Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Dear family and friends!

This past couple weeks has been super awesome. I didn't send an email
last week cause we ran out of time because I did 3 sister missionaries
hair:) and the next day was Charles baptism and so we were making sure
he was ready and it was kinda stressful but so fun! If you could
imagine that!

Charles was baptized on Tuesday! It was a stressful day as he had to
be interviewed by the district leader again right before to make sure
he had really quit smoking. He was so excited. His sister who is not a
member came. She is a very nice person and said her husband's
brother's family are members. Charles also invited a friend and his
wife from Sweet Home. A lot of members came to support! The talks were
really good and Sister Farnsworth and I shared our testimonies while
he was changing. We sang I am a Child of God and the young women who
were there sang a descant with it that was so beautiful. The spirit
was really strong there. Charles seemed so different and happy the
next couple of days. His housekeeper got a job in Portland and is
leaving. It was really sad. We came by on Saturday and he seemed upset
and we read with him and had a lesson. He told us at the end that he
had smoked and drank coffee that day and he started crying. He said it
was because of all the stress with his housekeeper leaving him. He
said he prayed and told Heavenly Father sorry. He has gotten emotional
a lot lately. We feel so bad for him, but also feel we need to teach
him more about the atonement and repentance. Like Clayton E.
Christiansen said, " It is easier to keep the commandments 100% of the
time! than it is to keep them 98% of the time." We know Satan is
working really hard on him. We also know that the atonement of Christ
can heal us from whatever addictions or problems we have. It is only
through faith in Him that we can be completely healed. We have been in
contact with him daily! It was really special and he has grown so much
the spirit was super strong. we are still working with him so much to
be able to progress. He needs the gospel now more than ever, it's like
the only thing he is holdin on to. I love him so much definitely know
I was sent here for him.

A lot of our time has been really focused on Charles and so I feel
like we haven't really done much of anything else but we have.

We were able to have a really good lesson with Elliot. I have talked
about him before he has been investigating the church for over a year
now. Has some things to overcome and he also recently split up with
Olivia who is an excommunicated member that is trying to come back
also. But in general this has both been really good for them to split
and not live with each other. They both have been able to get really
good jobs and that was a huge blessing for them separately. So now
they can focus on themselves and progress in there lives.

A la that I super duper love is Brenda and she hasn't been to church
since I've been here! She is the one that we quilt with every Monday.
I LOVE her. She has been doing really good and has been learning a lot
about the atonement for herself lately. She is very knowledgable of
the church. But needs to apply it to her life! But we think she is
coming to church soon cause she just keeps saying.."You will just have
to trust me" and were like oookay Brenda. ;)

We went to the stake pioneer picnic and it was really fun! Charles
came and Brenda! There were so many investigators there from the
surrounding areas and it was so fun to meet most of them. People that
are so prepared. Specifically Mike...he is friends of the Meyr family
here in bville and he works close to bro huff Meyr with state patrol
stuff. Anyways I met him at dinner one night for-ev-er ago (like 3
transfers ago) and I might have talked about it before but he is the
one with tazing elk story. You could probably find it on YouTube. And
then the next night we were texting mike about some things he has been
struggling with about God and how he lets little children suffer,
cause he works a lot with that and I was like...yo Meyrs you should
ask mike if he would like to meet with the sweet home sistas. He has
decided to get baptized in October and also his girlfriend that moved
her last week from Texas and her daughter, she was telling us that she
has always had members of the church in her life and has read and has
taking it as an answer from god that it is where she is supposed to be
and that it's true. Esp because her and mike reconnected (they went to
high school with each other) and he has been investigating. I was mind
blown.

Oh and last night we were going to see a la Lori who came to church
yesterday! (yay) and next door are some la members that we have never
met and there was a guy about our age sitting on his car and I said hi
to him and asked if he lived there and he said no! And I told him why
and he said oh are you Mormon?? And said ya are you? And he said he
used to be and that he left the church! It was interesting because it
wasn't really a bash because he was really nice but sis Farnsworth
called it a respectful interchange of ideas haha He had all these
wonderfully sad rumors of Joseph smith and it was interesting one of
the first things he said was that he started to plant this seed of
doubt as he started to get ahold of anti material. It was interesting
but I bore    My testimony of Jesus Christ. And that seemed to do
something..If anything we said did anything. We hope. But I wasn't ok
with walking away until I did, as he told us that Mormons believe that
we have to earn our way to heaven and we don't need to Jesus Christ.
Oh no boy. Not ok. Most definitely not true. I am not perfect and
there is no way I will make it without my Savior Jesus Christ.
Love always and forever Sister Heywood! :)

Picture directory:
Charles Thompson after baptism:)
Killed 5 spiders filling up the Lebanon font
Ice cream from divine on a rainy day for lunch.
Stand by me day. It poured this day.
How much sister Farnsworth and I love Brownsville. Really. So much.

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