This is Sis. Parker and me on the other side of Main Street (two blocks down from the picture I sent last week) where there is a cute little gazebo, an old woodbridge, and a fountain thing. There are a lot of things made out of marble (like the fountain) here because marble was discovered very close to here about a century ago. Now Pickens County is "the marble capital of GA." :)
Hola mi familia y mis amigos!
Highlights from the week:
Wed: We had a team-up with a wonderful woman in our ward who is a fluent (native) Spanish speaker--Sis. Knight. We went to teach Mario (25 yr) and his mother, Aurora, but we ended up teaching his sister, Veronica (20 yr) and their dad, too. One miracle was that although we felt initial hesitation in taking Sis. Knight there (we found out that she has worked with their family before because of her job--she's kind of a social worker--and she knows some of their background so we were worried about the repurcussions) everything worked smoothly. The Perez family is very open to the truth. God really blessed us with the Spirit. I am more acutely aware of the Spirit's presence when we are trying to teach Spanish speakers because I depend heavily upon it to be able to communicate. I am also much more aware of our unity as a companionship during those times, because if Sis. Parker is really focused, I can communicate much more easily. We have been able to meet with their family a few more times since then and every experience has been good. I love them. Their home is warm, homey, comforting. They are good people. I want so much for them to progress.
In contrast, we went to another appointment with Sis. Knight (again, to Spanish speakers) immediately following our visit with the Perez family, and because the men to whom we were talking were not very open to the message, communication was very difficult.
Herminia Diaz decided to take her kids and move back to Ogden. She came to give her ex-husband a second chance, but she felt like things just weren't working out so she decided to move back to what she considers her home. We pray that she will continue to meet with missionaries there.
Mark Ward (Brynn's husband--Brynn grew up in the Church) announced that he wants to be baptized so he will be baptized by his father-in-law (who's flying out from Utah). The Parrishes have been teaching him for some months, and he is an incredible person, so everyone in the branch is very excited. Please pray that many of our friends with whom we are working will be able to attend church and the baptism this Sunday.
Interviews with Pres. King were the main highlight of the week. The trainings (given by our Zone Leaders and the Assistants) were all based on the Preach My Gospel DVDs (they showed us parts of them in the MTC, including "The District") and I LOVE them! Pres. King ordered copies so that every ward/branch in the mission can have a copy. We watched the segments about working with the bishop/the ward mission leader/the members/ the ward mission plan, and they were SO helpful. I am thrilled to get to watch it with our branch mission leader, Bro. Echard (by the way, he was recently released as the Atlanta Temple Pres.) and our branch pres, Pres. Spooner (also a wonderful man) and to implement what it teaches. Wow. It is powerful.
As Sis. Parker was being interviewed by Pres. King, I was in the hallway being trained by one of the Assistants. They also had a TV set up there and we got to watch the segments about using the Area Book/Teaching Records/Progress Records. WOW. Those are things that we have been struggling with, but the way that the videos teach the "why" filled me with motivation to change. The segment starts out with a clip of Elder Ballard addressing a group of missionaries and asking them how they would feel if the Savior came into their apartment and asked them to see their Area Book to see how they are taking care of His children in their part of the vineyard. I felt reprimanded by the Spirit but also filled with the hope of positive change. That was my overall feeling regarding the meetings, actually. I need to rise to a new level...and it is possible through the Savior's grace--His strengthening and enabling power.
Pres. King is an incredible example of Christlike love and service. After having me to offer a prayer to start our interview, he talked about how one of the greatest desires that he had, when he was first called to be a mission president, was to shine the shoes of every missionary in the mission. So, he came equipped with shoe polish and the necessary brushes and he did so. Sadly, the shoes that I wore could not be polished (they are covered a in kind of silky fabric). During the rest of interview he continued to focus on how much he wants to be of service to me, as an individual. He asked some interesting questions, including, "What will you tell people about your mission when you go home? When you are standing in front of your ward, what will you tell them about your mission?" That was really hard for me to answer.
I love you. Thank you for being amazing.
Love,
Sister Mitchell
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