Helllooo friends

Yesterday, we were out making visits and we had a bunch of appointments cancel.  So we were wandering around wondering where we should go.  We had knocked on a bunch of doors and nobody was home.  We were in the trailer court and had tried both of the investigators that lived there, neither of which were home. In the car as we were parked int he trailer court, we said a prayer, asking God to please lead us to someone who is ready for the gospel , someone we could share this message of utmost importance with.  We finished the prayer, and not 5 seconds later, a truck pulled around the corner into the trailer court.  And it was one of our investigators that lived in the trailer court!  His name is Justin. Let me tell you a bit about Justin.  Mom and Dad: just imagine Chase.  Chase: this guy is pretty much you.  He's a 23-year old bachelor, the inside of his house is decorated with antlers of all different kinds, he loves winter sports, and loves the mountains and outdoors. Although he's been pretty indifferent about God in the past, this time when we met with him, he started asking a few questions, like what we believe happens after death, and what you have to do to be in a good place after this life.  This opened the doors for a great conversation, and although we didn't have enough time to go over the whole of God's plan with him right then, we promised him we would try and answer all of those questions next time.  God really does answer prayers, I know he does.  The fact that Justin just decided to come home from his job in Wyoming for the weekend and happened to pull in right after we said that prayer---coincidence? I think not.  God is there, and his hand is in our lives.

 

This week we had a CHURCH TOUR with a potential investigator who has now became a new investigator! Man, I haven't had a church tour in so long, since I was in Blackfoot! So it was awesome to be able to show him around the church. His name is Jeff, and this is how we met him:

After a very long lesson one evening last week, we were dropped off by a member at our car at the church parking lot.  Sister Stephens stood outside the car as I quickly backed up, wanting to get home as quickly as possible, as we were already going to be late getting home.  Then, in the rear view mirror, I see Sister Stephens run off, I guess to go talk to someone. "Sister Stephens!"  I said to myself, "What are you doing?? We have to go!!"  But then I looked back, and she had ran over to this guy that didn't look like a member of the churh  My annoyance quickly turned to excitement, and I got out of the car to join them. It turned out that he had flagged us down as we were pulling out, asking if this building was the Mormon church.  We told him yes, and he asked what times services started on Sunday! We told him, and talked to him a bit.  His name is Jeff, he's a young single living with his parents, not a member of the church and knows very little about it.  It also turns out that I've met his Dad  while tracting with Sister Leon!  We exchanged phone numbers, as he was interested in meeting with us to learn more about the Gospel of Jesus Christ!  So this week, we had an awesome church tour with him, and he brought a friend, too!! His friend also knew next to nothing about the church! Very rare in Idaho, very rare.  But they were both very receptive to the message we shared with them! 

Love you all so much! Stay faithful to what you know to be true!

God Bless,

Sister Moreland

Haii

We had a great lesson with a couple from Bulgaria this week!  They live on the top of this mountain away from everything and everyone.  Apparently the fire department even advised them to not build their house up there because it's a fire hazard, the firetrucks can't get up there.  Now that's what I call searching in the nooks and crannys of the area to find new people! This is the second time we've seen them. This time, we met the wife, too! Their culture is such a hospitable one, they immediately invited us in and had us sit down and served us juice the entire time we were visiting with them, followed by a bowl of ice cream! To complete strangers! Southern hospitality's got nothin on Bulgarian hospitality! Haha but it was a great discussion on the Book of Mormon, Christ, and Joseph Smith.  The wife had questions about Joseph Smith and seems interested in learning more! They accepted a Book of Mormon and hopefully we'll be able to see them again this week!

Also, Sister Worrall, Sister Timothy and I sang a trio of "The Lord is My Sheppard" for a fireside yesterday! It was so fun getting together with my mission "mom" and "sister" to rehearse with them this week.  I forgot how much I miss Sister Worrall! It's a good thing that the three of us were never in a trio together, though, because I don't think we could ever focus together. We just have way to much fun!  Our song turned out really good, and we even had a few investigators come!

I love you all so much and I love this work.  I know that Heavenly Father is watching out for me.  Thank you for your prayers, I can feel them strengthening me all the time!

God Bless, 

Sister Moreland

                                                         Weirdos with Beardos - Silly Sisters

Dear Loved Ones,

T'was a long week, not too terribly eventful.  

 We attended a funeral for the father of one of our recent converts.  The recent convert is only a 10-year-old little girl and her father was pretty young, too.  It was a sudden and unexpected death, and the funeral was rather sad, as many of the family and friends that attended were not members of the church, and so the grief was so strong it could almost be felt.  But the Bishop then shared some very uplifting words about the Savior and the Plan of Salvation, and he invited the audience to turn to the Savior in these times.  I really hope that they were able to take something away from that.  

We met a man this week that, when we first got out of the car, began to scold us for trespassing. Apparently we passed two "no trespassing" signs on the way up his driveway.  We didn't think anything of it, however, because quite frankly, everyone in these parts has a "no trespassing" sign.  But after we began chatting with him, he softened up and apologized for snapping at us.  He turned out to be an extremely intelligent man, many of the subjects he began talking about were way over my head.  He was a "staunch Presbyterian" and was very educated in his own faith, so he wasn't interested int he gospel, but it was good to meet him!  Haha He just gave me a scare at first!

