This week again has been very good and enjoyable! I have truly loved being able to teach, find and serve! There are so many opportunities to reach out and to help others and I am always so grateful for every chance that I get to do so. It really is true that as we serve others we find greater peace and joy in our lives and are able to truly be happy.
This week has posed many opportunities for Elder Montgomery and me to serve those around us. Early in the week we helped some nonmembers move (the same ones I talked about last week). We helped them get everything done and I really enjoyed providing that help for them. We have been told by the zone leaders that they are now investigating the church, and that they are finding it very interesting and enjoyable. We were then helped Roger and Belinda (our investigator) paint their house. I loved being able to paint again and I enjoyed my time helping them. Their home is now looking really good and we hope that they will be able to sell it. We then went and helped them with their other house. We emptied it all out and got it ready to sell as well. That home was one of the nastiest homes I have ever been in! There was mold on everything. We all had to wear masks and ended up throwing everything away. We hope that that home will sell, but we have our doubts due to all of the problems it has. It truly is crazy all the weird things that we end up seeing on our missions. This week we also helped Liz at her farm again. We were able to harvest beets and squashes! That really ended up getting me into the fall mood! I loved helping out and seeing all of the great things there. At the end of the week we were asked to help clean the church, because there was so much to do since they just finished remodeling it. That too was very great! The church looks really good and we enjoyed getting everything ready for Sunday and church the next day.
Belinda is doing great. She has come to love the church so much and has said that she has never been happier in her entire life. She has really loved attending church and appreciates all of the great love and support that she is able to feel and to have while there. This week she said that she wants to be baptized and we are now preparing her for that. She and Rodger are currently not married so we have to resolve that issue, before we can move forward to her baptism. She said she is ready to be a member and will do all that she has to to become one.
Jill is doing great as well. Our lesson with her was amazing! She loved what we taught and the spirit was really strong and touched her heart. We invited her to be baptized and she accepted, but she and Corey have to be married first. It seems that we will be seeing a lot of weddings soon. She really loves the church and has said that she has never felt more accepted. I am so happy that she has recognizes the spirit in her life, and has been able to follow and abide by it.
Ariel and Cindy are both doing great as well. They aren't progressing too much, but they are still showing interest. Some people take a while and we just need to learn to be patient and allow them to recognize the spirit in their lives. Sadly we had to drop Mike due to a loss of interest. His wife was rather mean to us and told us to never come back again. Some people just aren't ready to hear the message of the restored gospel.
During Sunday School this week I ended up getting pulled out by one of the members in the ward. One of the recent converts, Judy Anderson, was feeling very scared and overwhelmed and wanted me to give her a blessing. It was really cool to be able to use the priesthood to bless and comfort her. I was also very honored that she requested me of all the people in the building. I have truly come to love this ward, and I have begun to feel right at home while here.
My missionary tip of the week is to never give up. Some days can and will feel long and difficult. You may be mistreated, disrespected and unwanted but you must never give up. Push forward, remain faithful and remember that the Lord is always by your side. He loves you and He is helping you along your way. Have the faith to find, and remember that someone is out there ready and willing to hear our message. Belinda, Jill, Ariel, and Cindy were ready and I know that there are many more people waiting for us all to share with them the message of the restored gospel.
I love you all so very much and I thank you each for your love and support!
Love,
Elder Brown
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