From Dec. 7, 2009, email: Our weather isn't so warm anymore. Saturday night we got a pretty good snowstorm that brought us a few inches and since then it's been pretty cold! Burr! I guess winter is finally here. Hopefully it will be another "off" winter with not as much snow. It's pretty, especially on the bare trees, but it's not too fun to trample around in!
The snow did bring us an interesting experience this week. We had planned to meet a few members on the other side of town in Torrington, but we changed our minds when we hit bad roads on the way. So we parked the car and went over to another member's apartment to check up on her "Invite a Friend to Church" efforts. As we were getting buzzed in, a lady walks up to us and requests a Book of Mormon. Sister Murray and I sit there for a second in shock because it's almost unheard of for someone to approach you to learn more. Then she askes us to come by and teach her. As we are writing down her information she gives us her last name: Pascquale. That name sounded familiar so I asked for her first name: Patricia. She just happened to be a referral that the Elders in the area got a few months ago, but weren't able to contact because of a wrong address. We had even put down in our plans to try to find her this week. But Heavenly Father provided a way for her to find us. I'm always amazed how things work out.
We were watching "On the Way Home" with one of our investigators, Peggy. It's an older movie from the early '90s so there's lots of sweet bangs and jumpers. But other than that, it was a powerful movie. The basic story line is that a family loses their little girl in an accident, a friend invites them to hear the missionary lessons, and then they get baptized. So pretty much a missionary's dream. This movie hit me pretty hard. I have been so very blessed to have the gospel in my life. We have all the answers. We have the knowledge of the Plan of Salvation. We can be with our families forever. I can't imagine not having a testimony of these things. That's why I'm a missionary...people need to have the knowledge that they are a child of God and that there is a plan for them.
Saturday we helped an investigator family stack a huge pile of wood into neat little rows. It felt SO good to be out there doing outside work. The whole time we were stacking it was snowing on us, but we didn't mind because we were serving. I've learned that serving others brings us great joy. We are only following the example of our Savior. After two hours of stacking we were pretty sore, but not as sore as when we got up the next day!
We got the wonderful opportunity to teach the Sunbeams in church yesterday. It was so much fun! I haven't been in a Primary in years and it brought back some good memories. It was a bit hard to keep their attention, but the treats definitely helped. After our short lesson we made thank-you notes for the Bishop and the Sunbeams got to deliver them to him. You should have seen the happiness in their eyes and their smiles from ear to ear when the Bishop thanked them for their cards. One of the boys, Jake, is a miniture version of Ethan so I took a liking to him early on. It made me miss my little nieces and nephews! I can't wait to see how much they have grown up.
Keep me, and also all the other missionaries around the world, in your prayers! I loved how in the opening prayer of the Christmas devotional, the apostle prayed for those away from home. I think he covered both me & Joel in there...so remember us this season! Remember the true meaning of Christmas!
The snow did bring us an interesting experience this week. We had planned to meet a few members on the other side of town in Torrington, but we changed our minds when we hit bad roads on the way. So we parked the car and went over to another member's apartment to check up on her "Invite a Friend to Church" efforts. As we were getting buzzed in, a lady walks up to us and requests a Book of Mormon. Sister Murray and I sit there for a second in shock because it's almost unheard of for someone to approach you to learn more. Then she askes us to come by and teach her. As we are writing down her information she gives us her last name: Pascquale. That name sounded familiar so I asked for her first name: Patricia. She just happened to be a referral that the Elders in the area got a few months ago, but weren't able to contact because of a wrong address. We had even put down in our plans to try to find her this week. But Heavenly Father provided a way for her to find us. I'm always amazed how things work out.
We were watching "On the Way Home" with one of our investigators, Peggy. It's an older movie from the early '90s so there's lots of sweet bangs and jumpers. But other than that, it was a powerful movie. The basic story line is that a family loses their little girl in an accident, a friend invites them to hear the missionary lessons, and then they get baptized. So pretty much a missionary's dream. This movie hit me pretty hard. I have been so very blessed to have the gospel in my life. We have all the answers. We have the knowledge of the Plan of Salvation. We can be with our families forever. I can't imagine not having a testimony of these things. That's why I'm a missionary...people need to have the knowledge that they are a child of God and that there is a plan for them.
Saturday we helped an investigator family stack a huge pile of wood into neat little rows. It felt SO good to be out there doing outside work. The whole time we were stacking it was snowing on us, but we didn't mind because we were serving. I've learned that serving others brings us great joy. We are only following the example of our Savior. After two hours of stacking we were pretty sore, but not as sore as when we got up the next day!
We got the wonderful opportunity to teach the Sunbeams in church yesterday. It was so much fun! I haven't been in a Primary in years and it brought back some good memories. It was a bit hard to keep their attention, but the treats definitely helped. After our short lesson we made thank-you notes for the Bishop and the Sunbeams got to deliver them to him. You should have seen the happiness in their eyes and their smiles from ear to ear when the Bishop thanked them for their cards. One of the boys, Jake, is a miniture version of Ethan so I took a liking to him early on. It made me miss my little nieces and nephews! I can't wait to see how much they have grown up.
Keep me, and also all the other missionaries around the world, in your prayers! I loved how in the opening prayer of the Christmas devotional, the apostle prayed for those away from home. I think he covered both me & Joel in there...so remember us this season! Remember the true meaning of Christmas!
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