Another Wonderful Week!

Dear Family & Friends:

This week was another wonderful week in Mount Vernon!

So you may or may not be curious of the latest update on Karin and Anthony!  Ever since the Mount Vernon Heritage days they have been coming to the church on Wednesday evenings to work on their family history! This past Wednesday, Anthony worked on family history as we had a lesson with Karin at the church!  She was so cute and excited to learn, that you can't help but be extremely excited for her!  At the beginning of the lesson we were asking her what her expectations were and she said that "she was like a dry sponge ready to soak in all that we can teach her, so that she can have a strong foundation, because you wouldn't build a house just on dirt."  Later on in the lesson as we were teaching the message of the Restoration we asked her how her reading of the Book of Mormon was going, since we had given her a copy last week.  She said "The Bible and the Book of Mormon are just a powerhouse!"  The entire lesson went very well and she was excited as we extended the invitation to follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized!

 

Nauvoo

Wednesday night the family history consultant Sister Beeks invited Anthony and Karin to the pioneer day activity that would be at the church the next night!  Anthony and his Sister Angela came to the activity, but Karin wasn't feeling well.  

Saturday night we went and visited with Karin, Anthony, and Angela!  Karin said that they had been excited for us coming over, that that was all that they could talk about.  When we arrived they had just finished reading the Restoration pamphlet together as a family and then they showed us a Nauvoo brick that they had in their house.  Karin said "see it was meant to be that we meet!"  We taught a lesson on the Book of Mormon and the role it plays in gaining a testimony of the restored gospel! When we were done that evening Karin walked us out to our car and said "Did you see how happy Anthony was?  He didn't stop smiling the entire time!  This is just so wonderful for our family!"  

Sunday, Karin and Anthony came to church dressed up and everything!  Now whenever an investigator comes to church, as a missionary you feel like a mother hen and you are constantly worrying about the investigators, but what a huge relief it is when the members reach out with love, and make everyone feel welcome!  Like after Sacrament meeting when we were showing Karin and Anthony where they would be having Sunday School, we told them to follow us and as we started walking, we looked back behind us and there Karin and Anthony were talking with many of the Branch members. 

They enjoyed church and are looking forward to coming again, and when they were leaving Karin, with a huge smile on her face, said that they were going home and reading the Book of Mormon together as a family!

Many other tender mercies and miracles happened throughout the week as well!

- We were able to have a lesson with Paula who is a recent convert, but battles depression and so she hasn't made it to church consistently.  She was at her mom's house when we had the lesson, and we talked about service and the way service makes us feel.  We then asked if she and her mom would be willing to help us out with the Pioneer day activity.  They immediately said yes.  We can do that! And sure enough on Thursday, Paula and her mom were at the activity!

-Wednesday, we found ourselves back at the Offen's, where Sister Porter and I were able to help lay the brick around the arbor that Sister Stoffers and I had helped build my first Friday in Mount Vernon!  

-Thursday we saw Mickey at 8:00 a.m. and then had breakfast with the Eskelsen's at 9:00!  I absolutely love morning appointments because you feel so accomplished early on in the day! Because by 10:00 that morning we had already had two lessons!  

Corn-Bob Pinata!

-We had our last Anamosa District Meeting of the transfer and we each had been asked to prepare a 5 minute talk on a Christlike attribute!  We then had  a potluck lunch together, and Sister Bingham and Sister Murphy had made a "Corn-Bob" Piñata!  Anyways back to the Christlike attributes, Sister Murphy had trained on Diligence, and how when she was serving here in Mount Vernon, she and her companion were meeting with a member at the church, but that they had arrived 10 minutes early.  So Sister Murphy and her companion decided that they would go and try the red house by the church. They went and knocked on the door, and Mickey answered and talked their ear off, but told them that she would never join and didn't want to talk religion.  The sisters now being late for their appointment with the member, then asked Mickey if they could come back and help weed her flower beds . . . Mickey later on was baptized and is now preparing to go to the temple!

- Sister Porter and I had an appointment right after district meeting in Clarence, with a referral from the Davenport, IA missionaries.  We showed up at the house and knocked 6 times, and were stood up. We were trying to think of what we wanted to do to fill in the time, because we didn't have very much time before we needed to head back and help with the pioneer day activity since our branch mission leader was in charge of the activity.  Anyways, Sister Murphy's training kept replaying in our heads, so we went finding. The first home we stopped by the whole thing was just awkward, but the lady was nice and said that we could come back.  We continue on and there were 3 people sitting on a porch, and we started talking with them.  They see our name badges and weren't interested, but we continued to talk with them.  We then asked if we could come and pet their dog, and they continued talking with us.  They then invited us to sit down.  We talked with them for approximately an hour.  And it was so neat because Don kept saying "I had no idea.  I thought that I knew everything and I am learning so much from you.  You are normal people." They even told us that had they not been sitting on the porch and we had just knocked on the door, they would have told us that they were just getting ready to leave, but how grateful they were that they were able to visit with us and how we are welcome to stop by anytime we find ourselves in Clarence! Diligence is wonderful even if it makes you late to the branch activity.

-Friday, we helped Dawn and her daughters move into a town home in Solon.  They are former investigators from Iowa City.  Missionaries were helping them load the truck and trailer in Iowa City and we were helping unload in Solon.  Mike, who was helping Dawn move, said "some of those missionaries are professionals at moving people!  They must do it a lot!"  haha

 

Sister Call & Sister Porter in Nauvoo

- Saturday we were able to ride down to Nauvoo with Sister Beeks, Sister Yancey, and Judy Askew, so that we could attend the session that Heidi was going through!  It was my first time back to the temple since I have been in Iowa and oh how wonderful it was to be back!  The temple truly is a source of strength and peace and what a wonderful experience it was to go through the Nauvoo temple and reflect on the sacrifices of the early saints and the importance of the temple to them!  Last night I was reading a family history of Anson and Mary Call and how important the temple blessing were for them, but how Mary had been bed ridden, so Anson carried her when she was able to receive her endowment in the Nauvoo temple!

Sister Porter, Heidi, Sister Call at the Nauvoo Temple.

Well I love you all and hope you have a wonderful week!

Love, Sister Call