Adventures from West Virginia: Did I Just See a Utah License Plate?

Hi.

This Was Taken at Our 15 Month Mark

So This week was wonderful! I feel like I am finally getting the hang of things here. :) Christiansburg is awesome! It's kind of weird, because everyone here is from Utah! I am not used to my own kind. I need more country folks in my life! But that's okay, the ward really is amazing! There really are lots of young families here from Utah because of the College in the neighboring town. Virginia Teach is in Blacksburg, VA. Many people are students and so there are lots of turnovers in the ward, with people moving in and out with the semesters. It is pretty great though, the ward really trusts us and they love missionary work! It is so awesome to be in a ward where they are more than willing to help us with the Lord's work.

Sister Miller and I with the Bluefield Sisters

Sister Berger and I on Exchanges

We Both Got Minion Pajamas

This week was great! Sister Miller and I have been working on teaching in unity and being "equally yoked" in our teaching. We get along very well, and it isn't that we aren't working together, but sometimes it can be hard to teach with someone who teaches differently than you. It is amazing to see how much more our investigators understand when we are constantly trading off and testifying. I was thinking a lot, and I started looking through one of my old study journals to some notes that I took at a District Meeting about 6 months ago. In this meeting we were talking about companionship unity and teaching by the spirit. Something that I wrote down just hit me like a wall. "The Spirit isn't going to tell you to take over in a lesson." I know how true this is! Contention will drive the spirit away and we need to be unified with our companion. The Missionary Handbook says to "talk openly with your companion" and I know how important that is for us to be unified as a companionship. I have learned how important it is to rely on the promise in Chapter 10 of Preach My Gospel "Your teaching WILL be more powerful and interesting if you and your companion work together in unity." I love the Lord

and His promises. I know this is true!

We were able to see one of our investigators, Elizabeth! We think she might have a bit of a learning disability, so we try to really break things down even more to the pure and simple basics. She has been coming to church pretty frequently, but she has some concerns with baptism. We really tried to understand what her concerns were and how we could help her. We found out that she is afraid of drowning, and also of getting water in her ears. Sister Miller and I taught the principal of 1 Nephi 3:7 - how God will not give us a commandment without first providing a way for us to be able to do it. We were able to help her know that she will be okay and we put her on date for Oct 22! It was awesome :) teaching by the spirit to fit peoples needs is the only way to teach! I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY AND BRINGING OTHERS UNTO CHRIST.