We had a fun Thanksgiving
week. We had a District Turkey Bowl at
the church Thursday morning. I've never
played American football before today, but it was fairly fun. The Elders got really into it and it was
amusing listening to Elder Bishop come up with game plans for each of our plays
(some of them actually worked).
We had Thanksgiving dinner at
the Bohlings for lunch. The food was
really yummy (the turkey was not fried).
Then we spent the afternoon sharing Thanksgiving messages with member
families. I shared with them how
grateful I was to have the opportunity to share the Gospel with the people
here, a privilege that was limited when I lived in China. We exhorted the members to take advantage of
the opportunity to share the blessings of the Gospel with others and do as
Elder Ballard challenged at General Conference and bring someone to church
before Christmas. We have faith that,
with the help of the members in our ward, we can make this Christmas white.
Since I've been out in the field,
I've gained an appreciation for those individuals who are straightforward and
honest with us when they are not interested in our message, as has Sister
Culp. Playing hide-and-seek tag with
people who say we can meet with them later in the week can get
frustrating. This week Sister Culp
stated that when she gets back to BYU, she is going to be open and honest and
frank with all the boys that ask her out.
IF she's not interested, she will tell them up front and never make them
go through what we're going through right now - growing hope that ends suddenly
with a broken heart. Been there! Felt that!
No thank you! This will be Sister
Culp's reply to those boys who she is not interest in: "Sorry.
I'm not interested. I'm already
saved (for someone else), but I appreciate what you're doing. Now go find someone who isn't saved
yet!"
We had a good planning session
this week. Sister Fowler and Sister Culp
and I decided that we all need to be more positive. We came up with a code word to use. When anyone is not being positive we will say
"Hippopotamus!" and call them off in a fun and friendly way. No feelings hurt.
We had a couple good lessons
this week. We went to see Wayne Thursday
night. He told us that he wasn't
"prepared" for us, seeing that he hadn't looked at all of the stuff
(mostly negative) that he had been researching about the Church online in a
while (thank goodness). We told him that
rather than relying on the words of men to decide if the true Church of Christ
has been restored, he needs to rely on the Word of God. He hasn't been reading the Book of Mormon and
has instead focused all of his attention on searching for sites online about eh
Church, including multiple websites written by "ex-Mormon
leaders." This has just caused him
to have so much confusion and doubt that has overwhelmed all of his faith. Remember: "Doubt your doubts before you
doubt your faith!"
We gave him a 21-day Book of
Mormon challenge that includes chapters from the Book of Mormon to read every
day. We asked him to both start and end
his studies with prayer, and he promised us he would not search online for
anything about the Church, whether good or bad, in the next 21 days. He said the closing prayer, after much
persuasion and asked God to help him know if the things we taught him were
true. He has faith and a sincere heart. He now just needs real intent or the
intention to change and be baptized when he receives and answer to his
prayers. We fasted for him on Sunday and
are praying for him also. I ask that you
pray for him too. He is a wonderful man
who is sincerely seeking truth.
Se Amo muito e quero ouvir de
voces proxima semana por favor!
Sister Dyer
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| Tennessee Countryside (we were looking for a referral who lived here) |
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| Thanksgiving at the Bohlings |
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