Well... This week has been just another week. Complete with it's ups and downs. Here we go!
Monday:
We had dinner with a sweet family named the Demer's. They have 2 little girls and a baby boy. The little girls were just adorable! I didn't realize this until yesterday, but I am getting slightly baby hungry. Not like "having a baby", just wanting to hold them. I want to hold them all!!!!
Then, we went and followed up with a guy named William who we tracted into on Saturday. He was home and his girlfriend and their two boys. We taught them the whole Restoration and they loved it! It was so cool! They really payed attention and the boys were good and quiet and we gave them a Book of Mormon and they wanted to come to church! Perfect! We had another appointment with them but they cancelled, we don't know why. So we're going to go try again this week. They are so sweet! And William's girlfriend is Evon. She is really nice.
Tuesday:
We went to the Bishop’s Storehouse and all the orders were done FAST! Like within an hour we were done with everything. So instead, we did other chores around there. Sister West and I got roped into preparing lunch, stirring the eggs, hashbrowns and sausage for breakfast burritos. It was kind of fun!
We went on an exchange with the Hermanas and I stayed in the area with Hermana Dansie. It was pretty crazy. We went tracking at Darrell’s complex and met a lot of people who didn't want to talk to us, but we did meet one person who was Hispanic and he was pretty interested. It was funny because he looked confused and so did I, but then Hermana Dansie started speaking in Spanish and he responded. So that was a miracle.
We then went to visit Darrell and we thought we would have to meet outside because we didn't have anyone with us. But he said he didn't think we could get anyone to come with us, and so he invited two girls from his church. One was Mary who was in the choir, and the other was Caitlyn who was dancing around on the ground. They asked us a lot about what we thought of church, and since I was the only one who went, I had to answer all those questions. It took two hours and we were late to the next appointment. We rescheduled for Saturday when Sister West would be there.
We tried a couple of potential's after dinner, but no one was home. So we went to visit Debbie and taught the rest of the Plan of Salvation. She found out that her brother is also a member of the church. She found out through her other brother. She was kind of shocked and her brother said that he wanted to send her a leather bound Book of Mormon. That came in the mail this week and she was so excited. She is making so much good progress!
Wednesday:
After studies we walked to a lady named Marilyn. I can't tell if she is interested, or if she is avoiding us, or if she's trying to get us to leave without having to say it. She is really hard to read. We read the introduction of the Book of Mormon with her, and she really liked it and said that she would read the testimonies of the witnesses. She never lets us in her house which is weird. So we always teach her on her porch. Hopefully we'll get in next time.
On our way to the bus stop there was a man who passed us in a red truck. He looked at us really intensely. He turned around and came and stopped next to us, and asked if we were church people. We said that we were and Sister West had the pepper spray in her hand, just in case. He said that he lost his wife four months ago, and had her hair hanging in his truck. That was a little weird. He told us that he wanted some help, not money. He had a lot of skulls in his truck, and a swastika. We gave him the elder’s phone number. Later that night we were trying a less active, and we saw the truck parked in a spot there at that complex. The spots are numbered according to their apartment number, and so we got his address too and gave it to the elders.
It was such a nice day that day that I didn't even wear a coat the whole time that we were out.
We went to see Cha, and she is doing so good. She has been working on not swearing, and also praying more. She wants to be taking the Sacrament by the time her little girl is born, and be reading the Book of Mormon every day, and praying every day. She said that her baby shower is going to be on March 21st, 4 days before I go home.... That was a little gut wrenching. Every time I hear about something close to the time I go home, I just get so sad.
We tried a couple of our investigators, but no one was home. We also looked for a less active but he had checked out of his motel. By then it was getting cold, and so we got on the bus and headed home for dinner. After dinner we went and saw Heather, a less active and we helped her son get started on his Duty to God. It was rough because he doesn't want to listen. He is 13 and just kind of in that teenage stage.
We saw the Racey family after that, and they are doing well. We finally taught them the restoration, and they loved it. They all seem to get it, until we asked them to be baptized. They don't seem to understand the priesthood. Tim said that they had already been baptized. Then Sarah exclaimed "are you asking us to become Mormon?!!" It was so funny. We just told them we wanted them to find out if it was true or not. They said they would pray about it, and get back to us. It was an interesting lesson.
Thursday:
We went to see a less active named Crystal. She's doing well, and her husband is having his heart softened quite a bit. We talked to her about the rest of the Plan of Salvation and committed her to pray about it.
We had interviews that afternoon and it was something that I really needed. I didn't want to cry, but I ended up bawling. I told President about how I felt about last transfer, and how I am struggling so much this transfer, with personal struggles and weaknesses. We talked a lot about forgiveness, the atonement, and prayer. He told me to study 1st Samuel 25, and also to study how to access the atonement. He gave me a lot of good advice.
After interviews we went to see Brittany. She is 18, and living on her own. She is pretty independent, but also a little immature. We had a good conversation with her, but she thought her roommate was listening in. She let a random guy move in to help pay the rent. So she grabbed some cake and ice cream, and we went to the clubhouse in her complex and talked there. We had a good conversation about her wanting to have the spirit in her apartment. So we gave her Alma 26 to read about Alma the younger and how he wanted to give up, but he kept going. She really liked it and agreed to read. She is making a lot of progress from the first time I met her.
