Week Four

Dear Family,

Thanks for all of your letters and emails! Hmm where to start...So much has happened in just a week! So..I'll start with last Monday. After emailing we went to the stake center to hang out with the other missionaries. It was so much fun because we just went crazy and played dodgeball :) Me being the competitive person that I am nearly threw out my arm haha..But it was worth it because I dominated hehe..Can you send me some humble pie please? Our p-day ends at 6 pm. We went to a part member family's home for dinner. Sister Goodie, the mom, is married to Korey a black nonmember. And the reason why I told you his race is because their children are literally the most beautiful children I've ever seen. They have blonde hair, with perfect tan skin, and gray eyes. 'Nuff said. Sister Goodie told us her life's story and it's the exact same situation Mom is in and was in. So I told her that and how Dad's heart has been softened over the years. She really appreciated it and teared up. It felt so good to connect with her and to be able to promise her that through her faithfulness, her husband's heart will be softened. Maybe I'll be that missionary that is able to connect with him and help him learn about the gospel. (He wasn't there when all of this was happening because he knew we were coming over for dinner haha) She also told us that she loves doing her family's temple work so I shared the Malachi 4:5-6 and told her that through temple work her husband's heart will be softened. He comes to church when the kids sing in primary (ages 6,4, and 18 months), when she gives a talk, and when he wants to make up for fighting haha..At the end she hugged me and thanked me for sharing my story. I have come to realize that this is one of the many reasons why the Lord specifically needs ME here. 

Tuesday was kind of forgettable..All of our appointments fell through..again..I know that this work requires a great deal of patience and I've learned that I have to experience hard things before I can find success and true happiness!

Wednesday I woke up feeling really nauseous...And I actually threw up! I went back to sleep and didn't feel better until 1 pm..We finally made it out the door! We did some tracting and found two people who seem interested! One woman, Norma, said she believes in the same things that we do and that she has met with the elders before, when she lived in California. 

Interesting experience..We met with an "eternal investigator", someone who has had the lessons a million times but refuses to get baptized. His name is Chip and he has read the entire standard works and anything and everything written by a past prophet or apostle ie..the journal discourses..Needless to say, he ate the meat before the milk. He's so confused about everything and he asks all of these questions that we do our best to answer them. We asked him if he has prayed about it and he said no, I don't want God to give me a false answer. LAME. We called President Pingree because we had no idea what to do with him (if we should drop him) because he stresses us out wayyy too much. President wants to come with us to our next meeting with the investigator which will be on Wednesday! 

Thursday: We did weekly planning for a really long time so the highlight of my day was this: We went to Eric and Vida Frausto's for a lesson. And I must say that I was sooo nervous to teach! I had taught a couple of lessons before to members and less-actives, but this was my first time teaching a planned lesson to an investigator(s). So, Eric and Vida are hispanic, with Catholic backgrounds. They have 5 kids so they'd fit right in with the ward! They're so sweet and just have this hunger for more. They have tons of questions that we're able to answer and they've had their doubts about their church's views and teachings. They've told us that everything we've taught them makes sense in their hearts. Our lesson plan for the night was to focus on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We watched a mormon message about the Atonement and we could instantly feel the Spirit. Vida asks a lot of deep questions that we did our best to answer. We also brought a member with us, Sister Sanford (bishop's wife). She was amazing too! We began to talk about how Christ cleanses us and having faith in Him. They both believe Christ to be our Savior...The discussion glided away from the plan but we were okay with that. They expressed their desire to attend church and they said they'd come! We were planning on committing them to baptism but we didn't get to talk about baptism so we felt like we should wait. We committed them to read and pray to know if the Book of Mormon is true. Sister Schellhous and I both know that they're going to get baptized, it's just a matter of time!

