Wow what a week it has been here in Woodland! I am so happy to stay here for another transfer. The beginning of the week was a little crazy trying to get packed and see everyone that we had appointments with. And Sister Girot went a little hard on her ankle so Monday night we didn't really do a lot of physical missionary work but we did see a miracle! We were going to a referral and they didn't answer but as we were driving I felt impressed to try by a former investigator that we have tried by many times before but never were able to actually speak with them. And so we stopped and she was home! Her name is Ginger and she has met with a lot of missionaries but when we were talking with her she said that she was trying to find out how to get a hold of the missionaries. And said she wanted to build up her faith and spirituality. Annnnd that is where we come in :) we are seeing her this week so hopefully it all goes well.
We saw some of our less active members on Tuesday. One is Sister Sperry, she would be active if she were physically able but she isn't so we go and see her once a week. She is just the cutest and has the best testimony to share. I'm really glad that we are able to visit with her and read from the Howard W Hunter book to keep her updated with the rest of the church lessons. We also saw Ashleyanne and she is doing well. I just love her so much! She is starting to work on personal progress and is going to the youth temple night with the Ward next Thursday. Such great things. Oh and she went over to her youth leaders to find names of her ancestors to take to the temple and do their work. The gospel is true.
Highlight of the week was definitely Saturday. It was a little crazy though. Sis Slattery and I were doing tracting and then we called the Woodland 1st sisters to see if thy remembered to leave the font full so we could just put some warm water in it for the girls' baptism. (They had a baptism in the morning) and they call us back and said they drained it halfway so we could fill it with warm water....this was like an hour and a half before the baptism....it takes an hour to fill it half way and we were about thirty minute from Longview. So we raced over to get the key from our Ward missionary and headed to Longview to fill the font....plot twist: I have never filled a font....it's always just been done for us.....so we try to figure it out and then we decided to just call the zone leaders for help....they get there and then ten minutes later the Smiths show up and we have to get them ready and so the nice zone leaders just took care of the font and everything went well. It was a full house for the baptism and members of the Ward did special musical numbers and the spirit was just so strong. I loved it. Thankfully Sister Girot was able to come and Michael came to see it as well. Dhana was unfortunately out of town but it was just the greatest day :) they have such a strong testimony and understanding of the gospel. I feel so blessed to have been here to teach them. We really are placed where God needs us to be.
Rewind to Wednesday aka transfer day. We sent the missionaries away from Longview and just waited for a few hours for all of our new companions to come from the main transfer site in Vancouver. Sis Slattery is my new companion and we knew each other before the mission....well kind of....we were friends on Facebook when we found out we were going to the same mission. She is from Las Vegas and well has been out as long as me haha. But we go home the same time so we may just finish our missions together. And then on Thursday morning we both received our "trunky call" from the mission. Asking us if we are flying or driving home.....I said driving....hope that is okay! But it was just a rude wake up call to how much time is left on my mission. But have no fear there is no trunkyness in me. I'm prepared and ready to work to the very end.
We were able to meet with Dhana and Michael this week. We had a bonfire at their house and taught them the plan of salvation. It was definitely a new experience but it went really well! They both agreed and understood what we were teaching them. We are trying to set a baptismal goal for May 28th and I think it will happen. Michael came to church this week but Dhana was out of town so she didn't come. However at church in priesthood meetings they asked for brethren to go help at the youth temple trip and they invited Michael to go with them and visit the visitors center! So awesome! I love it when the Ward fellowships those we are teaching without us asking them to do so. Member missionary work is so important!
We have another new investigator this week named Hallie. She is 8 years old but her aunt is a less active member and she has been coming to primary because she wanted to investigate churches. Last Sunday our primary president said that her mom said she could meet with the missionaries! We went to see her on Thursday and she is just the cutest ever. We taught her about the restoration and invited her to read from the Book of Mormon. She wants to get baptized but said she isn't ready yet. Which is true. So we are going to continue to teach her and help her gain a testimony. So lots of good things happening here in Woodland.
We have been teaching a young man, Jared, who is less active and this time we brought with us another youth and the young men's president. We taught him about God is our loving Heavenly Father and about faith. And it went so well. They both shared their stories of how they know that God loves them and how they see his blessings in their life. It helped him to see the blessings of God in his life and then in turn help him look for them more in his everyday. And then he came to church on Sunday!! It was so awesome!!! I love being a missionary. And I love that we have such a simple gospel to share. When broken down the gospel is so easy to understand with our minds and with our hearts. I have learned and gained a solid testimony of our Father's love for us since I have been on my mission. The many moments in my life that show God doesn't do random just teach me over and over again that he knows us. He knows where we are at, what struggles we have and everything about us. So just trust him. Easier said then done but it brings so much more happiness. I promise it does. And so does Heavenly Father who is a much better resource than me 🙂
I love you all and remember who you are :)
Sister Stephens
The zone and our awesome t-shirts!
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