Whoever the millions of people were that told me Wisconsin has the
nicest people on the planet weren't kidding. These people are SO sweet.
We did meet one guy during which I had to restrain my companion before
she punched his teeth out, but he didn't want to be in Wisconsin anyway.
So he doesn't count :)
This week has been AWESOME. Just like literally ten minutes ago on
the bus to the library, a woman named Kim came onto the bus, saw us,
and instantly, without even really knowing who we were, asked if she
could hear more about our beliefs, particularly if we had hope for a
better world. Which is the exact topic that BOTH of us were studying in
personal study this morning, so BAM. New investigator. Golden
investigator. I say that about everyone though :)
This week we got 7 new investigators, which was apparently a pretty
big number. Then again, 5 of those were a family, so it's not all that
special. Still, we love who we're teaching!
First is Samantha, and
her family. She came to the church asking for aid with food. She has
seemed very interested but her family is rather chaotic and all over the
place, and honestly she might be a moocher. So Sister Ipson and I did
buy her food one day when her daughter's fiancee was sick, but I don't
know how she's going to react if the church doesn't offer her anything. I
can't quite tell how genuine her interest is.
Second is Becky, she was a referral from the elders. Her mom is a
recent convert, and she contacted us asking to be baptized. That's what I
like to hear! It took us forever to get in contact with her, but we did
finally teach her the first lesson. She's SUPER sweet, I love this
woman. She struggles with self-worth, but that's something this gospel
can give her, I'm SURE. We just need to get her into a good atmosphere.
We taught her for an hour and a half or something, which generally isn't
a good idea, but she had lots of questions and concerns and it was good
for her.
The last is Matthew, a 20-yr-old we met on the bus (we meet both crazies
and goldens on the bus quite regularly). He said he wants to do what we
do, he just only wants to do it if he knows what he's teaching is right.
He doesn't want to accidentally lead people away. Although we invited
all our investigators to church, CJ is the only one that made it, and
only for the last 10 minutes of Elder Oak's talk (in was multi-stake
conference for the midwestern states). Afterward we did a church tour
and taught him the restoration.We stood in front of the baptismal font
and it was SUPER spiritual. This kid is really incredible. Love him.
Unfortunately, we had to hand him over to the YSA sisters. We're
planning on teaching his family, though, muahahaha.
Everyone hates handing their investigators over to other
missionaries. But we have five sets of missionaries in this area, so
it's probably going to be fairly common. Sister Ipson and I cover the
West Allis west side, the elders cover the east side (the ghetto), then
there are YSA sisters, YSA elders, and spanish elders. I think there's a
senior couple too. We're right in the area of the mission home.
STAKE CONFERENCE. AWESOME. Elder Christensen, Sister Linda Reeves,
Elder Echo Hawk, and Elder Oaks. I never really connected that Aaron,
who converted King Lamoni's father--and the father said "I would give up
my whole kingdom to know this"--had given up the throne to the Nephite
kingdom to be a humble missionary himself! That was cool.
Pres Monson: "Do we have the moral courage to stand up for what we
believe, even if that means standing alone?...the easiest way to do this
is to be truly converted to Jesus Christ."
Between having a
knowledge that we are children of God and heirs to his throne, and
knowing that he loves us, we have the motivation to do good things and
resist tempation. That's really all it takes. "I cannot do what you ask,
for I was born to be a king."
Random thought: I got to take a lesson at the MTC from Brother Christensen, the blond guy on The District. That was fun :)
I've
noticed that I've been recieving a lot of revelation lately. I've
noticed because Sister Ipson and I have repeatedly been on the same page
about planning baptismal dates, on what we want to teach, and what we
want to do. It doesn't feel like inspiration, but we're both thinking
the same things. So obviously it is. Revelation is like Inception. A
thought planted that you think is your own. It's really the Spirit.
Between Sister Ipson and I, one of us has been sick since I left the
MTC. Sister Ipson says this is how it was in her last area: one person
gets better, and the other one gets sick. So this might be a normal
thing. The cool thing is, I hardly even notice when I'm not feeling well
because THIS WORK IS SO COOL!!!!!!
Sometimes God asks us to do hard things. But don't be
discouraged...it means He trusts you to do them right! President Holland said
"If you're having a bad day, you're in good company...The best company
who ever lived!" D&C 121-123. Come on. It shouldn't be a detriment
that the most righteous of God's children have faced some of the hardest
trials--they've also been the most blessed, and they've left the most
behind for us who came after. Millions have found solid ground in a
raging storm from the words of Joseph Smith in Liberty Jail. And that
was only a small moment. They're small moments for us, too.
We had sisters conference this week! Power to the sisters! There's
SO many new missionaries coming in, it's awesome. President used to have
a limit of like 12 sisters, and now he's been authorized by SLC for
fifty. GOD IS HASTENING HIS WORK
Miss you all! Be a member missionary! Give referrals for like every
person you know who could use a message of peace, joy, and
encouragement. More people are seeking it than you think! NOT KIDDING
My address is:
9743 W National Ave #22
West Allis WI 53227
Write me! The mission is SOOOOOOOO awesome. But we still love to hear from friends back home :)
Sister Neal
***Danny Note: All investigator names have been changed and are not the real names of these individuals. I don't know why, but Jen asked me not to use their real names.
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