Dearest family and friends,
First of all, Happiest Birthday to Nicole this week! I hope you have the best day! I love you so much!
I was nervous I was going to run into Aunt Peggy this week the whole time she was here and it was going to burst my missionary bubble, but no such happening. Somehow we managed to exist in this small farm town for a week without crossing paths. :)
It's been another great week in Amherst and so full of miracles, again!
I mentioned Al Hurlburt last week. The news on Al is that he passed away on Thursday and I never actually got to meet him. :( But, he was an investigator that Sister Patterson and Sister Scott started teaching in April. They talked to him on the street and he was very receptive. Miracle! From what they said, he was just so sincere and good and giving and patient and he wanted to be baptized from lesson one. Just so ready for the gospel! He unfortunately had some health complications and when I got to the area, the sisters had lost touch with Al because he'd been from hospital to hospital and his phone stopped working.
The miracle with Al last week is that on Monday, a member from our ward called and said there was a man at the care facility where she worked that said he was Mormon and wanted to meet the missionaries, but she had never met him before and he said his name was Al Hurlburt. Absolute miracle. Sister Patterson and Sister Kemp went Tuesday (we were on exchanges) and had a lesson with him on the Plan of Salvation and temple work and he signed a paper saying that if he was not able to be baptized before he passed away, he would like his work done in the temple. We weren't able to visit him again, but when we called on Friday to schedule something, his nurse let us know he'd passed away Thursday night. We are floored. What a miracle that we were able to connect with him before he passed away. The Lord's hand is in every second of this work! We are so sad Al is gone, but so grateful we were able to teach him. We know he's at peace now and his learning is continuing. How grateful I am for vicarious ordinances that make salvation possible for every. single. one. of our Heavenly Father's children. His plan is so perfect.
My favorite moment of the week was our follow-up visit with Melanie on Saturday. It was a quick visit, but it was incredible. She was BEAMING when we walked in and she could not stop smiling. She kept hiding her face behind her Book of Mormon (she was holding it very carefully and said she wanted to keep it looking new) and just could not find words. She said she had read Mosiah 4 like we'd assigned and that it was so clear to her and she loved it. She knows the Book of Mormon is true and she said it just makes her want more of the truth. We invited her to be baptized on September 20th and she was so excited! She'll be praying about it this week. She said she'd been reading a bit and praying every day this week. She said the closing prayer and it was so sincere. She thanked Heavenly Father for sending us to teach her the truth and for how much He's blessed her. There were tears in her eyes afterwards as she repeated the same thanks to us. I love her so much already! The Spirit in the lesson was so powerful. It is SUCH a privilege to be a witness to people's conversion. Every conversion experience is a miracle! I will never be the same.
We met with her younger brother, Alex, on Sunday and he had not done his reading, but we read with him and he received it well. He seems to be taking a more cautious and thoughtful approach to what we are sharing, but he is an honest seeker of truth. I can feel it. We feel so great about him and are excited for him to continue to progress.
Miracle: Dmitri. We still didn't have our car on Wednesday (thankfully- all of these miracles have been happening because of it! When we picked up the car on Thursday, I think we were one of the most gratefully delayed customers they'd ever had.) :), so we were walking to the library and we ran into Dmitri right outside the library. It turns out he went to the Mormon church growing up and hasn't been in years but is willing to meet with us! We weren't clear on whether or not he ever got baptized (his parents were converts), but we'll keep you posted. We are so excited to work with him either way!
Even more miracles on Tuesday when I was on exchanges in Gardner with Sister Caceres. Our zone has been doing a fun points system to encourage ourselves to open our mouths throughout the week and on Tuesday, the daily double was talking to people before noon. Sister Caceres and I were able to hand out 3 Book of Mormons before noon and one of the people we talked to is an investigator now! Her name is Kim and she actually used to live in the Gardner sisters' apartment. Also, the first guy we talked to, Randy, said he and his girlfriend were looking for a church. MIRACLE. The sisters should be teaching him soon. My throat hurt for the rest of the week because Sister Caceres and I screamed every time we got back into the car after talking to a miracle person. :)
Another fun story: One of our inactives referred us to his mom, Mary Thompson. We stopped by to see her and she said she'd already had a visit from someone like us earlier in the day, so whoever came back first could have a visit with her. I told Sister Patterson I would NOT be beat by the J.Dubs. :) So the next morning, Saturday, we arrived at Mary's home at 10 o'clock sharp and had an incredibly Spirit-filled Restoration lesson with her. I am blown away at how electric I feel every time I have the opportunity to recite the First Vision. I know that our Heavenly Father and Savior did appear to the boy Joseph Smith and restored every thing we need in order to make it home to Them. We'll be seeing her again tomorrow.
I also gave a talk about gratitude for the Atonement. Bleh! I thought being a missionary would take away the nervousness about giving talks, but not so! It went well though. I don't feel like I delivered it so well, but it was a privilege to study extra and ponder on what the Atonement makes possible for me. I feel like my testimony and relationship with my Savior has blossomed a lot this week and I am so grateful for that. It is an answer to prayers. I know that our Savior lives and loves us. I know that His Atonement has the power to heal us in every way. It heals us from the burden of our sins, it heals us from the pain caused by others' mistakes, it heals us from any heartache we feel, it heals us from the sorrow that comes with death. No matter what our circumstances, if we have nothing else, we have the promise of the Atonement, which is that all will be made right in the end and that there is in fact no end. One of my favorite scriptures quoted in "Lamb of God":
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?... Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. (Romans 8:35, 37)Our Savior has made this all possible because of His perfect love for us and the love of our Father in Heaven. How grateful I am for the peace that comes because of His sacrifice.
I love you all so very much! Thank you for your continued love and support!
Much love,
Sister Wheeler Jr.
Please pray for:
Melanie and Alex
Mary Thompson
David Mosher
P.S. Pictures attached of 1. me and Sister Patterson (can you SEE the humidity?!) and 2. Sister Hollan and Sister Bud! I never mentioned, but Sister Bud was hit by a car a few weeks ago and she's TOTALLY fine. Doesn't she look rockstar for getting hit by a car going 40 miles an hour less than 2 weeks previous?! She just got transferred to Boston for her last transfer and the accident was an absolute miracle. She was thrown across the median into the other lane of traffic, no cars were coming on that side, no broken bones other than a few small ones in her face, no internal bleeding, no brain damage, nothing. Just a bit of road rash. And no bruises where the car struck her. I am so grateful she is okay! I love her so much! I know the Lord protects his children who make and keep sacred covenants with Him.
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