The week was really good!
Can I just tell you all about Allie Marshall?! SHE IS LITERALLY THE ELECT OF GOD!!! Oh my gosh. So, we stopped by the Barnes house on Monday night and Sister Marshall was there. Sister Barnes said that she'd been talking to Sister Marshall about different gospel things and wanted to know if we could teach her about the plan of salvation right then and there. We FHE at 7 but said we'd come back right after that so we did. When we walked in, she sat down and said "TEACH ME!" She loves learning.
She was so cute when I was describing the celestial kingdom and how that's where Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ live, she was like "I have goosebumps all over my body and I can't stop smiling!!" We set a baptismal date with her that night of September 17th. She can't wait! She's also been receiving revelation through prayer and the Book of Mormon and she realizes that it invites the spirit into her life. :) WOW!
 |
| Sister Marshall & Zander, Sister Barnes, me & Sister Scott |
We saw her again on Thursday and taught her about the gospel of Jesus Christ. That lesson was a little bit crazy because the kids were still awake and were part of the lesson too so there was more distraction than usual. Then we saw her on Saturday night and taught her about the Word of Wisdom. We didn't think she had a problem with any aspect of it but we found out that she actually smokes. Well, smoked. She'd been trying to quit and was down to 3 cigarettes a day. She'd already smoked on Saturday though, and you have to be clean for 3 weeks prior to your date. So, she decided to stop cold turkey and she will now be baptized on September 18th, after church. She doesn't want anything to prevent her from being baptized so this just gave her greater motivation.
Then yesterday, she came with us to stake conference out in Youngstown, and last night we were able to take her to MAYFIELD :) :) to see a baptism! SHE LOVED IT! (Sister Maughan and Sister Schwanke are serving there right now and Heaven, the granddaughter of one of the ward members, was baptized.) Allie just cried when Heaven went under the water, and she cried when she was confirmed too. She had goosebumps all over, and said she just was so excited for her own baptism! On the car ride home, she was trying to describe to us how happy and good she's felt for the last 2 weeks since we started teaching her and she said it feels like she just had a really good cry and like she can handle life again.
LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE her! I was so happy that I got to go back to Mayfield! I felt like I was coming home when we pulled up in the parking lot. A lot of the ward members were excited to see me again too so it was really fun for me.
 |
| Me in beautiful Kirtland <3 |
-We had to take a stress test last week on Tuesday. Part of it was a quiz that told you how stressed you were and each companion had to take that part separately, without our companion watching. It asked us to rate things "always, sometimes, frequently, rarely, or never"....for example, "I feel loved", "I am in physical pain", "I have thoughts of ending my life", "I wake up happy", etc. Then they rated us...green, yellow, orange, or red (depending on your level of stress).
Good news, I was green. Bad news, my compy comp was red. So in reality, the stress test brought on EXTRA stress!! Lame...But, it was good. Sister Edman was helpful with that and we had a really good talk on Tuesday about how we can get her help. She says that this is her normal, that she's been like this her whole life and that's just sad to me! So, we are working on getting her better physically (her back/hips/spine/neck are out of whack) so that will help her feel better emotionally and all that jazz.
-On Wednesday, we were able to take President & Sister Sorensen, Elder & Sister Edman, Dr. & Sister Mikesell and President Littlefield (who is with the missionary department) on tour at the Johnson Home. Dr. Mikesell had to look at Sister Scott and diagnose her so she can get better sooooo we decided we might as well be the ones to take them on tour if we were already going to be in Hiram! It was a really good tour.
-My love/freshman roommate Megan Judson got married on Friday!!! That was probably the only good thing about Friday. I was momentarily wanting to be in LA with them. But oh well. The Bowlands dropped us...they don't agree with the Plan of Salvation but it's a good thing. They won't prevent us from meeting those who are truly ready for the gospel.
-Sister Messegee and her sister Meagan (who recently got back from a mission in Colorado) brought the boys and Elaine to see me at the Johnson Home on Saturday!! It was so good to see them and talk with them for a bit. I got to see them at the baptism on Sunday too so that was awesome.
 |
| Ammon Messegee & me :) |
-So a while back Sister Scott and I figured out that we both knew Sam Tillman. He was in my ward at BYU in Liberty Square and he grew up in Joplin, Missouri. Well, on Saturday we took a group of students from BYU Idaho on tour and one of the guys in the group served his mission in Dallas. That just so happens to be where Sam served too. SMALL WORLD MOMENT...turns out that Elder Tillman was his trainer when he switched from an English speaking assignment to a Spanish assignment. The Smiths were his mission presidents. Isn't that crazy?! I love how small the Mormon world is.
Tomorrow is mission conference, which I am really excited for. It will be the Akron, Kirtland and Youngstown zones all together so it should be uplifting and fun.
I feel so humbled and grateful to be a part of Heavenly Father's work. It's really amazing to watch people change and watch them teach themselves as they learn more about the fulness of the gospel and how it can bless their lives. In Alma 17, Ammon says that "his heart was swollen within him with joy" and I feel like that!
Things are still strenuous sometimes and rocky sometimes but I love that Heavenly Father is allowing me to watch and help 19-year-old, single-mom Allie Marshall discover how much more fulfilling and happy her life can be. I know that what I'm doing is God's work, that He is with me, and that He wants me to succeed. I have a testimony of the power of the Priesthood, and of the reality of the Atonement. Jesus Christ is our BEST friend.
I love y'all!
Sister Webb
No comments:
Post a Comment