July 14, 2014 -- We All Get Stuck Sometimes

Hello Familia!

Buenos Dias.  Hope everything is splendid, I just love hearing everything about Nauvoo and England in Nauvoo and such.  Sounds like y'all are workin hard!

This week in Tennessee has been great.  We met a young mom with three little kids and taught a great lesson with them.  We're excited to go back tonight.  

We also had exchanges with the lovely Sisters of Maryville, I got to be here with Sister Steiner who is hilarious, so we laughed hard the whole time.  We got to teach Sister Whitehead the Plan of Salvation which went well.

​We thought a minivan would be a great background.

Then we had a lesson planned for Nikki- When we were planning this lesson I was thinking through who we could bring with us.  Sister Willis is a member of our ward who's been in the church her whole life, and has never married, but has raised two of her sister's children, has worked her whole life as en EMT and nurse, and as she's gotten older diabetes over took some of her body and she has to be in a wheelchair and can't walk anymore.  However, she came to mind as someone who would be good to take because of her great wisdom and her strong testimony.  So we picked her up with wheelchair and all, and she entertained us with her stories on the way there.  When we got to the place we teach Nikki, turns out Nikki was a little tied up.  So as we waited, we talked to Sister Willis, she told us and instructed us on everything from how to pick a profession to how to make hobo dinners perfectly in a campfire.  She also expressed how much she's missed going out with the missionaries and how much she enjoys it. Finally, we got to teach Nikki, and although we had to rush the lesson it went well, and Nikki enjoyed it. So even though the whole process took what seemed like forever, I felt in the end, that if nothing else, we definitely brightened the day of Sister Willis, strengthened her testimony, and fulfilled her desire to serve.

Nikki by the way is progressing very well and all is looking good for her baptism on the 26th and I am beyond excited!

We also got to teach a woman named Mary, and her husband that just moved into the area.  She was converted about a year ago in Wisconsin when she was sick, and some Elders were called by her LDS friend to come give her a blessing, and she was eventually baptized.  Her husband Dennis was super nice too, and we soon found out he wasnt a member.  He volunteered to us the info that when he was young, he had a bad experience with a pastor and thus has felt uncomfortable with religion ever since.  So we had a lesson with them and invited them to church.  And they came, which was Dennis' first time! I am excited to keep working with them!

We taught the Glatz's periodically throughout the week, helped them when their temple clothing came (don't do that when youre a missionary that cant go to the temple, it will make you very temple sick!) and everything.  They didn't end up going to the temple on their appointed day which was a big disappointment because Bro Glatz was sick, but I know they'll make it soon!

We got to watch "The Testaments" with our investigator Lisbeth. She loved it, and I was in tears by the end as I tend to do recently.  The book of Mormon is so true, yall!  If only people could just see it as clearly as we do.  Many of our other investigators are struggling in general, along with Raisa, and so I just think of 'we all get stuck sometimes' and I have faith that the Lord will help us.  

Again, church is always a joy.  I have come to really love and appreciate the Sabbath Day on my mission!   It's amazing that even though we're meeting in this variety show theater, taking the sacrament is still amazingly refreshing to me and always is a very sacred moment of my week.

For District Meeting, I wanted to make lunch for everyone after so I made for the first time ever in my life homeade mac and cheese which I was pretty happy with.  Thanks to Stake Mission prep for the recipe's that I found in my stuff! :)  

Funny moment of the week.  We went to a family's house to teach their four year old the Restoration, because he'd volunteered to give a talk in primary about the Restoration.  So we went about trying teaching this hyperactive child about Jesus Christ and His church, apostles and prophets, and that Heavenly Father and his son came to Joseph Smith.  We weren't exactly sure if he was listening or not because he kept talking about potty training and police officers.  So we were a little worried about what he was going to say in front of the primary.   Turns out, he did a really good job, only diverging once saying, "AND THEN Heavenly Father and Joseph Smith got in a helicopter, and built some bridges and flew in an airplane above the bridges!" point is: anyone can learn the restoration!

Keep pressing forward familia! Love ya and grateful for all you're doing!

Love Hermana Collier