A Great Week! (Thanks for your prayers!)

hey y'all. This week was a good one. it was better than last week. we had a lot of finding experiences. We went through all the Former Investigators that had been to church before and we went out and tried to contact them. some of them had moved and the people werent interested. some just werent there. but we met one lady, victoria, she had just moved in so our former had moved, but the lady was a big black lady, and she is really church oriented. but she was still open to talking with us! it was really neat to hear her life story and the struggles that she has. and we were able to talk to her a bit about the church and we gave her a book of mormon. it was really humbling, when we were talking with her, it was getting to be about 8ish. the clouds were coming in, and the sun was going down, and the whole sky lit up and was orange. it was so beautiful.  

another experience we had. our plans fell through, and so i felt like we should just go to walmart and walk around! its a great place to meet people and be seen. well, we get just inside the door and this nice old hispanic lady stops us and asks where the church was! she is a member and just moved down here to be with her daughter who is in the military. and she would like us to come over and visit! it was great!  Another experience we had with tracking down formers, we knocked on this ladies door and her son let us in and then we were able to get to know her. apparently she had met with sister missionaries back in 08! and lost contact when she deployed to Iraq. She has had a hard life also. she has really bad anxiety attacks. so bad she really cant go anywhere without her son. but it was neat to be able to talk with her and her son. they are really interested still.

On Saturday, we went to the gym with Russ Darrah. he is our brother who does like MMA (mixed martial arts) stuff. lots of different things. So we worked out for about an hour and then went into the matted area and started to do stuff. and there was a guy standing over on the side waiting to play some b-ball. russ asked him if he was interested and the guy asked how much it cost haha. we laughed and said it was free. apparently this guy wrestled in high school and a little at michigan state!  since we arent really allowed to proselyte on base, we just introduced ourselves and continued working out.. but he kept asking questions so we were able to teach him a little. and now this week, Russ, our member is going to have him over for dinner and we are going to have a lesson with him! Its really cool. 

this week at Zone meeting, it was the first one since the missions mixed and made the Macon. our new zone leader is from Melbourn Australia. he has a beautiful accent.. but the meeting was wonderful. it had everyone laughing, and then at the end, we literally were all crying.. they played a clip from something called "Conversion of a Catholic". its hard to explain.. it was really spiritual. i will try to give a synopsis.  these missionaries in iowa knocked on this ladies door three times and no answer, they started to walk away. then they heard a voice telling them to come back. they went back and were able to talk to this old lady. they gave her a book of mormon to read in 3 nephi. when they came back, she talked with them about the whole book of mormon. from the beginning to the end.  and after talking with her for awhile. she was baptized and then they worked on getting her patriarchal blessing. when she got it. she called the elders over at 9 am. and asked one of them to read it. they declined and said it was between her and god. she told them to read it again. again they declined and then again she asked. then she explained, she hadnt been able to see much of anything for the past 20 so years.. God gave her power long enough to read the book of mormon. and in the patriarchal blessing it said that she would have been converted 25 years earlier if the missionary had accepted his call!  and then, 5 days later, the missionaries dedicated that ladies grave.. she died that day she had them over to read the blessing..  oh, and this all took place in the elders' 6 week extension of his mission.. wow..  everyone in the room was crying a little. It really made me think that i am out here for a reason and that someone needs me personally.. 

 I can tell you all, that this week changed my mission. from this experience making me so solid of being out here. it strengthened my testimony of prayer, tenfold.  

but then also we had an experience yesterday.. it was heartbreaking. the family that the father baptized his son a month ago. well they hadnt been back to church. apparently the father was on the internet and found anti mormon stuff and it devasted him. stuff about church history and doctrines. and he was so lost in satans plans that he had no faith left to just trust in god and the prophets. he had so many concerns and arguements... it was really hard. i cant even begin to explain the whole thing..  

but anyways, sorry this is a long one.   It is the military couples last week and today we are making panepopo. it is coconut bread. so good.. they leave on thursday.. i am going to miss them. The Blau's have strengthened me so much.. and then the new military couple gets here the23rd of august.. so we will be in the full sized house by ourselves for a couple weeks. good thing we have our paths set before us. we will be out doing the Lords work nonstop.  alma 26:5.  all the day long did ye labor. 

i love you all and thank you for the prayers. i really felt them this week. 

Elder Bodily