Dear Family,
I loved hearing about E's baptism!!!! That sounded so amazing :) I was so happy just thinking of him out in South Carolina, being baptized. It is amazing how strong he has been, and I hope and pray that that strength and testimony always remains and always grows stronger :) That's so cool he still had the Book of mormon from 2010... that goes to show how you never know when seeds you plant are going to flourish :) That's why it's so important to always, always share the gospel! With everyone we meet! Even if it's just our examples.
I'm sorry Hannah has been sick! That's no fun :( I hope and pray she feels better soon! That's so cool about the coconut pie too! Haha, so random! That's awesome :) We were just talking yesterday in a meeting with the ward counsel how important it is to become friends with those we visit and home teach, and let them know we really love them and care about them. :) Isaac's dobby voice made me laugh, haha. I love my brothers!! And poor Adam and Peter with ants in their pants!! Aww! GOOD JOB Jacob for standing up for the church in school!!! That is so hard to do, especially when your the only member in the whole class, or the whole school. You are so brave! And I know when you did that, you were standing up for Jesus Christ. I hope you all always, always do that. I know you will :) It's the most important thing we can do!
Well, this week has been AMAZING!! Wow! It has been pack full. Monday we had some awesome lessons... one with the K family, who I love, and one with a lady named M. She's not too interested in the church at all, but we were able to talk with her and she always has us play the piano and sing hymns for her. So that was fun :) She reminded me of Mommy - she started talking about freedom, and the threats facing our country. I told her she reminded me of my Mom, and I wanted her to add you on facebook so you could become friends, but sadly she doesn't have one :( She is awesome though! It was a great little lesson / visit. I really hope she continues to talk with us and hopefully we can help her have a friend in the ward.
Tuesday was awesome too, and Wednesday... those days kind of blurred by, to be honest haha. We taught A, this sweet old man from Pakistan. He is the cutest old man ever!!! Oh man! He's probably 90, he lives with his son but his family is never home, so he's alone all day normally. We found him by just talking with him on the street. Anyways, we went by to give him a large print copy of the Book of Mormon. He was so happy!!! He told us he felt so honored, and that he would read it, and put it by his bedside, and tell his family about it. It was so sweet! He is a sharp, very intelligent old man, so I really think he'll read it :) It was so sweet though... he asked us if he could show us his "collection". We said sure! So he went to his room, and got this book he had put together named "My Collection". In it was hundreds and hundreds of bits of wisdom and inspiring quotes. It was soooooo sweet!!! He is just full of wisdom, and he told us that he would read the Book of Mormon, and would probably end up adding parts of the Book of Mormon to his collection book. Isn't that so sweet??? I love him! It's so cute too, he wakes up every day at 5, goes outside and meditates and looks at the stars for an hour, and then he gets in his wheelchair, picks up a sign that says "God Bless You" and wheels two or three miles away to just sit on the sidewalk and hold up that sign to passerbys. He said it makes him so happy when people wave, take pictures with him, or just say hi. I love A because he is so positive and always looks for the good, and makes good out of the situation he's in. He is amazing!!! I really hope he reads and prays! :)
Well, the end of this week was definitely the highlight!!! Because.... Elder Christofferson came!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was soooooooooooo cool!!!! Wow!!! We drove up super early, and it was just our mission. So we were all in the sacrament meeting chapel, all of us together, and I was in the 4th or 5th row back. So he came in, and we all stood up. And the Spirit was so strong! It was Elder Christofferson (of the Quorum of the 12 Apostles) and Bishop Davies from the president Bishopric, and then Elder... I can't remember his name, but he was incredible, from the first quorum of the 70, all together with our mission. It was amazing! The meeting started, and President T stood up, and told us all that Elder Christofferson had requested that we each file up to shake their hands, and introduce ourselves and tell them where we're from. It was so amazing :) So I had an opportunity to shake his hand, look into his eyes, and the Spirit was so strong with each of those amazing men! I truly know they are called of God. The wisdom and things they shared with us were incredible. It was such an amazing meeting :) Afterwards we were so exhausted, because we learned so much and the Spirit was so strong. It was incredible!
Saturday and Sunday were great too! This ward is awesome. We took B to the mission president's fireside, and he really liked it! We had a funny lesson with him this week... it was sooo sad... but funny. We had it at a members house who he knows. So we were a few minutes late, because we went there straight from dinner, and we got there... and they were already in the midst of a huge conversation... about cats. Hahaha. So they literally talked about cats for about 45 minutes... we kept trying to get the lesson started, but to no avail. B, I love him, but he really does love to talk! But they became good friends, so that's good! We were finally able to talk with him about studying and prayer, and we had a brief powerful lesson we finally got to it ha. We invited him to be baptized, and he said he would when he recieves the spiritual validation. We gave him assignments to read that will answer his questions, and he is going to read and pray and try and find those answers on his own. We're hoping that will help him have a spiritual experience, because as missionaries we really are guides to help them find the truth for themselves. So it ended up being a good experience!
The fireside was amazing too. One of our AP's (one of the missionaries who are assistants to the president - there's only two of them ) shared his conversion story, and it was amazing! He found the gospel in high school, and it was funny - he said if we had seen him three years ago, we wouldn't even recognize him because he had tattoos and earrings. Now he's a powerful missionary leader! It's amazing, and it reminded me to always try and see people through God's eyes, and see them with their potential.
It was a great week! And... we got transfer calls this morning... it was an agonizing wait, haha... but I am being transferred!!! And, I got called to be a sister training leader!! AHHHHH!!! Haha, I am soooo nervous!! But also excited.... but also way nervous!!! So pray for me! Next week we'll know where I am, and who my companion is... haha I am sooo nervous. It's so crazy, as missionaries our lives just get flipped upside down! I'm excited though!!
I think the greatest lessons I've learned here in Gilbert definitely have to do with humility, and my testimony. I know that God is so aware of each of us, and gives us the experiences and circumstances we need to grow the way HE wants us to grow. I have truly come to know that this church is true, that the Book of Mormon is true, and that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. I have felt the power that comes from the Book of Mormon, from studying it... but most of all, I have felt the power of testifying of the Book of Mormon. Every time I testify, truly testify with all my heart, I feel the Spirit so strongly, and I simply know it's true. It is the most amazing feeling to feel that, and then to look into the investigator's or member's eyes and see that they feel it too. I know this church is true. :)
Well, it has been a fantastic week!! Wish us luck as we pack, and prepare to move and change everything! I'm really excited, and looking forward to another experience and opportunity to learn, grow, and serve :)
Love you all!!
love,
Sister Whitney Morris
They put this weird dust stuff on telephone poles, so we used it for good :) And realized later that hopefully it's not illegal haha... woops.
new favorite quote
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