9/7/15

We had a miracle this week.

Jennifer is sooooooooo close. We had a lesson with her on Tuesday, and baptism came up. She mentioned she wanted to, and so we asked "why?" She responded, "I feel like I need too." She has had a difficult time recognizing the spirit because she analyzes everything, and so we told her, "That is how we know you have gotten an answer. After everything you have been through these last few months, you still want this. That is how you know." She said, "Ok. What do I have to do?" Things continue to struggle for her. She just found out she has a major medical scare, and yesterday, she had a huge hurdle to again jump over. She had to leave church early yesterday, (even though she REALLY didn't want to) and they had a presentation about mormonism. It was actually very good presentation, and she was texting us through the whole thing, but then the end came. They had a Q&A afterwards, and questions were asked like, "How do they know Joseph Smith wasn't insane when he had those visions?" and "Why do they think polygamy is ok?" Jennifer was brave enough to say she went to church with us, and everyone turned on her saying "I thought you were smart!" and "I just lost a lot of respect for you." As if that wasn't bad enough, her old Catholic priest came in and ambushed her asking why she was joining a cult... Amazingly she is still hanging on. 

Even with all this she is holding true. She said to us earlier in the week "I am incredibly thankful that God brought both of you into our lives!! This has been one of the best summers that we have ever had as a family. Thank you for being so instrumental in making it happen." She understandably becomes very overwhelmed at times, and asked "If this is so true, why is all of this happening, just as I am finding the missing piece?" We responded, "We don't know why all of these things are happening specifically, but we do know that everything of value is difficult to obtain. There is no easy way to find truth just like there is no easy way to find treasure. It breaks our hearts to see you go through all this, but yesterday you told us this was the best summer you have ever had, and its no coincidence that its been the hardest." The miracle of all of it is she responded "You're right! I will focus on the good and give myself credit for what I do know." One more thing I will add is she saw a picture of the temple, and it immediately made her take a deep breath and relax. SO COOL! Please please please keep her in your prayers. The one hold up now is a deathly fear of water, and she is being so incredibly valiant to get this far. Her family is amazing...

The work also continues to go well. We are seeing a lot more opposition than we are used to. We had one lady slam, (and I mean SLAM) the door on us 4 times in one approach.. It was actually kind of funny. All I know is, It felt great to be at church and get to bear my testimony in a safe place. All of this opposition however just means we are finding more awesome people. We hopefully have 3 baptisms this month, and we found an AWESOME girl named Brandi who we put on date for October 24. She lives literally next door to the church and loves it already from the outside looking in.  Good things are happening. If there is anyone reading this that doesn't already know, I believe and know that Jesus Christ is the Son of the Living God. He is my Savior and Redeemer. He is my Healer and My Leader. He is my Advocate and My Friend. There is no other way to eternal salvation and therefore happiness but through him. How do I know these things? I read the Book of Mormon and I prayed about it. I owe him my life. He has lifted me from every sin I have and continue to fall into. He carries me in my lonliness. He spots me when the weight becomes to heavy. I love him with all my heart. It kills me that I continue to fall short, but I rejoice in his forever extended amazing grace.

Elder Wheat

Pictures from last week! Spent the week in the UP with The Soo Elders!!

Lake Michigan!!