I feel as if this week wasn't the most amazing week but that's okay. I know that we did plant a lot of seeds in people's hearts and that one day those seeds will grow.
I guess I can start out by saying how awful today and yesterday was.
Saturday I woke up with a sore throat and it bothered me all day..I didn't think much about it until all night I was awake due to really bad pain. I was super sick all Sunday and it was more than just a sore throat; it was to the point where I was in tears. We had Sister Uptegraft, Brother Uptegraft, and Brother Dean come over and I ended up getting a priesthood blessing. I cant begin to explain how thankful I am for worthy priesthood holders. After the brethren gave me a priesthood blessing, Sister Uptegraft stayed to make me herbal tea and pulled out her essential oils....(She also proceeded to do our dishes).
Sister Wolf and I stayed home until our dinner appointment at the Rossi's. while were at our dinner appointment, Sister Uptegraft text us and told us she had made us homemade chicken noodle soup. (That woman is just incredible). Brother Rossi is a nurse and so he checked my throat. He told me I should think about going to the doctors because it may be possible that I have strep throat. I woke up this morning super sick still and we are sorta unsure what I have but I'm just taking it easy. I haven't gone to the doctors because I don't want to get there and be told that I'm just sick and that I need to rest and take it easy. BUT I am so incredibly grateful for my ward who is so loving and willing to do anything to help me feel better. It's so nice to have people who feel like family while I'm away from home.
We started a "fitness" challenge on Monday with our district. We get points if we don't eat passed 9:30 pm, get to bed by 10:30, get up by 6:30, exercise for 30 mins, get to personal study by 8 am, and get to companion study by 9. We also get extra points of we exercise extra mins before 8 am or after 9:30 pm. It's helped me a lot with being more obedient to our schedule and "exact obedience bring miracles while select obedience brings select blessings". Also Monday, we had elders call us serving in Alaska and one of the Elders is from Dayton, Ohio. He called us to refer us over to his mom and step dad who live in Yellow Springs. His mom had been inactive for years and his step dad was a nonmember. He asked us if we would go over the their house on Tuesday and share with them what he was sharing in Alaska. I knew that this was a small tender mercy for his mom the moment she opened the door and we said that we had been called by his son in Alaska.
Unfortunately, yellow springs is in the Elders area but helpfully they will work with them.
Adam said that his daughter was too young to be baptized so we asked him to pray to know that the age of accountability was 8. When we went over to their house Tuesday, we asked if he had prayed to know and he said "you know, if being baptized is what she wants to do then she can be baptized!" We are so excited for C. We are going to extend a baptismal date to her tonight and I'm so happy that she can choose this decision for herself.
So Wednesday, we went to teach B who has a baptismal date and before I could get out the car she gave me the plan of salvation pamphlet and Book of Mormon back. She said we were moving to fast for her (which I don't understand because she tried to move up her baptismal date last week) and asking her to make changes in her life that she wasn't ready for. It was really sad but I bore my testimony to her about the importance of baptism and the blessings that come from it. We weren't expecting her to drop us but maybe one day she'll come to realize the truthfulness of our message.
I had the opportunity to go on exchanges this week with the sister training leaders. I went with Sister Crandell to her area, Urbana. She is from Springfield, Utah and has been out for 16 months! We mostly did contacting the whole Day. One older man we went to was D. He had told Sister Crandell about two weeks ago not to come back until she had an answer about a certain question. She found scriptures that answered his question but he still wasn't happy. His wife recently passed and he wasn't happy with God. This guy sorta scared me but I continued to talk to him and bear my testimony to him. All of the sudden, his heart began to soft...maybe not on the subject of the gospel but he went from bashing certain beliefs to sitting with us and talking about his family and life. At first he scared me but throughout our conversation I began to love the man and I knew that at some point in life he would accept the gospel. He reminded me a lot of Mr. Fredtrickson (or however you spell it) from the movie Up. An old man super bitter about his wife dying, a boy (or two sister missionaries) comes along to serve him, and by the end of the movie his heart had soften. I literally watched his heart completely soften..it was incredible. He even gave me tomatoes and everyone knows how much I LOVE TOMATOES. He is even letting Sister Crandell and her companion come back to do service for him. I know that this man is going to continually soften up and will begin to see the light of Christ in missionaries. It's so incredibly how the spirit works on people and how people can truly see the Light of Christ in our eyes.
Friday we had our ward Halloween Trunk-or-Treat.... It was so much fun and I love the ward I am serving in so much. Sister and Brother Ward brought nonmembers to it and we talked a little to them. As we were talking to them, I had a strong impression to talk about the Plan of Salvation. We were talking about God and his hand in our daily lives...and it led me right into the Plan of Salvation. I know that the spirit was guiding me as I was talking to them. The spirit is so important when it comes to missionary work and it should always guide us. I like to compare it this way: missionaries speak to the body/mind and the spirit speaks to the soul. Without the Holy Ghost, missionary work would be impossible.
We had 3 investigators come to church yesterday and I was so incredibly happy. Even though I was super sick, I had the opportunity to go to church and sit by 1 of our investigators. We are going to continue teaching all of our investigators the importance of attending church, why it's important personally, and how it will bless their lives.
There will never be a general apostasy again but we are in danger of falling into a personal apostasy. We need to continually strengthen our testimony and deepen our conversion. Here are safeguards to help
you:
1. Keep covenants
2. Obey the commandments
3. Follow church leaders
4. Partake of the sacrament each week
5. Daily scripture study
6. Daily prayer
7. Service
I can testify to you all that this gospel is true and the fully restored gospel on the earth today. We have a loving Heavenly Father and Savior who know us individually and love us deeply. I promise you that if you follow the 7 steps above, that you will become closer to our Heavenly Father and Savior and you will come to know how true this gospel is. I am so grateful for the gospel in my life. I know that I can be with my family forever and that I've been blessed with such an amazing family. There are so many ups and downs as a missionary but everyday I'm reminded that this is exactly where I should be. I love you all and I'm so grateful for all the support. Look to Christ, build a foundation on Christ, and press forward with faith in Christ.
XOXO,
Sister Detamore
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