Tuesday, August 30, 2016

"For behold the day cometh that shall burn as an oven"… that day was this week in Ripon

August 1, 2016

This week was slightly rough with our teaching appointments, most of them cancelled this week- just one of those weeks. And I am sure the heat did not help haha. We are in a biking area and this week was a huge heat wave. Everyday was in the 100s. They said even that one of the days it got to 110 where we were! It was SO HOT. The scripture in 3Nephi 25:1 is coming true, "For behold the day cometh that shall burn as an oven...." hahaha really though!! We did our best to stay hydrated and cool as we biked around (I was still seriously so sweaty and gross...gave up on looking cute this week). We did get to meet twice with Laura and teach her some, her son is a recent convert of the YSA ward. She is willing to hear more, but seems pretty hopeless at this point about her relationship and spirituality with God. She is a very sarcastic and joking person (she's really funny!), but as we meet she asked a lot of hard questions and I just saw her in a whole different light all of the sudden. I could tell that through all the joking and such, she did have questions and she has had experiences that really have been hard for her. We are excited to keep teaching her. Her son Gregg is so excited too, this means a lot to him we can tell. 

A funny side note, I am not sure if this app game "pokemon go" or something is big back in PA but here it is HUGE! All these people are out all the time walking around playing it on their phones (you have to walk around outside to play it) and it rocks for missionary work haha! Seriously though! So many more people are out and about walking around and willing to talk with us. There are like "pokemon gyms" for the game or whatever in certain spots around town so people are always around those. It is so hilarious to see, slightly sad I am missing this fad haha. It is awesome though that even through pokemon God's work is being done! The best was after talking to this one guy we prayed with him and he wanted to say it, in his prayer he prayed for the ability to "go catch them all" and was dead serious about it. It has been funny to watch this game become contagious out here.

This week we also did service at the chicken coop again and it was hot. Probably my least favorite activity in the world but it felt good to help out our friend Debbie we met. She is just the sweetest. It was also awesome because sister winn and her companion came to help us as well with it!! It was so fun to see sister winn!! She got the title of "master chicken wrangler" for the day...sooooo that sums up how our chicken coop service went. We also got the opportunity to have dinner with president and sister palmer and the LeBeaus again. They still don't want to take any lessons from us, but love to talk with us. We are all good friends. We have dinner again next week with them all at president palmer's home. 

Church was exciting this week! Robert blessed the sacrament for the first time and it was such a great experience for him. He was so excited and nervous. He is a really tall dude so when they all stood up he towered over the tiny boys, it was funny but awesome too see. I love Robert and Trisha, they are like my favorite people in the world. And this week they are going to the temple to do baptisms again (Robert's first time and Trisha's second time). It makes me so happy to hear. They are doing really well.

So we had some things fall through this week, but there is a lot of potential here. Hopefully this week we get to see more of it in action. I know that good things are happening and will continue to. A scripture that was really powerful for me to read this week was in Alma 32:21-22 from the Book of Mormon. It says, "..faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen which are true...God is merciful unto all who believe on his name; therefore he desireth, in the first place, that ye should believe.." God needs us to have faith and believe so that He can help us out. He will work with us so patiently and lovingly wherever we might be, if we allow Him to. He doesn't ask us for perfection or some standard of knowledge before He helps, He asks us to just believe. He won't rescue or help us against our will. A favorite quote of mine from Elder Holland (who is also my favorite) says this, "Just believing just having a molecule of faith...that simply step when focused on the Lord Jesus Christ, has been and always will be the first principle of His Eternal Gospel, the  first step out of despair." I know that as we have faith, however much we can muster, we instantly then allow God's grace to fill our lives and help us out to make that next step.

all my love,
Sister Eleanor Neeley

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