A Pretty Good Week

This past week was pretty good.  We had the car so we didn't walk as much and it has started to cool off so we aren't roasting in the humidity.  Wednesday was a great day!  We started off with our studies and volunteering at Hills and Dales.  We went straight from Hills and Dales to the home of one of the Marshallese that Elder and Sister Thomas have been working with.  James is a member, so they have been teaching his girlfriend Aline.  The only thing holding Aline back from being baptized is getting married.  So we went with the Thomas' since they finish their mission the middle of October so we are slowly picking up the people they have been working with.  Well we taught some of the commandments and then asked them about marriage.  They told us that they would be married on Saturday so that Aline could be baptized before the Thomas' left.  We were all so excited, but shortly after we left their home James called the Thomas' and said that they decided to get married in December so that family from the Marshall Islands would have time to come for the wedding.  Later that afternoon we went and visited one of the less actives we work with and that went well and we created a Book of Mormon reading chart to help her with her reading. That evening we met one of the member's downtown and rode with him and his coworker Vera to his home.  We had dinner with his family and Vera and then taught the first lesson to Vera.  Neat story about Vera.  She is from Ghana and a couple of weeks ago she had a dream where one of the few members of the church she knows gave her a check for a large sum of money.  She had told Brother Meder about this dream and he invited her to meet with the missionaries.  The evening was going well and during one of our conversations she asked about the missionaries in Ghana and how they got to Ghana.  We didn't think much of this question, but come to find out this question was huge!!!  Anyways the evening went well and when we were getting to the end of the lesson it was getting time for the baptismal invite, but near the end she mentioned how she will read the Book of Mormon and will come to church with us every once in a while, but she couldn't become a member.  My heart sank because I was the one who was supposed to extend the baptismal invite and here she basically denied it before we could even extend the invitation.  So we continue on for a little bit and then finally I just bore my testimony and extended the invitation.  I can't even describe how scared I was because the last thing Sister Whipple and I want to do is to scare her off, but we went with the faith that we are supposed to extend this invitation and she hesitated, but she didn't tell us no. I loved teaching her in a member's home because the spirit is in a member's home and she already trusted the member, plus the member's testimony is invaluable. 

Sister Whipple and I on road trip to Iowa City.

Thursday we woke up early and the Thomas's picked us and the other sisters up and we headed to Iowa City for the mission tour with Elder Robert C. Gay of the seventy.  There were 8 zones from the mission there so it was a lot of fun to see some of the missionaries I've served with.

 Sisters Lindgren and Call

Sister Lindgren was there and I haven't seen her since the very first transfer meeting when we first arrived in the mission field.  She is now serving in Carthage working with the same people that I had worked with and learned to love!  Well the meeting lasted all day and it was AMAZING!  I can safely say that it was probably the most spirit filled meeting I have ever attended.  One of the things that Elder Gay talked about was the three most important things for a missionary to remember.  The three things to remember are:  Who are you?  Why are you here? and How are you to do it?

Who are you?  You are a divine instrument in His hands.  

Why are you here?  You are here to help deliver the powers of Heaven to others through ordinances and covenants.

How are you to do it?  By following with exactness the purpose of Preach My Gospel.  

At the start of the afternoon session of the mission tour.  Elder Gay started talking about being a mission president in Ghana.  Right after he mentioned this Sister Whipple and I turned to each other to see if we both understood that this is no coincidence.  He continued to tell about Joseph William Billy Johnson who was a great pioneer for the church in Ghana.  http://www.lds.org/ensign/1999/12/steadfast-african-pioneer?lang=eng (here is a little about his story, but Elder Gay went into more detail) Anyways Sister Whipple and I could not believe what we were hearing.  The faith in the early pioneers of the church in Ghana is inspiring.  And we had absolutely no idea that this is how the church came to Ghana.  Which if you remember the night before,  Vera had asked us about the missionaries coming to Ghana.  Coincidence?  I think not!   

 

Anyways the entire day was so spiritual and it was amazing to hear the testimony of a special witness of Christ!  

I love you all and hope you have a great week!

 

My group!  Sisters Johansen, Woodbury, Lindgren, Despain, Stapley, Call  Elders Phelps and Brown

 

Love you!

Sister Call