26 January 2014

I just realized I didn't post last week. Time is going faster than I think. So this post will cover two weeks.

Last week we received a pleasant surprise. One of the families we have been working with came to church for the  first time in at least 6 months. The wife has been working on Sundays at a restaurant. She is helping to support her family here but mostly working to support her 2 children and mother in El Salvador. So the job is very important to her. Last week, however, she told her boss that she was going to church. She would get everything prepared in the morning and only be gone for an hour or so. We were worried she would lose her job so we prayed for her. The president of the branch didn't think she would show up but she did with her husband and child. We were very happy.

We have also been preparing to teach English classes in a little larger setting with 6-8 students once or twice a week in Tallahassee and Bainbridge. We also held a training session for the Marianna Elders to teach English in Marianna.

For a month now we have been assisting the Marianna Elders teach a young woman from Guatemala. She needs to be married before baptism. Things were going well. We went with her to find a dress but were unsuccessful the first time looking. She wanted Guatemalan mole for the dinner so we tried a recipe to see if it would work. Unfortunately, it didn't. She didn't like it. Anyway that wasn't the most unfortunate thing. Now she doesn't want to get married at all.

So goes the life of a missionary. We have ups and downs based on the decisions of those we work with. But that is all part of God's plan. Everyone has the power to choose for themselves. Maybe the time is right for them and maybe it isn't. We have done our part though in giving them the opportunity to make a decision. Too often we keep going through our lives without making real decisions about what we really want to do; just letting life take us along.

12 January 2014

Another great week!

This week was unbelievable, almost. The first part of the week was unusual. As we started our week with our first appointment a cold cruel fact hit us. It was cold and cruel to those unprepared for the cold. Two nights it got down to about 20 degrees and stayed fairly cold all day. For those unprepared for this kind of weather, it was bad. At our first appointment, we had to cancel our lesson because it was too cold. The family is living in a mobile home with no central heating only 1 portable electrical heater in one small bedroom. The plumbing froze and they were cold. In fact, every place we went the next 2 days, pipes were frozen. So instead of teaching, we rounded up heaters and blankets. Thankfully, we were in a well heated apartment so we didn't have to worry about ourselves just everyone else. So for all of you reading where you think it is "really" cold, and envying us in sunny Florida, it can get cold here, too. In fact, on Tuesday I checked the temperature in Tallahassee and Homedale and they were exactly the same, 21 degrees. On the other hand, by Saturday the high temperature had risen to 72 and low of 60.

Saturday we helped the Marianna Elders teach an investigator from Guatemala again. In the United States and in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, we have a rich history of pioneers trekking across America by wagons, and handcarts. Sister Huddleston asked the investigator how they came to the US. Her reply was, "we walked." Hard treks across countries is not just in history. It is also evident in some lives today. Let us honor all those who sacrifice and do hard things for their families.

5 January 2014

The weeks are going by fast. Last week was New Year's but it didn't seem to slow us down. We had lessons in Quincy and Bainbridge as usual, but added another family in Mariana, FL. Mariana is an hour west of Tallahassee. The Elders in Mariana that we met at the 1/2 Mission conference a couple of weeks ago invited us over to meet with an investigator. They needed some help with translation. This family is from Guatemala and speak Mam, an indigenous Mayan language. Unfortunately, as you probably already know, we don't speak that language either. However, the family is learning Spanish since they have arrived in the US, and we do know (at least one of us) that language. This is the second family that we have encountered that speaks this particular language. We thought it was quite a coincidence. After doing a little research, however, we have discovered that there are a lot of people from Guatemala in Florida.

Friday is our preparation day or P-day as we call it. This is the day we take care of washing our car, cleaning our apartment, rotating our tires, doing errands, and take a little time to see Florida. This week we did all those things and traveled south to Panecea and Baldy Point State Park. It was beautiful but a cold day. The water seemed pretty cold as well so no swimming that day. We finished off the day with some yummy seafood.

Saturday, we taught a new member lesson to the family in Bainbridge. After receiving some of the Christmas cookies we had made for them, they wanted to learn how to make them. So, we also taught the mother and daughter how to make sugar cookies.

We are starting to get into our routine and enjoying our time serving the Lord. I still am far from where I need to be in learning Spanish, but I will continue to strive.