I need to tell you a little about Chris. He lived in Peachtree City in the apartment next door to the Jacobsens, Senior missionaries who were released last Monday. The Jacobsen's had befriended Chris, but they had not talked about religion.
Just a few weeks before the Jacobsen's moved, Chris decided he needed to move, which brought him to our apartment building. (I'm sure it was the hand of the Lord. Out of all the apartments in the area, he happened to choose our apartment complex and was given an apartment in our same building.) Jacobsen's arranged for the missionaries to help Chris move and let us know he was coming. We talked to Chris a few times and then invited him to dinner. He accepted the invitation!
During dinner we learned that Chris was raised by his grandmother and attended their family's church. He hadn't been to church for a while and knew he was missing that in his life. He and his grandmother are still very close. She has been encouraging him to find a church to go to, so we invited him to come to church with us. He accepted. The conversation went on as we told him what to expect at church. He was very interested and accepting of everything we said, so we told him more. We told him about Joseph Smith and how to know for himself if what we were saying was true. We told him about that good warm feeling the spirit brings into your heart. He told us that he did have a good feeling inside. He told us he wanted to learn more and accepted the invitation to be taught by our missionaries. In the end, we were able to share our testimonies and Chris left with a copy of the Book of Mormon.
Sunday came. Our ward members are so missionary-minded. Many, many came and shook his hand and introduced themselves and welcomed him. I was a little concerned about the possible content of the talks, but every talk seemed to be prepared just for him! He went to priesthood meeting with Rod. After church, we asked him what he thought about church. He told us he really like it and wanted to come back next week! On the drive home he told us some of the things he wanted to say in priesthood meeting, but was a little afraid to. What he wanted to say would have been great. He might have more courage to speak next week.
Sunday night Elder Inskeep and Elder Cook taught the plan of salvation. Chris was very accepting of everything. Chris' uncle passed away this week, so the lesson was very timely. We have plans to begin reading the Book of Mormon with Chris Tuesday and the missionaries will teach the next lesson Thursday. We are so thrilled to share the gospel with Chris!
I drove Sister Hart and Nebeker to the baptism of Madeline Moorman in Atlanta. Yes, her name is pronounced "Mormon." :)
Her story: Over a year ago Sister Hart and Sister Ka'ili found Madeline Moorman and began teaching her the gospel. She gained a strong testimony and wanted to be baptized, but her mother said, "No, you were baptized a catholic when you were a baby, and you don't need to be baptized again."
Madeline complied with her mother's wishes, but continued attending the Young Single Adult Ward in Atlanta. A short time ago Madeline approached her mother again. This time she told her mother that she was going to be baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Later-day Saints. Her mother didn't try to stop her this time. She was baptized Sunday and there was a large number of Young Single Adults there to support and love her.
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| Sister Ka'ili, Madeline, and Sister Hart |
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| Sisters Gray, Hart, Ka'ili, Madeline, Sisters Burton, Rice, and Nebeker |
We filled the rest of our week with service. We spent three mornings at the Midwest Food Bank helping with load-out. We gathered trash along a county road during our Fayetteville Community clean-up morning. As you can see, it was unusually cold when we started. We even had frost on our windshield.
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| Fayetteville Community Clean-up Morning with Sisters Merrell, Hart, Nebeker, and Elder Merrell We picked up trash along an assigned roadway. |
I also taught Sister Hart and Sister Nebeker how to make rolls on their P-Day. Sister Hart will complete her mission in two weeks. I will miss her so much! She plans to attend Utah State, so we hope to keep in touch when we get home.
Making rolls with Sisters Nebeker and Hart.
I just love these sisters!
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