Monday, March 28, 2016

1 of about 72 Serving others this week- (SIDENOTE ORCAS ARE BAN FROM SEAWORLD NOW, AKA HAPPIEST DAY OF MY LIFE: JUSTICE FOR THE KILLER WHALES!)

March 21, 2016

Heyyyyy!

Before I get into my week....Anna notified me that Seaworld is not breeding orca whales anymore!!!!! This will be their last generation of whales there!!! No more killer whales at seaworld!! She said they posted a video on Facebook that read "We heard you...we listened...no more breeding orcas...no more theatrical shows...no more tricks...learn more (click here)". Okay so I have written research papers on orca cruelty in SeaWorld, and have signed countless petitions to ban orcas in Seaworld and now they finally are! I may or may not have cried tears of happiness while sister winn videoed me dying of laughter. Anyways, that news made me SO HAPPY. JUSTICE FOR WHALES!

Anyways... So this week in mission life. We had some sweet miracles happen. We street contacted this lady the other week and she finally called us to help her out with some service. She has a farm and some land with horses and said she could use some help. She wasn't super proactive about having us teach her, but as we serve and get to know her the spirit will be able to prepare her- if not for us to teach her, for someone else to. She is so sweet, and genuine. We got to help her clean up her barn and brush out some horses. It was the coolest thing, and so relaxing to do. I love being around the horses. We learned a lot about how to brush and take care of the horses, and got to know her as we did it. I am excited to go back and work with her more. Not many people take us up on our offer to serve, so this was a true answer to our prayer. We also had another cool service opportunity this week that lead to teaching. A member introduced us to her neighbor, who also took us up on our offer to serve. As we deep cleaned her house with her, we taught her the restoration of the Gospel- lead by her own sincere questions she had. We got to know her really, really well. She is such an interesting person, and really at a cross roads with religion and with her life. She told us we were a direct answer to her prayers. The spirit was really strong as we talked, and we are excited to go back, and hopefully start teaching her more formally, as well as while we serve her. I know that if we take the time to serve and love people as Jesus Christ did, that they will feel not only our love for them, but Christ's love for them as well. And they will be touched by the spirit. 

Lindsey, our less active we are really working hard with and totally love, had a blessing from her home teachers this week. We all met together and it was such a powerful experience. Lindsey said she felt the spirit so strong as soon as he laid his hands on her head. She is such a baller, we love her. She loves singing in the ward choir too. It is so amazing every time I talk to her to see the way that the Gospel has changed her life and her heart. She has a beautiful testimony and a sincere desire to learn. Also at church, out of the blue Silver's (a previous investigator of ours) wife came who is a inactive member! With her sister too and both their kids. It was so good to see them there. They stayed the whole time, and we planned to meet with her soon. It is so amazing how the Lord works when we trust Him. When Silver was coming to church, his wife wasn't wanting to, but today she came. I think if she starts coming, Silver may be interested in being taught again. It was very exciting to have happen. Heavenly Father truly is answering my prayers, and making sure I know He didn't forget about me here in Ripon working. He is so aware of me and I need to trust in Him more always.

We went on an exchange and a couple other visits with our sisters this week and it went really well. I love being able to serve them. I love them all so much. They have all become really good friends of mine. That was about my week. Sister Winn and I are just doing the best we can to follow Christ and serve Him, and having fun while we do it. We love working with each other and everyday is an adventure when we are together. 

Last thing, if you haven't seen the Easter video you should go on lds.org and watch it! It is so good, and only like two minutes. Every time I watch it I get something new out of it. We are trying really hard to share it with everyone we meet. I love the theme in it of finding new life in Jesus Christ. The whole concept of a new life is so powerful. I have felt in my own life at times, stuck in my weaknesses, faults, mistakes, and shortcomings. The hope that I can overcome that, and that I don't have to be stuck that person comes to me through Jesus Christ. I know that because of Him I can be what I can't be alone, and I can do what I can't do alone. I can have a new life through Him. We have had so many powerful experiences sharing this video with others. We meet a lot of people who are feeling hopeless, and unhappy in the life they have. They think, this is what it will always be like for me, and it is just not true. And we get to testify to them of that along with this video. I know that through Jesus Christ we can find new life, and we can be the person we want to be.

I love you and I pray for you!
all my love,
Sister Neeley

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