My dearest family and friends!
First off, HAPPIEST BIRTHDAY TO JENNA! You are the sweetest, gentlest, and cleverest (is that a word?) little artist and I love you!
Secondly, HAPPIEST BIRTHDAY TO RAY ON SATURDAY! I miss your laugh and energy! You are so kind and so fun! I LOVE YOU!
Thank you all for your prayers for Sherri! I could feel them work and it strengthened my testimony of prayer. We texted her Happy Birthday on Wednesday and she told us to come over, so her brother, Scott, who is a recent convert, met us there and we watched Finding Faith in Christ with her and had a good discussion. It was a great lesson and a tender mercy- we haven't been able to meet with her more than once a week, so I knew that was an answer to prayer!
I know I've said there's a lot of possibilities for growth in this branch because there are so many less actives and recent converts, but work has been slow this week! Between the 6 missionaries in the branch, we taught 4 investigator lessons this last week. We're doing our best to find new investigators and we are still pretty busy with less active work and with helping plan the ward party in February (which should be a wonderful finding opportunity) as well as planning an English class we'll start teaching in a couple of weeks (also a great finding opportunity). But, when we talked to our poor ward mission leader on Saturday and talked about how we need more investigators or we're going to lose a set of missionaries, he almost cried. We think he feels really overwhelmed/not sure how to do his calling/not sure how to help us. I feel so bad we stressed him out! We're going to help him get the ward mission plan rough drafted this week and keep boosting his confidence. He felt so bad that he decided he was going to take a Book of Mormon to his friend Mike who recently had a baby... we're okay with that! :)
But really, members hold the keys to finding. We hold the keys to teaching. I mean, we're also good at finding, but they are more often than not kind of crazy.
Speaking of crazy, let me tell you a funny story about Sherri a few weeks ago. We were trying to help her see how to pray and get an answer, so we prayed together with her and in her prayer she was like, "Heavenly Father, is what the Sisters teaching me true?.............. I'm getting a yes. Awesome! Thanks!" and then she described this crazy experience she had as a kid seeing some blue angel/alien thing and also wanted to know if it had actually happened. ".............I'm also getting a yes. Great!" We were dying. :) We sure love her.
Sister Budvarson and I are doing well. We have officially achieved old married couple status. She's too hot in the car and I'm too cold, so we argue over the heating. I tell her how to drive because she's a crazy California driver and she doesn't know how to drive in snow (yet she's the designated driver because she gets car sick). I knit in the passenger seat and try to give her solutions to the problems she complains about when really she doesn't want advice, she just wants to complain. One time she yelled at me, "Don't tell me what to do, woman!" It's hysterical. And I adore her. :) We had a great comp inventory on Wednesday where she made me tell her all the things I feel like she needs to work on (which I'm terrible at doing because I hate confrontation and I don't like people being mad at me- I probably feel like people will feel that way if I correct them because that's how I receive correction- I get mad and then feel worthless- I totally need to work on it!) and we both felt closer after talking about it. I'm still working up the courage to have her give me correction- it really does help a lot!
Sister Budvarson has also opened up a lot more and I feel like I'm better understanding how to help her LOVE her mission. I need to help her realize how successful she is. She is defining success too narrowly and it's killing her motivation. She is an AMAZING missionary and teacher and testifier and I just want her to see that!
Alright, I'm almost out of time. We have been trying to find inactives on the ward list and we met this sweet old lady named Mary Brooks, but she wants nothing to do with the church anymore. She left 50 years ago because she felt like we never talk about Christ. Sister Budvarson and I were stunned and heartbroken for her, especially since we've been marking all the references to Christ in the Book of Mormon. She mentioned that she was baptized mostly to make the missionaries happy and I felt in my heart that she won't be help responsible for what she doesn't fully understand. She really is a Christian and if she really understood that this is Christ's church, I know she would feel differently. I want to help her see that! We'll see how we can help her- she doesn't want to be affiliated with the church. Please say a little prayer for her.
Alright, must run! I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH! This is the restored church and gospel of Jesus Christ. I KNOW it. And it is such a blessing!
Love,
Sister Wheeler Jr.
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