I forgot to mention that yesterday was my eight month mark! I just thought it was funny to be able to call home on Mother's Day on my eight month birthday :-D
All is well here in Orlando! Last P-Day, we went to Downtown Disney to see the sights and take some pics of us (S. Akin, S. Clanton, S. Homer, and I) being silly. I also chopped off all my hair to prepare for the heat and humidity of Florida summers. I keep forgetting that I cut my hair ... but while emailing the missionaries keep walking in, noticing me, and making comments because it's so different! I'll sends pics soon of my before, mid, and after (I got my hair cut twice - one of the Sisters didn't like the original cut and decided to fix it up - cutting it even shorter)!
This week was a lot of driving trying to contact our referrals, and every once in a while the Lord gave us a miracle. We met an amazing young man who is seeking for truth but doesn't think God would answer his prayers. We spent the first lesson teaching him about the spirit and how God answers prayers every day. We look forwards to teaching him more and helping him grow in his relationship with God and his understanding of the gospel.
We had a really interesting Sunday because we attended two wards and team interpreted both of them. In one of the wards, we were able to teach during the last hour to two brothers who have driven to Hunter's Creek from Daytona Beach for the last three weeks to attend church. They love to learn about the gospel so we were able to teach them the first lesson simply to them. Because of distance, we'll probably only be able to teach them once a week but we are greatly impressed with their strong spirit and willingness to travel so far to hear the words of God.
Another opportunity we had this week was to take a young woman with us on exchanges. It was her first time seeing Sister Missionaries and being able to come on exchanges. I'm surprised at how many people (even members) who don't know about Sister Missionaries. We went tracting for a few hours trying to search for some missionary referrals. We didn't have any luck, but we could see this young woman grow in her desire to share the gospel with her friends. Missionary work ... it's contagious!
I love you all! I love the work! It's amazing to see all the great experiences and tender mercies that come each day!
‘Make no small plans: They have no magic to stir man’s souls.’ This is the vision I have for the South. I believe that one day the South will baptize more people into the church than all other English speaking missions in the world together. There are great hosts of marvelous Baptists, and members of the church of Christ, Methodists and Catholics who are honorable people, and have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and love him. As they see their church veering off to the right or to the left of these basic teachings, they will begin to search for the truth. And as pivotal teachers come into the church and have influence, we will see the time when we baptize hundreds and thousands, tens of thousands. In your day you will see a million members of the church in the South. There will be Temples plural in the Southern States. What a great call you have to serve with these marvelous people. ~Spencer W Kimball (1974)
