Hey,
Well,
it has been another wonderful week of Cooperstown living. The leaves
are starting to change around here, the baseball tourists are starting
to be sparse.... I guess you could say autumn is upon us. Along with the
leaves changing, there have been some big changes for us too! Get this.
Sister Smith is out of here. That's right. I'm taking over the area
with the dear Sister Hansen! It should be great, but it will be an
interesting adjustment. It's very strange when you spend 24/7 with a
person and then.... you never see them. Weird!! Also, nerve racking,
and exciting.... and well, I'm gonna need the Lord's help for sure! I
know the Lord supports his missionaries, so here's praying I don't
destroy Cooperstown!
Well, here are the things of this week.
The joys:
I'm
sorry but I just have to rant about our investigator, Trish, again. I
really should just rename this blog "stories about how Trish is the
greatest". But seriously. Here is why I love her....
1. She came to church. By herself. She is seriously just part of the branch now.
2. She is getting baptized and I love it.
3.
She told us that she has been working on being a missionary
Let's just say I love her. Why can't everyone be like her?
Went
on another joyous exchange with my girl Sister Lloyd. Love her. I
should probably remind everyone that Sister Lloyd is 4'10. We walk
around together and it is great.... Well....its one way to start a
conversation.
Sister Bruneau cooked us Mexican food. First time since I've been in New York. Oh how I have missed it.
The Laughs:
So
one night Sister Smith and I were out tracting, when all of a sudden it
started POURING RAIN. In the way it only can in upstate New York. Well
we were umbrella-less and drenched. We decided to seek refuge at a
members house... but they didn't answer.... so we ran back to the car.
Only to be unable to find the keys. Sister Smith was digging in her bag
for like, 15 mins.... in the pouring rain.... and still, no keys. At
this point I am just dying laughing. It was so ridiculous, there was no
other option. We finally found the keys, (outside the member's house),
and were on our way. Looking and smelling like wet little puppies.
Grandma Dorothy told us she was "allergic to New York". I died. I can't say I disagree.
Sometimes
we bring candy to keep Trish's boys in line. Last time we went to
teach, her youngest son, (who is 5), just kept asking "do you have
candy, do you have candy?" I finally asked him, "What, do you only like
us for our candy" Then he looked me straight in the eye and said
"Well... yeah. duh." I just laughed. Ah. You gotta love kids.
We also learned how to cook and eat eggplant.... Hey, you take what you can get :)
The testimony builders:
This
week we were teaching one of our investigators and he asked us a lot of
questions about why people have weird perceptions about Mormons.
Anyway, it got me thinking about how hard Satan is trying to pull down
the church and how sad and how mislead so much of the world is. How
people try and convince me that I have been deceived. I'm like this,
yes. Somehow I have been "brain-washed" to believe in something. To
strive for faith, hope, charity, and love. To live morally and clean. To
be an honest, true, virtuous person. I have been deceived to serve and
contribute to society. To trust in God and believe in Christ. I have
been tricked into having peace, love, joy and a focus on family. And
well, I could go on and on. I guess the point I'm trying to make is that
how blind do you have to be to see this is good. Regardless of what you
have heard. How can you deny the fruits of the church? You don't have
to be an expert on trees, roots, and soil to know if a peach tastes
good! How is that different from the gospel? Christ himself said "Ye
shall know them by their fruits" I know I have seen my faith in the
gospel bring me nothing but peace and joy. I know it has done nothing
but make me better. I know that. I wish everyone in the world could
know that! I truly love being able to share this message with people. To
uplift them and help them know that there is so much peace, joy, and
love in this world, if we come to Christ!
well,
to end, I wanted to share a quote that I found from a talk given by
Marvin J. Ashton called "The Tongue can be a sharp Sword" This quote
means a lot to me, and hope to allow it to pattern my life. Ok here it
is....
"Be
one who nurtures and who builds. Be one who has an understanding and
forgiving heart, who looks for the best in people. Leave people better
than you found them."
I may not be able to convert everyone (or anyone), but we can all strive to leave everyone better than we found them!
Love you all!
XOXO
Sister Langford
Au
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