Week 54: New England summer, coming right up!

June 2, 2014

Hello my dearest family and friends!

It has been another lovely week in the ghetto of Providence. It doesn't look so scary in the summer. Homeless people and drunk people are much scarier when there's snow outside and you're on the bus with them. :)

I will try to do a more condensed email this week- I think last week got a little crazy. :) It's just so hard when there are so many great things happening!

I'll start with Maya. I just love her! And she has been making some great progress this week. (Sister Crane mentioned that she received a blessing before coming here and she was promised that people who were previously not progressing would start to. It is so humbling to witness promised Priesthood blessings fulfilled.) We had a great lesson with her last week where she opened up about her questions, etc and so our lessons this week have been focused on her desire to pray in the right way. She has been studying prayer in the Book of Mormon and she fasted this weekend for the first time. So great! :)

We taught the Brindamours a couple times this week and they are so cool. Their home is absolute chaos, but they are so tight knit. The kids really love each other and are so respectful. The mom, Julie, really is searching for the truth but seems a little stubborn (in a totally endearing way) and her daughter, Jodie, just seems to be soaking in what we teach like a sponge. We are so excited about her! Something just feels different when we're talking to her. There's a light in her eyes and we just feel like she's very prepared. They committed to come to church but didn't make it, but there's always next week! (And maybe Fast and Testimony meeting isn't always the safest first Sunday for your investigators anyway...) :)

We reconnected with an investigator, Edith, who we haven't seen for a while. She's going to be slower at her progress because she's Baptist and not ready to jump ship yet, but her sister, Leona Sarmie, is in our branch (in fact, they are both sisters to Maya's mom), so she has great examples in her family and she's totally willing to read the Book of Mormon on her own and meet with us every week. She is so sweet and has such a powerful testimony that God will tell her what she needs to do and she will always follow. We couldn't ask for more perfect real intent from an investigator! :)

We also had a lesson with Sherri and Chantel. Chantel seems to understand that we've dropped her/she's dropped us and she's okay with it. :) She will get there some day, but she's not as invested right now. Sherri surprised us by doing her homework and seeming more invested in our visit than the time previous, but we still kind of soft-dropped her/ left the ball in her court. We've taught her just about everything we can and now it's just up to her to choose to progress.

Also, good old George sat by me in church on Sunday. It was hysterical. He was actually kind of nice. He didn't complain as much about the testimonies as he usually does. I bore my testimony about how I know that the strong Spirit that is so present in our branch is because all of the members are so consecrated and it has been a huge example to me. I know that is the only way to live and it is how our Savior lives. I know that the more consecrated we become, the more we become like Him. When I sat down, George turned to me and asked, "Is this branch different? Is there more Spirit here?" Yes, George, yes it is. And how lucky I've been to be a part of it. :) I will miss Providences so very much.

This week I've been thinking about it and really, our life here on earth is the war in heaven transplanted. And Satan doesn't play nice, but God will always give us what we need to win, especially when we put ourselves on the front lines. When we are actively engaged in saving souls, God will give us the Spirit, which Clayton Christensen teaches is His most powerful weapon. We just have to do all we can to help others remember who they are and rescue them from the many devices of Satan (distraction, sin, sadness). There is nothing more rewarding than the work of saving souls!

I love you all! Thank you for all of your love and support!

Love,
Sister Wheeler Jr.