10-7-13
Hello Friends and Family!!
Thank you all who
e-mailed me this week! If I don't respond on e-mail be waiting for mail on
Thursday! Just so everyone knows- I receive mail mostly every Monday past 6:00
so I am not able to respond-- so you'll have to wait extra long for it-- but I
promise, as soon as time allows on Mondays I will write to you and SEND THEM
OUT! So you won't be forgotten! Thanks so much for all the letters!
This week has
been AWESOME! I am just going to start on Thursday because that is when the
AWESOME started!!! So... we have this man in our ward (most of our ward is
inactive/less-active). He is not active so we went to visit him about 2 weeks
ago. We asked if there was anything we could do for him. He said yes, he is
going to need help in a few weeks to move his mattress out because of bed bugs
and bring a new one in. We told him to just give us a call when he needed us
and we would be there! (excited to finally serve someone!) Well Thursday he
called us! So we went over- (This guy is in a wheel chair, --his house, I am
sure is infested with mold, --its nasty!) So we go into the back room to take
this mattress out. ---- *side note* I have NEVER worked or dealt with bed bugs
before, --I had NO idea what we were getting into.... NO IDEA!* Anyway, so we
get there and he rips some blankets off (It doesn’t look like they have been
washed in... ever..) and throws them in a corner.. then gets back in his
wheelchair and lets us get to work...!!! We are observing BUGS CRAWLING
EVERYWHERE! Sister Clark is about to vomit,… Sister Dunham doesn't look too
good either... so here I am trying to put on my big missionary panties--- and I
am having a hard time. I take some breaths and Sister Dunham get it (the
mattress) up-right... WE HAVE TO DRAG THIS MATTRESS WITH ROUGH HIS HOUSE ---OUT
THE BACK DOOR--- AND IT DOSN'T EVEN BOTHER HIM!!! We drag it all across his
yard (it's huge) all the way to the dumpster. We compose ourselves trying hard
not to show our disgust to the brother. We go inside and prepare to get the box
spring. Sister Dunham puts her hand under the mattress then drops it quickly...
looks on her hand --she had just massacred a full nation of bed bugs under
there and all their juices were on her hand!!!! * I DIDN'T KNOW THIS HAD
HAPPENED* So, I pull myself together and lift the mattress up. I SQUISHED A
WHOLE COLONY OF BED BUGS, THEY WERE CRAWLING ON MY HANDS-- SO I DROP IT --SHAKE
MY HANDS AND HOLD IN THE VOMIT/SCREAM! Then the brother was like, “Hey, I have
some gloves-- want those???” YES!!!!! We double layer these laytex gloves-- lift
this mattress up and start pulling it outside again. There was an infestation
of bed bugs ----it was soooooo nasty.
MORAL OF THE STORY: THANK YOU MOM AND DAD, GRANDMAS AND GRANDPAS
EVERYWHERE FOR TEACHING US HOW TO LIVE IN CLEAN PLACES SO WE DON'T EVER HAVE TO
EXPERIENCE ANYTHING AS REVOLTING AS THAT.
Sad part of the story: This man is a very humble man coming from
humble circumstances. he had been sleeping on that bed for months before he
could figure out how to get a new mattress.
He is a great guy and I am so grateful we were able to serve him
and get him a new bed (after the bug exterminator came).
That is that story!
Mind you we did that in a dress so we felt yucky! We went home
and took showers because there was NO WAY we were going to be able to function
well! Then headed off to Abilene Texas to stay the night because Sister Dunham
had to go to Lubbock for sister training meeting Friday! So we stayed with Sister
Luke, Ethington and a different Sister Clark. Friday, Sister Dunham and Luke
went to Lubbock leaving 4 new missionaries together to go work in Abilene!!!
That means the Lord trusted us that he would help us throughout the day! And he
did!
For most of Friday I was with Sister Clark (2 sister Clarks
would be weird) We met and taught a lady at a coffee shop! It was great-- I
invited her to baptism. We didn't set a date though. Then we went and
"found" at a college campus! THAT WAS SOOO FUN! All of the students
are up to listening! So I gave the restoration a zillion times in 2 minutes!
Great practice! We then went and knocked apartments- one of the homes we
knocked was a middle-aged black man. He said he was Church of Christ --(they
are not fans of us!) Then for SOME REASON THE SPIRIT, I GUESS I started
talking about the Book of Mormon-- then he starts arguing, kind of, about who Mormon
is then he is telling me that I have to know where he was born and what he did
with his life and all this stuff . WE DON'T KNOW ALL OF THAT STUFF ABOUT OTHER
PROPHETS!!! Then he was like, I know where Jesus was born and what he did with
his life. That’s what y’all need. And we were like, we teach of Christ!!! LIKE
MOST IMPORTANT! But seriously, the Bible isn't named the Book of Jesus… ITS THE
BIBLE?? Anyway, he then told us that we should consider changing the name of
our church (LIKE WE HAVE CONTROL TO DO THAT?) and that we were wrong... Then he
asked us if we were upset --like he was trying to make us upset-- and we calmly
and honestly said “no”...
IT WAS AN AWESOME DAY! I LOVED EVERY MOMENT OF IT!
I loved seeing how the other sisters would teach and see what
phrases they would say as they would teach! It helped me be a better missionary
for sure! I also love that more than one missionary a day said, "MAN THAT
SISTER DUNHAM IS AWESOME! (They have only met her twice) I WANT TO BE JUST LIKE
HER!" At that moment, and always, I was proud to call her my trainer, and
I know the lord put us together! I am so grateful! Love her!
Also, during companionship inventory we were doing our “compliment
things”, and they were saying things that they were seeing change in me and
they were things I had been working so hard on or I couldn't see changing in
myself-- but they could! So with that, I know that if I work the way I am-- and
try everyday to be better—I will be the missionary the Lord can help and wants
me to be!! It was so exciting to hear!
Conference was AMAZING!! We got to go to the chapel and watch
it- Chris was supposed to come- Thursday we did a church tour with her and did
a lesson in the chapel. She felt so good and said she wanted to be baptized. Then
we talked about the WOW and how she couldn't smoke/drink coffee. She was okay
with that because 2 years ago she was smoking 2 packs a day and drinking 6 cups
a day-- and now she is down to 1 cup a day and 1/2 pack a day. THE LORD HAS
BEEN PREPARING HER FOR US! And she was gung- ho about quitting. Then Friday,
while Sister Dunhum was gone, Chris left us a message saying she can't join our
church and we could come get our "bible" --and that was her final
word. In other words, she dropped us-- So Saturday we went and saw her and talked
about what was going on. Then she was back on track with us. It was mostly she
felt she couldn't quit smoking and didn't want to. Then we invited her to
conference. She agreed. Then 30 min before, on Sunday, she called and said she
couldn't come. It is a roller coaster with her. I DON'T WANT TO DROP HER! SHE
HAS SO MUCH POTENTIAL!! I LOVE HER SO MUCH!
We will see when we go see her tomorrow.
We haven't seen Heather in about 2 1/2 weeks :( and tomorrow we
are going to St. Angelo for zone training.) :( so i hope we aren't losing her!
Anyway, this week has been awesome! I hope y’all are well!! Love
you so much!
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