Another week here in the
"Dirty-burg"! I've written so much in my short 5 months that I've
already filled an entire journal... I might have to cut down on my writing time;
ha-ha. But, there's good news! We got our car back this week! Hallelujah! I
never knew how hard missionary work would be without transportation. Now I feel
like I can actually focus on finding people to teach! Unfortunately we still
don't have anyone to teach, but we are keeping the faith and praying for those
opportunities! We just have to remember "The adversaries arms are too
short to box with God." (from a man @ church bearing his testimony).
I won a "no filters" game
in District Meeting this Tuesday, so that was cool. I don't use filter words
such as, "Like" "uhh" or "umm..." when teaching!
What an accomplishment ;) And I introduced Sister Brown to Peanut Butter Hot
Chocolate at Sheetz... her life is now forever changed ;) And they're coming
out with a new Caramel Hot Chocolate... Gas stations do it right here in the
East Coast!
I got to meet some AWESOME members
this week. A family who loves the Utes (Go Utes!), sweet young women, and the
most sarcastic family I've met on my mission thus far. Ha-ha, it's been great!
And there's a woman in the ward who used to be on magic shows and she's just,
like, super famous. And she gave me a copy of a book her father wrote while he
was serving with President Benson in Europe after WWII. So that's cool.
We met a few really interesting
people in Downtown Martinsburg this week! One lady told us to get out of that
area because "people get shot here" and she didn't want us to get
hurt because she knows we represent Christ. So that was cool. (Don't worry,
Mom. I'm safe. It was broad daylight, too). And we met this guy named Keith who
actually stopped us to talk to us and he was just awesome :) He's going to try
to come to church this week so he can hear more "messages from the
Lord." We got to teach the Restoration on the streets to someone after we
prayed that morning for an opportunity to teach. He's not interested, but it
just goes to show that God will answer our prayers each and every time. Lastly,
we met this guy who's actually looking for a church and he said he's always
been "Fascinated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints"...
maybe because it's actually true ;) So he told us he'd check out Mormon.org and
we could call him next week and hopefully set up a time to teach him and his
wife :) Miracles do happen!
So, Sister Brown claims to be an
amazing cook.... and she burnt a whole bag of popcorn in our apartment this
week. Needless to say, I haven't been craving popcorn for a while, ha-ha. I'll
forgive her ;)
Funny story: we were trying to find
this less-active family with a member, Becky, this week and it was pretty dark
at night and long story short, we totally went off-roading in Becky's car. And
we stopped at this trailer that we thought might've been them... ha-ha, nope!
Not them! I was trying to talk to this old man inside the trailer, but he just
kept yelling "WHAT!?" So I'd yell back and then all the sudden this
old man just pokes one eye out the window. He scared us SO bad! Ha-ha, we went
running to the next house. Talk about awkward and terrifying. On a side-note,
that same day, Becky and I totally taught this unplanned lesson to another
Less-active member and it was perfectly unified, so she fist-bumped me at the
end and said, "That's how it's done." ha-ha. Talk about the Spirit
directing a lesson!
We had a Stake Women's Conference
this week and the theme was "Be Your Own Kind of Beautiful" we got to
hear the testimonies and lessons of many in the stake and it was awesome :) I
got to do Zumba, ha-ha.... let's just say Zumba is not my talent. But, on a
more serious note, this conference really opened up my eyes to some of the
troubles that are going on in the world right now. Now is the time to know that
you are loved by a God of Miracles. You are cared for by your Father in Heaven.
He knows what's best for you and He knows what's best for the world. This
Gospel is surrounded by His love. We have Prophets, because God loves us and
wants us to be safe. We have the Priesthood, so we can access Christ's
Atonement. We have families, so we can be lifted up and supported in our times
of trial. All because God loves us. I know there are several political things
going on in the Church right now, but remember, this Church is not here to make
the world happy. It's here to guide and direct God's children and help us reach
perfection one day in the next life. It's not about the politics. It's not about
making people happy with us. It's about "Learning Heaven" as Brad
Wilcox puts it. It's okay to have questions. It's okay to have doubts and
concerns. It's all okay. But I want to encourage you all to ASK! Ask your
Father in Heaven for help. Ask Him for anything that you need. Love.
Encouragement. Reassurance. HE WILL ANSWER YOU! That is my testimony. God loves
all His children. And, ultimately, that's all that matters. So please, reach
out to those who are struggling. Reach out to your leaders for help. And NEVER
forget the Love God has for YOU. Because you are special. You are amazing. You
are precious. He hears your prayers. He sees you as the person He knows you can
become with the help of our Savior. You are not alone. Never forget that. I
want to leave you that testimony in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Scripture of the week: Mosiah 7:33
Quote of the week: "YES! I have
been saved by Grace. But the real question is, have you been CHANGED by
Grace?" - Brad Wilcox
Love,
Sister Humphrey
