Chattahoochee whatty?

Monday August 7

Hey y'all! Here are some highlights from this week!

Tracy- Wowwww, she is incredible. We met with her on Tuesday- the Spirit is helping her to understand so clearly what we teach her! We met with her again on Saturday and our friend Krissy Palmer came with us. She hasn't been to church in a while, and being at that lesson really strengthened her faith as well as Tracy's! She even came to church the next day to be there for Tracy!! (Although sadly Tracy was sick and couldn't come) Next week, though! She even texted us and asked us what her next reading assignment is... the elect keep commitments and really hunger for the gospel! 

Wednesday was MLC in Crestview, FL! It was weird to be back there. We talked a lot about the culture of our mission, how the FTM is where we talk with everyone, embrace the awkward, have faith over fear, obey exactly, work with members, seek miracles, etc. This was a big focus because half the missionaries there are going home, and twenty five new missionaries are coming in this transfer! Things are really going to shake up! It's exciting!

Right afterwards we drove to Tallahassee for an exchange with the head sister training leaders there. On the way, we wanted to stop for dinner, so we clicked on Subway in our GPS. We exited, but it was a bit farther than we expected... it was in an old Southern town called Chattahoochee, which is super close to Georgia! It was a fun little detour. We gave a pass-along card to an employee working there, so maybe that was why we went. :)

Thursday I was with Sister Jenkins, who I came out with and was in my MTC branch! We went to contact some potential investigators, and ran into a couple members who were working on a house. Then we walked up the street to knock on a few doors. No one was home/ interested. We were walking towards the car to go to the next appointment, but I suddenly felt a pull towards the street we were walking past, and a house with a blue garage caught my eye- I asked if we could go knock on the door. We did, and the woman who answered was so happy to see us! Sheila told us she she had done family history at the church for years, but hadn't been recently and wanted to start going again! She agreed to have the sisters come back to share the message of why we do family history, too!! It was so cool to see how the Spirit led the sisters to talk to people who He then led them to plan to see that day, and they weren't home, but we met Sheila instead!

Tristian is doing awesome! We met with her on Friday to start teaching the new member lessons. Afterwards we went to lunch! She is so funny! She always says things like, "Y'aaaaal, lemme tell you somethin..." On Sunday she brought her 9 and 10 year old cousins to church and they went to Primary and loved it! After church we taught the Plan of Salvation and they liked that, too. 

On my exchange with Sister Jenkins we were talking about counseling together in companionships and turned to Isaiah 1:18- 

"Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." We talked about the verse and felt that "reason" means to make sense of something, to understand... I could imagine the Lord saying something to me like this (sometimes I try to be cool like Elder Jeffrey R. Holland...) "Come now, let's make sense of this: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow... it doesn't make sense to despair over these sins. I have already suffered for them- you can be cleansed, you can be forgiven. It makes sense because of Me. Let me heal you." Then we turned to D&C 50:10, 13-14
"And now come, saith the Lord, by the Spirit, unto the elders of his church, and let us reason together, that ye may understand... Wherefore, I the Lord ask you this question—unto what were ye ordained? To preach my gospel by the Spirit, even the Comforter which was sent forth to teach the truth." We must understand and access the cleansing power of Jesus Christ ourselves in order to then preach that knowledge to others; it is through the Holy Ghost that we access both Jesus Christ's cleansing power and His power to teach the Gospel. I know He leads this work, through the Holy Ghost! I love you all!