We may have found a new investigator this week! Her name is Kathy, and I had already met her husband a couple months ago, and he wasn't interested, very bitter against God, etc.  So we weren't ever planning on going back there, but one night I just felt like we needed to go there again.  So we went, me being rather reluctant and wondering why we were wasting our time on this guy.  But his wife was the one who opened the door and let us in! We had a great conversation with her and she really wants her kids to grow up knowing God!  We are going back this week to see her again!

A little soap box moment:

My friends.  Please please please do not forget about those in your ward and in your neighborhood that have recently accepted the gospel.  You might think that now that they are a part of your ward, they feel a part of things.  You may assume that they already have a solid testimony.  Maybe you think that they have had enough people befriending them, or that now that they are baptized, you don't have to try so hard to include them.  

My friends--my dear Brothers and Sisters--Please do not drop these individuals off your radar.

 One of the most difficult things to do in this life is change.  When someone joins the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, they go through of the most difficult and life-changing processes that one could experience.  They don't just need help and support prior to baptism, or a few weeks or months after baptism--they need permanent support.  Solid friends whom they know will be there for them through thick and thin.  Someone that they know they can come to for questions or for help with something.  You can be the support that new converts need.  Ask yourself, "when is the last time I invited this new move-in to our ward/recent convert/less active/returning member to a church activity in person?"  "When was the last time I invited this person to my home?"  

Lately I have heard some very disheartening news about converts from my last area.  These families are very near and dear to my heart, but it breaks my heart to hear that they have not continued to feel support, encouragement, and love from their wards, and have since stopped coming to services.  The missionaries are doing everything in their power to help my dear converts to continue following this very difficult path that they tried to change their lives to be on.  However, with the missionaries constantly changing,  what these families really need are friends.  Real, true, loving friends.  My plea to you is that you please reach out--please find ways to support the continuing growth and progress and testimonies of these converts.  

I love you all very much.

God Bless,

Sister Moreland

Happy 4th of July! And Happy Monday!

What a week!  On Thursday, we got to go to Pocatello and meet our new Mission President, President Hancock. He and his wife are from Arizona, and he says "y'all", so I think we will get along swimmingly. :)

On Friday, we got to help out one of our investigators, Richard, who works as an EMT in the Inkom Fire Department.  The Fire Dept. was cleaning their fire trucks to prepare for the 4th of July parade, so we got to go help them clean it.  Afterwards, Richard showed us around inside the truck at all the cool gadgets and things on the truck.  We even got to spray water from the truck's hose!

On Saturday, the 4th, we woke up early and went to the community breakfast where we got to serve eggs and sausage and hash browns to everyone in Inkom!  Well, everyone who came at least.  It was a good opportunity to see a lot of investigators that we haven't seen in a while and also to meet some new people that we've never met!  Also a good opportunity for Sister Stephens to meet everyone in Inkom.  After that, we hitched a ride up to the church building where the parade was lining up.  We held a banner for the "family floats" and walked in the parade all the way down to the park.  The cars and floats were all throwing candy out to the kids on the sides. It didn't seem near as loud as Plano's parade, but that's probably because just putting the parade on takes half the population of Inkom, so the only people watching the parade were those who were not in the parade. Haha.  But there were lots of family from out of town, so that made for a good crowd (including some members from my last area in Blackfoot and Brother Armstrong from Meet the Mormons, who is related to the Armstrongs here in Inkom!) 

After the parade was over, they had fun things going on in the park, including food ventures and music and bounce houses and some games for the kids.  We were supposed to help out with tickets, but they didn't end up needing us.  So we stayed there for a little bit, then drove to Pocatello where we met up with other missionaries, played games, ping pong, and watched movies for the rest of the night.  

Something interesting that Sister Stephens and I talked about later was the end of that 4th of July night.  Driving home, I had an awful feeling in the pit of my stomach.  Like a feeling I'd forgotten something.  I looked around, checked my planner to see if we'd forgotten to do anything that day, but everything seemed to be fine.  But something was just missing. Something was wrong.  It was the strangest feeling.  I just felt empty.  As I expressed this to Sister Stephens, we realized that we hadn't read our scriptures at all that day.  We had only prayed once, and we hadn't talked to anyone about the gospel.  It just felt weird--so empty.  What was supposed to be a great all-day P-day of relaxation was fun, no doubt, but at the end of the day it left us with no fulfillment.  Being so immersed in the gospel all the time and then having a day where you hardly focus on it at all left me feeling terrible.  It made me appreciate what I am doing here.  This is my time to spend every minute I have to soak of every drop of spiritual knowledge possible.  But I can't just let that go after I'm home and go back to playing.  Or else there will be no true happiness--only empty 'fun' and entertainment.  The gospel is what leaves us feeling fulfilled.  I am grateful to my God for that. 

Love you all!

Sister Moreland