's gonna be sad going back to a two person companionship. Trios just have so much fun. Oh well. Love you all so much. Lots of hugz from Joysey!
Love,
sister myrtlesby
