Dearest Family and Friends,
Let's start this email out with a story shall we? So, this week we were teaching some of our newer investigators the restoration. It's a Hispanic family that we found a while back, a mom and a dad, and their brother and sister in law were over. Being down in the south, I've gotten pretty used to the fact that most people know a lot about God and the stories in the Bible. We usually don't have to go into much detail about any of that. They were being pretty quiet so I threw out a classic question to get them thinking and some participation, "If you lived on the earth when Moses was a prophet, would you have wanted to follow him?". Silence. Then the dad looks at me and says, "I have a question," and I'm like, YES, we're finally getting somewhere! :) and he says, "Who is Moses?" Haha! I guess it probably isn't as funny to y'all as it was to us, but we laughed our little hearts out when we got to the car. I think it's one of those, "you have to be there" moments. I tried to explain some other prophets in the Bible, but they still just looked at me with a blank stare. We quickly just changed the question to Jesus. I guess they understood that. Oh these Catholics. They have their shrine of the Virgin Guadalupe in the corner of their rooms but they don't go to church and they don't know the Bible. Gotta love it. That's why we're here! To change that :)
Oh boy, this week has been crazy! It's been a bit of a rough one I guess you can say. We got snowed in, we got dropped, I got sick, but I have learned for all of this to trust in the Lord. Every day is a learning opportunity here on the mission.
We'll start with the snow. It snowed on Tuesday. No big deal right? I'm from Chicago area/Rexburg, Idaho. I can handle a bit of snow. The problem is Alabama can't ;) We looked out the window Tuesday morning and there was just a bit of snow, but then it started sticking to the ground and soon we recieved a text that we weren't allowed to drive our cars nor ride our bikes. So I guess that leaves walking! All of the roads were shut down in Alabama, which means that nobody could even give us a ride because if they got in an accident, their insurance wouldn't cover it. It was crazy! We walked down town to a coffee shop about 4 miles away and warmed up in there and then we headed out again and had to go home early because it was too dangerous. I felt like a real life pioneer walking out there in the snow! :) And with our determination to still do missionary work, we found a miracle! We met a couple of guys who had taken their trucks off their skateboards and were trying to snowboard and I told them not to kill themselves. Then we got talking and invited them to church. Guess who came to church yesterday? Snowboarder Josh! :) MILAGRO! He's going to get baptized and baptize all of his hipster coffee shop friends. We just have to actually teach him now ;)
Segundo! We got dropped this week by the Techlowec family. Saddest day ever! They texted us and told us they prayed as a family and have decided to return to their other church :'( I don't know what God they were praying to but... I was pretty upset about it when it happened, but this all goes along with the trusting God lesson I've learned. I know they're in his hands. He's got a plan for them and I just need to go along with his plan.
Then I got sick! I'm okay now. I think it's just the drastic changes in the temperatures that have been the problem. It was nothing more than a bad cold, but it's the first time I've been that sick on my mission! It's been such a blessing the Lord has given me to have been so healthy! But! We still went out and did work! Nothings going to stop me from finishing these last few weeks out strong! :)
Mistakes, new experiences, challenges, they are all just learning opportunities. This week has been a great learning opportunity! Then our zone leader at zone training this week just topped it all off with an amazing training on that only you can hold yourself back. Elder Zwick came to our mission and trained the leaders. He told them, "Don't limit yourself by what you think is your capacity." We are so much more capable than what we allow ourselves to be. We have to trust in God. He said we have to tell ourselves, "I will allow the Lord to expand my capacity and he will." So I'm learning to stand aside and let the Lord be in charge. He's the jefe :) I've studied a lot about trust this week and ultimately it's just faith. Faith is "to have confidence in something or someone" (bible dictionary). I guess that's trust too. And I love this scripture in Psalms 37:3-5 : "Trust in the Lord and do good... Commit thy way unto the Lord, trust also in him and he shall bring it to pass." And every experience has brought me to realize I need to be patient :) I'm trying to hard to do it in my time and it has to be the Lords. "Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward. For ye have need of PATIENCE, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise." (Hebrews 10:35-36).
So it's been a rough week, but a great week! :) And I got to go to Huntsville on Thursday! We had an exchange with the Sister Training Leaders. It was definitely a blessing because I LOVE Huntsville and we got to see a lot of people I have wanted to see. The Spanish branch is just blowing up! They had 79 people at church last Sunday. It's so great to see the work moving forward so quickly there. A part of me wishes I could be there to be part of it, but I know the Lord needs me here in good ol' Fort Payne :)
We also have an amazing new family, and they're Hispanic! La familia Santos :) Their name just says it all! They should already be Mormon. They're "saints" of the latter days! 4 young children. We just have to get them to church!
Thanks for all of the prayers and Love sent this way. Love y'all!!!!!!!!!! mucho mucho mucho!
Love, Hermana Decker
