sister chadley baker: July 11 "Where Have The Nuns Been Lately"

Where to begin... well because Butler is such a small town, not much went on for the 4th of July. Mostly people just stayed home and grilled with their families. All the missionaries were able to proselyte in the morning and then take the rest of the day as their P-Day so that was awesome! Sister Jensen and I spent time with the John's and roasted marshmallows in 90 degree temperature and humidity, and this was in the evening time. Worth it!

This week, we really tried to meet with our investigators but every day something came up so we were not able to meet with them. We did get to see Lee Hannah and it was such a good lesson! We started to do a BOM read with her and then like 13 verses in, she started rattling off all these questions she had. We spent a long while answering all her questions and explaining church doctrine to her. It was so awesome to see how accepting and believing she was telling us that everything we said made sense and that we are the first ones that have been able to answer all her questions. I love this Gospel! We are really excited for the upcoming discussions with her.

Sunday was amazing because we were able to see the tangible fruits of our labor. The Elders gave us a less active lady awhile back that they had kinda given up on, named Paula Downey. She told them that she wasn't going to church and they shouldn't come over anymore so they sent us over. We went and she welcomed us in and she really opened up to us and is the sweetest lady ever! She lived in Utah and there joined the church with her kids. She hasn't been going to church because all her kids that are active live far away and her less active son goes to a different church now and her husband is not a member so she didn't want to go to church alone because her family couldn't go with her. We met with her a couple times and told her about the blessings of coming to church and living the Gospel, and it was so cool to hear her strong testimony about the church. She ended up coming to church this week and sat next to us and leaned over to me and said, "It's nice not having to sit alone." Sometimes all it takes is a friend.

We also met with two other less actives who are basically investigators because they stopped going to church when they were young. I loved hearing them say that although they haven't lived their lives the way they should have, they remember how they felt when they did go to church, even though it was so long ago and they were really young. They remember how it felt to be there and to be baptized and to feel clean and that is what is making them want to start going again and meeting with the missionaries. They both know it is true.

The Branch is growing. An area seventy is coming soon and we are anxious to find out why he is coming to Toxey!