Lastly that night we went to visit a member who has been really sick. I found out that she loves sewing, and she has made wedding dresses, quilts, PJs, and all sorts of things. She reminded me of you, Mom. It was fun to talk about sewing with her for a while. She is also a photographer. She was really nice and just needed an uplifting spiritual message to keep her going because she has been so sick and hasn't been able to come to church. I really love the members here.
Friday:
We had an amazing weekly planning session, and got a lot accomplished. We also talked about what we learned in interviews, and figured out some things that we can do to improve in our companionship. After weekly planning, we went and saw Cathy. She is pretty shy, but is doing amazing. We taught her about faith, and had a great lesson for her. It makes a difference when you plan out a lot of details. She really paid attention, and learned a lot. We committed her to read Moroni 10, and pray to see if the Book of Mormon was true. She was really excited about doing that. She also said she would come to church, but she didn't show up.
A member picked us up after that to take us to dinner. The members here are so willing to help out when we don't have a car. We went to the Cooper's home, which is a really old couple who is so sweet. Sister Cooper made real Hawaiian punch, because she is from Hawaii. It is Kool-Aid, Ginger ale, lemon juice and pineapple juice. It was so good! We left a spiritual message with them and then went to knock on a few of their neighbor’s doors. One of the neighbors answered, and pretended to be on the phone. We asked if we could come back at a better time, and she just stood there and then said no and shut the door. I couldn't help but laugh.
Then the Cooper's daughter took us to our next appointment. It was supposed to be William and Evon, but they canceled right when we got there. So instead, the member who was supposed to come with us, took us to contact a few referrals. Sister Lynes then took us to our last appointment with Debbie and Sister Ridings was there with us. We talked with Debbie about faith, and she has so much faith. She is just powerhousung through the gospel. She loves posting things on Facebook every day about the gospel, and sharing it with everyone she meets.
Saturday:
We saw Britney, and she had read the chapter that we left her with! Miracles! We talked about the verses that she liked, and pointed out others that were really good too. We talked a lot about the spirit, and prayer. She was really honest with us, and it was really nice to hear her opinion. We told her that we would give her more chapters that pertain to her life. She is making a lot of changes, and she even said the prayer at the end. She has prayed a couple times in other lessons, but they have been memorized prayers. She said a prayer that day that was not memorized, and it was the sweetest prayer ever. She told God that she really was in a tough situation and she needed help. She was willing to listen and accept His help. It was really cool to see her make that step in her progression.
We had dinner with Bishop that night, and it was really good. It was shepherds pie without meat. It had lentils in it, which were actually not bad at all. Who knew I would ever think that lentils were good? We also had cookies and salad and lemonade and homemade bread which she sent the rest home with us. We tried to see a Less-active with them afterwards, but the less active was busy with a lot of things going on. A friend of hers had stolen a truck and dumped it off on her property, and the cops were there trying to take it. It was a big mess. The bishop and his wife then dropped us off at home, and we went to see the Racey family. They planned to watch the Restoration with us, and eat pizza. I have never felt so full in my life. I could not even eat that pizza. We got to watch the Restoration with them, the full-length version. They really loved it. When Joseph Smith was getting the priesthood, Sarah kept saying, “Wow that is amazing”, and that she could really feel the spirit very easily. She also said the closing prayer that night, and then gave me a great big mommy hug. I love that family, and they wanted to come to church, but Tim worked that day, and he's the only one who drives. But we had a great lesson with them.
Sunday:
Still no Investigators at church. We haven't had any yet this transfer. But church was good, and then we went to the Lynes' for dinner. They have two little boys, and the older one, Woodson, is SO cute! We built quite the train track while dinner was finishing. He would command us, "Move! No that don't go there! No don't touch." I was more of a supervisor.... Haha. Dinner was good and we had cookies afterwards with milk! I appreciate members who realize that cookies are eaten with milk. It is a must. And they let me have as much milk as I wanted. Heaven.
We taught an Indian girl English that night. Her name is Devanshi. She is really good. Sister West worked with her and I worked with teaching her little sister, Jia, the ABC's.
Teaching Jia the alphabet
We left to catch the bus and it was so windy and rainy and cold! My umbrella broke and we missed our bus by ten seconds. I had prayed earlier for a miracle though. As we kept walking, and getting soaked, a car pulled up next to us, rolled the window down, and someone said "Do you want a ride?" Sister West said sure, and we got in. I didn't know who they were, so I just got in. Turns out, it was a less active who we had been trying to contact forever. She lives right down the street from us, and so we set up an appointment for Friday to have lunch with her. It was the miracle that I had prayed for. It was truly amazing to see that God answers prayers.
I'm trying to see the miracles more here. ... But it's hard because the people just aren't progressing. They are in some ways, but in others, not so much. I just want to have miracles! Like people getting baptized, and coming to church, and really wanting to change! It's hard to come down from such a high in the YSA... Anyways, that was my week. I love you!
~Sister Rokovitz~
Another fun Southern mailbox.
Railroad tracks are everywhere out here.
A day with the car.
Trying to sneak a picture of us teaching with sleeping kitty cats on our laps....but it kind of came out blurry.
Sister West and I at District meeting.
Being a good listener in District meeting.
Sister West and I with Sister Andersen (third from right) and other sisters in our District after our meeting.
Let's go teach!!
