Happy Camper!

July 18, 2016

Hello Beautiful and Wonderful Family!!!!

SUCH A GREAT WEEK PEOPLE.  Every week as a missionary for Jesus Christ is a great week.  Another super duper busy week, driving all over the Zone.  Full of 2 Full day Exchanges with the YSA Tuscaloosa Sisters and the Lorna Branch Hermanas, a blitz with the Hoover Sisters, and another blitz with the Bessemer Sisters.  SO FUN.  We have some incredible sisters in the ABM. 

One of my absolute favorite parts of being able to travel and do missionary work with other sisters in the zone is getting to know their investigators and members in their areas!!  Being able to teach with them and be able to know who they are teaching and how we can help.  We went on exchanges with the Lorna Hermanas in the Lorna Spanish Branch and it took me back to my home, Huntsville Spanish Branch! Sister Benioni and I were companions once again! #REUNITEDfromthemtc We had a dinner appointment and I was on cloud 9.  Eating one of my favorite dishes, Flautas. Ahh!!  When I speak with Hispanics and enter their home the scripture in Mormon comes to my mind, "and there was not a happier people"  so true!!

T____ Is doing ALOT better! Remember him and his brown recluse spider bite??  Fortunately it looks a lot better and all our freaking out about him dying from it was unnecessary UN-fortunately that was not the end of his health problems! He texted us Tuesday and told us he was in the hospital for gout! So while we were on exchanges, Sister Raddigan and I went to the hospital in T-town and visited him. Gout is a disease that causes crystallization at the joints, his, specifically is in his ankles and they were HUGE. I kinda wish I took a picture of it because they literally looked like tree trunks. 

Long story short with T___, we met with him and had a wonderful lesson about the truthfulness of the RESTORED gospel, emphasizing the Book of Mormon and that this church is the Lord's kingdom once again established on the earth.  T___ was so funny during the lesson and said " I might as well get a tattoo on my arm that says Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, that's how much I believe it!"   hahaha gotta love T____.

He believes everything and has a strong testimony of the th Book of Mormon but is still having a pretty tough time living the Word of Wisdom, mainly because smoking helps him with his narcolepsy (staying awake on the roads, etc)  We had some pretty straight forward conversations with him and he understands the importance and committed to quit smoking last Sunday for GOOD! He is on date to be baptized on the 30th of July if all goes well!!! 

EMMAUS EXPERIENCE:

On Exchanges in Lorna with S. Benioni, we went to go store contacting at this Hispanic chain tienda called "Mi Pueblo"  When we pulled up we saw this lady unloading groceries in her car with her kids.  She was kind of staring at us so we both felt prompted to talk to her.  As we did we found out that she is a member of the Church! Her name was C______ and she was baptized 11 years ago in Mexico. Upon moving to Hoover, AL she tried to find a Mormon church here but failed to find one! Ever since then she has been attending a Christian church with her non member husband and children.  We happily told her that there is now an LDS Spanish branch down the road that was not established when she first moved here.  She was so happy to see us and meet us and we invited them back to church.  Emmausing....had we both failed to act upon the prompting to talk to C______ we would not have known that she is a member and had been looking for the church ever since living here.  I love the spirit!!

There is much more that happened this week but I wont make yall read a novel.  I love this gospel and the way it makes me feel and grow!  On Sunday we got to listen to a Mission President from a ward in the stake that was returning from their mission in the Lima West, Peru mission.  He said  "The Lord works through weak vessels."  I am a 20 year old girl, I dont know the scriptures as well as I should, and I sure as heck am not a perfect teacher.  There are many times where I have felt inadequate for this work, but I know that the Lord can use me, a weak vessel, through the spirit and work His miracles to bring others to come unto Him. D&C 1:23 says"

"That the fullness of my gospel might be proclaimed by the weak and sthe simple unto the ends of the world, and before kings and rulers."

I know this is His gospel.  I LOVE MA LIFE.

Keep staying steadfast in HIM.

Con mucho amor,

Sister living the mission life Moline