OMGSH

This week has been the hardest, most amazingly wonderful week ever.

But before I begin my long rant- My new address is 1500 Sparkman Drive Apt # 3B 35816 Huntsville, Alabama.

And I need Kallie Jade's address.

Ok so where to begin...I guess to give you a short summary. In one day we committed six people to baptism. Today we just committed another. So all together there are 11 people that we are working towards baptismal dates and so far almost all of them are progressing...I'm absolutely amazed/overwhelmed. I love it so much.

So I could write a novel about each of these people. I love them so much. And each time I talk to them I learn something new. That is one of the things I love so much about being a missionary- the people you talk to. There are some amazing people in this world, and I love listening to their stories. Some people that aren't even interested in what we have to say, sure do love to talk to us. Sometimes, I find out way more than I ever wanted to know (they see Sister and Jesus on my name tag and think that I'm someone to confess to) but for the most part you begin to see how certain people tick and what makes them, them.

Anyway back to what I was getting at...

We will start with Terry. I made the goal that I will talk to everyone we pass. It is a great goal, but sometimes tiresome. This particular day it was raining and very cold and I saw a guy that was walking to his car. I so did not want to talk to him, but I was determined to keep my goal so I walked up to him and gave him a free Bible card and gave a short little spill about how much I love the Bible...I turned around and was walking away when he called me back saying that he wanted to come to our church. That took me a little aback so of course I repented of my attittude and started to talk to him. He set up a time for us to come and meet with him the next day. The next day he wasn't there. That happens like all the time so we didn't give it much thought. Just left our usual sticky note with our number and went about our night...but here comes the amazing part...HE CALLED BACK. They never call back, but Terry did. That next day we met with him. I wish I could describe how it went...I always feel when I write that I do a horrible job at painting the picture of what happens. Anyway, he went on to tell us that he had been fasting for a week, trying to figure out what he needed to do with his life. And then I walked up to him and my face had been popping in his mind since that time and he knew that what we had to share would be exactly what he needed to hear and that he was ready to do what ever it was that would be required to get to the point that he could be doing exactly what we were doing- sharing the gospel that he hadn't yet learned. He then invited himself to be baptized. Keep in mind, I haven't said a word yet. I was stunned. We then went on to teach him about the restoration of the Gospel...He loved it. We went back a few days later and he had studied everything we had given him plus more. For some reason we felt like we should teach him the word of wisdom...which I thought was sort of out of place but we did it anyway...and he loved it. He called me that night so excited. He told me that he had just got off the phone with his friend who had been struggling with substance issues for a while. He said that he had been trying to get through to her forever, but it was only after reading passages from the phamplet we had given him and the Book of Mormon that something made a difference and now she wants to know more. He called me so excited. TOld me how the Book of Mormon is so true. That he believes it to be true and all that comes with it. He says, he can't believe that he has gone his whole life not knowing he was missing something and he wants to share it with everyone. Best part of the whole thing is that he is only twenty three and he will be able to go on a mission. I think I cried for a straight 30 minutes that night. I honestly know I did nothing to change this man's life. He was prepared and ready, but because I was here and willing to hand him a bible card- his life is forever changed. And thinking about the many people he will touch throughout his life on his mission is overwhelmingly exciting.

Then there is Will. Will is a character and aggravates the snot out of me, but that's Ok cause I love him despite it. He has met with quite a few missionaries and has been known to give them a hard time and we were warned before going in that he had potential to give us even more a hard time because we were females so I was pretty ready for him. Will says he doesn't believe in God, but that soemthing keeps drawing him to what we teach so he keeps coming back. We taught him for a while and he slowly saw that we weren't going to let him mess with us and he began to open up a little bit. At the end we invited him to pray about the Book of Mormon that night and he said he wouldn't because he would look like an idiot blabbering to himself. I thought about that for a moment (I have learned to think before I speak...a very good lesson) and then said something along the lines of this, "This gospel is one of progression. That is something that is so amazing about it. There is an endless amount of things to learn and to apply to your life, and the gospel gives you the resources to do that. We will never come to a point where we do not have room or reason to progress. I am here to look for those people who are willing to accept the gospel of Jesus Christ and to progress. If you will not pray, you will not only be wasting your time by continuing to meet with us but mine and those that are willing to do so. So, Will, are you willling to progress or not?" Haha his face was so funny. He was quiet for sometime and then said he woul meet with us next month. I told him we would meet with him this week or not at all. haha.. he agreed.

Then there is Shandanay. Her friend Sister Oliver was baptized a year ago and shared her testimony with Shandanay (her best friend) and that sparked her interest. They both met with us today and once last week. But today was what made the difference. I wish I had enough time to tell you all about it, but I'm almost out of time. Anyways she hadn't read from the Book of Mormon so we decided to read a chapter with her. We read chapter 32 of Alma. At first I was pretty skeptical about how it would go but the longer we read the more I felt the spirit of the room change. After we talked about faith and how we can have our faith grow. Sister Oliver gave a beautiful testimony about how the Book of Mormon and Bible have not only strengthened her faith in Christ but her children's. I asked how Shandanay felt as she read and she told us about how she felt the hope that she could become better with Christ's help. She told us that believed that what we taught to be true and that she wanted to grow and strengtehn her faith and she believed this was the place to do it.

The gospel of Jesus Christ is so amazing. It really is true. Every time I see a person come to realize that I cry. Not because I'm sad, but I am so overwhelmed with the amazingness of it. I love this so much.

Like I said this week was crazy. Most of our investigators came to church so we were running around like chickens with our heads cut off trying to get everyone to where they need to be. It has been emotionally and physically hard, but I've loved every minute of it. I can tell you one thing, I don't do anything. I can see how the Lord is so completely in this work and how I'm just someone that he uses to help in it. I'm so grateful that i just get the opportunity to observe and have some small role in this. Huntsville Alabama is exactly where I need to be. I'll be sad when I finally say goodbye to Alabama and head to Brazil.

This has been the best decision I have ever made. Thank you so much for helping me make it. Thank you so much for making this possible. I love ya'll and miss ya'll everyday.

love,

Sister POwell