DEMOPOLIS!

September 12, 2016

OH MY WORD!!!! Usually weeks go by so quick but this week, I feel like, has been going on for FOREVER!  I think its all the changes.  In companions, areas, and so on.

WELP  I am officially in Demopolis Alabama!  Before I go into much detail about the week I will explain the little that I know about Demop so far.  First things firstttt,  We are in a small English branch.  Since I have been here so far there has been good amount of Hispanics that we have met considering there's only like 7,000 people here in the town.  We are opening this area for Spanish missionaries, meaning that before we got here there was just the English sister missionaries along with the Senior Couple, the Jones. Hopefully all this makes sense. Our area is HUGE.  In our little branch there is over 19 zip codes.  19 ZIP CODES.  We cover a lot of small way-out-in-the-boonies cities ( I call them cities but they are just small towns, Demopolis is the only one that has more than one stop light)  they are Linden, Gallion, Greensboro, Cuba (not the country), York, Livingston, Forkland, and Eutaw.  Eutaw is pronounced 'Utah' hahaha  when I first got here and I heard someone was from Eutaw I got super excited and asked what part, and they just looked at me..."uhhh the small town??"  LOL at Sister Moline, new to Demopolis.

ALSO this is My new address. Send me some love if you wanna.....pls

1712 US Highway 80 West

Demopolis, Alabama 36732

Also funny story about that.  Our apartment here is in the same apartment complex as the Senior couple and the other English Sisters but our apartment used to be the Laundry mat so its its own seperate brick building.  Its a cute little house!  But its smaller than most of the apartments I have been in.  And we don't actually have an address or mail box but we are using the other Sister Missionaries' mailbox hahaha  Elder  Mason, the housing coordinator, calls our apartment the man-cave and told us that if any sister missionary can live in this place its Sister Moline. don't really know what that means....hahaha

I was super duper sad to leave Tuscaloosa and Sister Merrill!! We were together for so long and I honestly felt like I was leaving my Sister. But I know there is a reason I am in Demopolis, training.

By the way! My new companion!! her name is Hermana Frazer! And you will NEVER GUES WHERE SHE IS FROM.  Get this....the one and only Missoula Montana!  The one missionary in all of Alabama that is from Montana and I get to train her! Hollaaaaaa I about flipped a lid when I heard that and I am pretty sure she is sick of me talking about my sister and how she served her mission in Montana and is obsessed with the state.  Small worlllddd!

Sister Frazer rocks though, fresh from the Mexico CCM  and is ready to work.  She is still a bit shy and quiet but that will change:) She already loves Alabama and has learned, from her mission mother, the most important phrase of her mission: ROLL TIDE. 

We have already been working super hard here in Demopolis and have met some amazing people so far!  Since we are opening up a new area we have zero investigators, however,  the English sisters have been teaching a Spanish family with the Branch mission leader's help who speaks Spanish from his mission.  ***** y ******.  I have met them and taught them twice, both times I was here in Demopolis on Exchanges in the past.  ****** is solid.  And Ready for baptism! However she has 2 kids and is living with her, boyfriend, ******, and have been together for many years.  We will see how that goes! We are seeing them for the first time this week, they live an hour away so its hard to see them regularly.  More details next week!

Emmaus Experience: 

We have been hardcore finding mode the past few days and only one person flat out rejected us and slammed the door. ONLY ONE.  This is a miracle in my eyes.  The Lord is truly watching out for Sister Frazer and I. 

Also!  We found this black guy in the ghetto named *****, we taught him about the Book of Mormon, he loved it!! So we came back for a return appointment!  At the end of the teaching him the Restoration we invited him to say the closing prayer but he expressed that he did not know the proper way to pray.  After we went through step by step  how to pray  He offered the cutest, simplest prayer ever,   He said " Heavenly Fatha...we're blessed...in the name a Christ amen."  He was so happy to hear about the Restoration,  we taught it in the simplest way we could, but we still don't think he understood it all. But he was happy to hear! 

Lastly, Church was THE BEST.  It was so cute!!  The branch has such character. Everyone there loves the missionaries because most everyone is a convert. We have church in a super small church building, Sacrament meeting is held in a normal size building's Relief Society building.  About 35 members attended.  The Majority of the branch is black. I LOVE IT. 

One of the members granddaughter, ******, got baptized after church Sunday.  After the 2nd hour, Gospel Principles, the Branch President, President James, pulled me aside and asked me if I would give the talk on Baptism for *******'s baptism! hahaha I guess that's just how the Branch works So I Happily obliged!!  It went good!!

Yall....this is the best.  Really.  Life is good.  I love what I am doing, sharing this beautiful message with everyone we meet.  Seeing people learn about this more excellent way is such a blessing. 

 Always remember the important things, the spiritual things, that are of eternal importance. 

I LOVE YOU ALL!!!!

Love,

Sister Small town Mo-LINE

Steadfast in Christ