April 18, 2016
OH MY LANTA how is
time flying by so quickly?
It’s been another
wonderful week in the great state of Alabama. The birds are chirping the
sun is shining and children of God are getting baptized!!!!
********* is
baptized! She is such a wonderful lady and SO FUNNY. This baptism was a
memorable one for sureee haha let me start from the beginning. ***** is a
large black woman that was originally a media referral and had ordered a Bible
online because she lost hers in the move from Atlanta to Elkmont, AL (a
teeny tiny city outside of Athens). The Sisters that were teaching her
(this was a few months ago) invited her to be taught and started with the
Book of Mormon. Sister ***** is an awesome friend to her and has been
from the very beginning! When I came into the picture, she was working
ATON. This woman is a workaholic only because she wants the best
life for her 3 children and 2 grandchildren. She has a heart of gold
and only wants to do what God wants her to do. SHE IS SO
INDEPENDENT. You know that song "Ms. Independence" by
Shania Twain? That song is *****. Holy
cow. Pretty sure Shania Twain knew ***** and wrote it
just for her. She is an Assistant Manager at Sonic and works every
day from dawn until dusk with one day off a week. So we were meeting with
her once a week on her day off. As Sister Mennenga and I were talking to
her she explained to us that has a Bachelors AND MASTERS DEGREE from
Atlanta!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!WHAT. *****..woman what are you doing at Sonic with a
degree like that? Turns out she just doesn't like her degree as a
Paralegal and thinks its super boring. So she's been getting a lot of
help from different members of the ward to get her resume up to date and look
for another job.
Long story
short, *****, with a commitment to talk to her boss about having her one
day off a week be Sunday, she took the bull by the horns and did it.
Sadly it only happened a few times but she looked at me after church her first
Sunday and said "I like dis church. This is a nice church."
And that was it. She was committed every since. And now she is a Mormon!!
The baptismal service
was CRAZY. Sister Anderson and I got there early to fill up the font.
Elder Clark, a missionary in Athens with us, told us to turn off the font
for 30 minutes for the water to get warmer and then to turn it back
on. Well we go back at 9am (the service started at 10) and the
water DRAINED. There was only like 7 inches of water in there!!! Sister
Anderson and I FREAKED out and just laughed because something like
this would happen to us!! I guess the drain was in but wasn't in all the
way.... Luckily it all worked out but we had an hour in there that we were both
panicky and scared haha. Then everyone started coming and we were
wondering where ***** is. We told her to get there 30 minutes before but
she was no where to be found. She finally got there RIGHT at 10 am and
said "Yall thought I wouldn't show up did ya" with a big smile on her
face. OH *****. Giving us all a heart attack. We showed her the bathroom and we
were standing right here expecting her to change in a stall but she just strips
down right there as we were talking and changes right there into her white
dress (She used Sister Capps temple dress because all the Jumpsuits were too
small). ***** is a big lady. Small, about a foot shorter than me, but
big. The Service was great though the spirit was so strong and ****** was
beaming ear to ear throughout the whole thing. After the baptismal
ordinance we asked her if she wanted us to stay with her or wait for her with
the rest of the people, she told us to wait and there she goes again, strips
down to nothing right there in front of Sister Anderson and I!!!! hahaha SO
FUNNY. Then Sister Jackson, a member, pops in to go to the bathroom and sees a
whole lot more than she expected but just plays it off like nothing! It
was soooo funny. ****** does not give a rat's eyebrow about
anything. I love her. I was dying laughing so hard!! She
really was truly glowing throughout the whole service. It all went very smooth!
Enough about *****, I
wrote a lot more about her than planned, haha I just love her!
This last week we had
Interviews with President Hanks. I think I have told y’all before that we
have a cycle every month (Mission temple trip, Zone Conference, and
Interviews) This month is Interviews! And they were great. Oh
how I Love President Hanks! He can be intimidating and a little in your
face but he is just a big ol’ sweet teddy bear with a rock solid
testimony. I always leave interviews feeling like I am on top of
the world and can do and become anything I want, always feeling important and
that I am PHank's right hand sister missionary. He has a way of making
people feel worth it, capable, and loved. He is so wonderful. At
the end of the interview he told me that I remind him of someone, I asked
him who, he said "Myself" with a big old soft smile and squinty
eyes. I took it as a compliment even though he is a big 6ft 9in 350 Ibs
hairy guy. Hahaha I knew what he meant though it was great. I
will miss him dearly when he leaves.
We contacted a
referral from the Elders yesterday! Her name is ***** and she is
awesome. Lives in the straight up ghetto but that girl has faith and has
been through a world of hurt but stands tall and firm. She attended
church in Huntsville a few times and LOVED it. She is so intrigued with
the large spiritual aspect of the church and gospel. She has some amazing
potential! We are so excited for her.
A lot more happened
this week but I will leave it at that since this email has become a small
book. haha sorry! I could just talk for days about the
mission. I LOVE IT.
I have a testimony of
the BOOK OF MORMON! Ladies and Gentleman. Read it. I am so grateful for
the opportunity on my mission that I have had to fall in love with the Book of
Mormon. I look forward to each morning when I get to open it and just
read and mark and write notes. I have never felt this way about it
before. I truly love it. And want to always remember the way I feel
right now. I know this gospel is true. I love my
mission. I cannot lie and say it is always the best. There are hard
days where I really just wish I could be home. But those feelings and
thoughts of negativity are always followed by a spiritual confirmation and hug
from my Father in Heaven that I am known. I am loved. And I am exactly
where I need to be. Doing exactly what He wants. I am grateful for the
hard times and oh so sweet joyous times. Because it has stretched. I
love my Heavenly Father. I know this is His gospel. and I love
being a missionary!!!
Have a great week and
stay steadfast in CHRIST!
Sureloveyamolinesrockandmissionariesruleand...
ROLL TIDE ROLLLLLL
Sista Molane
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