Hello Friends!
This past week FLEW by. Literally I feel like I was in here yesterday. It's been an incredible week on every account. The longer I am on the res, the more I learn from the people and the more out of my comfort zone I get. I guess life begins at the end of your comfort zone because this week has been just that!
We have been blessed with a LOT of elect people lately, three different times this past week we've been in a lesson and the investigator will say out of the blue "so can I be baptized?" Yeah. It's awesome and every time it happens we leave the home a foot off the ground.
We have also had a lot of heart ache the past few weeks. Things I have seen over the past week in some ways I will never be able to talk about. The things some of the children I have met have been through, the pasts some of these people have. The conditions they live in and what they put up with and the family systems and the amount of love they have for others is mind numbing. Countless times this past week I've found myself weeping as we are leaving homes. some of these people are in much more need than just soul saving. But that's all I can do. And sometimes I feel so helpless because of it.
Because of our favorite elders (Elder Francis and Elder Redmond) we were able to meet an incredible family last week. They're a family of four and they're a beautiful, functioning family. we just love them. Anyways, we had a lesson with them on Thursday and they flat out were all "so we wanna be baptized. and our daughter (who was in the room) wants to go on a mission when she's older" it was their 2nd lesson. the mother had downloaded the scriptures on her phone and the whole family had been praying together and reading together since we had seen them last. It was so awesome to talk with them and just feel their testimonies growing.
On Saturday we had a full on blown-out Native wedding. Clarence, my very favorite baptism so far, got married to Felicia (she's a member) and then baptized right after. It was a traditional "Indian time schedule" which means the wedding started at 5, baptism at 6 but really the wedding started at 6, baptism at 6:30. it was very sweet, they have 4 children and have plans to be sealed next year in the temple.
Yesterday after sacrament meeting one of our "almost investigators" (she goes to another ward with her husband, he's a member and his kids are in that ward but she can go to the native ward too...) Well Nicole shows up and is all "hi sisters, I want to be baptized!" she's been taught the lessons over the past 8 months and so we were like okay okay let's set it up after church! she bore her sweet, short testimony in relief society in which she only said "I am new to this church and soon I will be a member, but I know it's true" it was very moving to see how far she's come in just the month I've gotten to know her. Well after church comes and she had talked to the bishop and she wants to be baptized before TRANSFERS. Transfers are June 11th. So she is being baptized this coming Saturday. And we are so excited because she is so ready! We went over to her house last night to set everything up (so last minute) and her husband wolf was all "wait you're being baptized?!" The woman is on fire. I just love her.
The res is great, we are loving our brown people....I confessed I wish I was brown to a few of them and ever since they make fun of my pasty skin...thanks....
The ward is 1400 members and it's HARD. And a lot is reactivation since only about 300 come every week...except we think it's roughly 200....anyways, we're starting a new thing with the Elders in the ward this week. We're quite concerned the ward is going to start dying since it's very skewed to the older people side of things, so as of this week we're focusing our efforts in activating the younger generations. PRAY FOR THEM! They need all the help they can get. For real.
Goats: are owned by the church. We feed them whatever members feed us that we don't want to eat - just kidding ...or dum dums...that too. The one i am feeding is rammy-emp-ton. Er something like that. They have big parties every few years and kill like 10 to eat....natives i tell you.
Elder behind the piano: Elder Francis! such a sport for playing for the wedding...he played a solid hour before....
Then lots of smiles after lessons and my scriptures.
umm that's it. Have a great week!
love you all,
sister mad
Madisons visa has finally been received. The date of the next mission transfer date is July 24th. Which means that she will leave Mesa/Phoenix on Monday July 23rd flying to Belo Horizonte!
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