Friday: We had a district meet and it was a lot more helpful and meaningful than last week's. (Probably because I was exhausted and didn't know what was going on!) We discussed concerns that some investigators might have about getting baptized. We listed them all up on the board and then found scriptures to help dissolve their concerns. The last thing we talked about was fasting. It is the most underused tool a missionary has. So, Sister Schellhous and I decided to fast on Saturday for our investigators to come to church. After the meeting we went to Susan's house (woman with tons of ailments who needs help cleaning her house). She almost didn't let us in because she was in so much pain..But we got in and went to work! Afterwards, we sat down with her to share a brief message. Sister Schellhous thought it would be smart to talk more about The Book of Mormon...As soon as we sat down, Susan dumptrucked us with all of her problems. She can't pay her bills because she can't work, and she can't work because she needs a knee replacement, which she's on the waiting list for because she doesn't have insurance! You see the problem here? Oh, and she's divorced and has two sons leaving for college in 4 weeks so she's afraid that she's going to curl up in a ball and waste away because she has no one to talk to. We told her that she has a loving Heavenly Father and a Savior, Jesus Christ, to always be there for her. She said that she wasn't raised in a religious home so she has a hard time believing in God. But she wants to believe in Him. We testified to her as representatives of Christ, that He lives. The Spirit was so powerful when I bore witness to her. And then the saddest thing happened. She looked deeply into my eyes and sincerely asked, "If God loves me, then why would He make my life so hard?" I felt so horrible because I couldn't answer that question. I just stared at her like an airhead. All I wanted to do at that moment was cry. To cry with her because I felt such a profound sadness for her. Her life is one of the saddest things I've ever heard. The amazing part about all of this, is that she recognized we (us missionaries) were in her home for a reason. It was not a coincidence that we found her, it was a miracle. We gave her a Book of Mormon and asked her to read 3 Nephi 11. She was more than willing to do so! We invited her to church but she was unsure if she could physically make it...Then, Sister Schellhous felt prompted to tell her about the priesthood and blessings. Her first response was, "Can I get that?" Wahoo! She said that she'd do anything...The next time we meet, tomorrow, she's going to receive a priesthood blessing. We left her with a prayer and when she walked us to the door, she said, "Oh, my knee feels fine now!!" WHAT A MIRACLE. 

Saturday: we fasted until dinner time and let me tell you this. It was so hard. Not having food or water for the entire day while out in the hot, humid heat, it was so challenging to just put one foot in front of the other. But I knew that what I was doing was worth it. It was for Eric, Vida, Susan, and the Medeiros family (less actives). We wanted them to come to church. During the day we were trying to decide where to go next. I said, let's try Jane Street! Sis. Schellhous looked at me like I was crazy and said, "That's the most ghetto, sketchy place in the area!" So the crazy person that I am was like, Lets do it!!!!! We drove to Jane street and it was so legit. There were dogs roaming and the houses, well, trailers were so ghetto! We saw this one woman, mowing her lawn while smoking and the only tooth she had was her front one! Don't get me wrong, I'm not making fun of Jane street, I love it! But the thought slipped into my head, "I wonder if they cook meth back here." One of the dogs that chased our car (which we never got out of while on the dirt road...) was a mutant! It had utters. Huge saggin utters that were flying everywhere as it ran at us! It was hilarious and crazy! I love Jane Street haha..I love to see those sketchy places that you thought were only in movies.

Sunday: To our dismay, none of our investigators showed up...Eric and Vida went to a late concert the night before and felt bad that they missed church...The day was also hard because all of our appointments dropped and we were left to go tracting. We didn't have any luck..The questions that I keep asking myself: What is the Lord trying to show me? Should we looking for new people to teach? And I have no idea what He's trying to tell me so I'm just going to keep working hard and continue to pray. The talks in church were all amazing...They were all based on a recent talk by Elder Anderson about the trial of your faith. Go look it up! 

I'm out of time family and sorry for the long email! I love you everyone and pray that the heat doesn't kill me! Everyone here says August is the hottest month. Hopefully, we'll find people to teach so we'll be inside during the heat! LOVE YALL!

Sister Seymour