ITS WEDDING WEEK!
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I cannot believe/ I totally believe that my brother is getting married and holly officially becomes my sister! I am so happy that this is happening. I keep telling everyone at random intervals, "My brother gets married this week and I get a new sister." Their all like, cool. They have no idea how BIG of a deal this is! It is so crazy how one day your single and the next day you are Sealed to the Love of your Life for ALL OF ETERNITY. Or how one day you are not a missionary, and the next day you are a set a part full time missionary for the Lord for the next 18 months. The Lord sure expects allot of us, but he gives us the help and the strength that we need to do it.
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We got permission to have a few minutes on the computer today! So I don't have much time but I do just want to write you and say I love you! Holly goes through the temple tonight! Oh my heavens I am so happy for her. I should of wrote her a note about my thoughts about the temple. She is about to be granted so many blessings and happiness I am so happy for her. It is overwhelming but remember this is Eternity we are talking about. Tell her to just Trust Heavenly Father and pray to Him the whole time.
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The miracle for this week is we commited a girl named Tracie to be baptized on December 1. She lives with her boyfriend and has for 11 years and she smokes. She knows that she cannot do either of those things to be baptized so she is praying for the strength to know what to do about her boyfriend and the strength to quit smoking. I know it will be a miracle if it happens, but that is just the thing, I know it can happen. She was going to come to church but she woke up in the night with seizures and was sick all day. We are hopeing to stop by tonight and have some men from the ward give her a preisthood blessing. She loves Jesus Christ so much. We asked her if she believes Jesus Christ can do anything, she said she knows he can, and I was able to bear testimony that He could help her overcome anything that stands in her way of baptism. It was so cool because I really knew it was true, it wasn't just words I was saying but truth I feel and know!
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On Saturday we decided to knock some doors around our apartment. The first door nonone answered and the second door noone answered but a girl came around the corner. She was was just getting home from work, her name is Shay she is probably about my age, she lives with her sister and is just working right now. She let us in and we taught her the first lesson. It was so neat I felt like I was on an episode of the Districts (The missionary training videos) We used a pamphlet, we read scriptures to her, we testified throughout the lesson, we asked her questions, we invited her to be baptised, we invited her to read the Book of Mormon and to pray! We invited her to pray at the end of the lesson and she said she didn't know how, so we taught her how to pray! and She knelt down and she asked God for help in changing her life, she asked to know if what he taught her was true. After the prayer she said, "My mom's Catholic, do Mormons and Catholics not like eachother? Like will she be mad if I tell her about you guys." She hadn't ever heard of the Mormons! And it was so cool I could tell she was asking because she really felt something and could see herself joining some day! Some day soon I hope! As we were leaving she said she hoped we would able to bring hope to more people that day. She wasn't able to come to church because she had to work and we haven't been able to meet with her again but I hope tonight is the night!
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We are having success and we are having failures. I haven't been rejected to my face yet, only over the phone when we try to set appointments. I am hopeing that I get rejected to my face soon only so I can stop worrying about it so much. That's a part of sharing this gospel, a huge part is rejection! The key is having faith and knowing that your message still is the most imporant message in the whole world and that God is preparing specific people to hear my message!
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Tomorrow we are having a 7 hour long conference with Elder� Perkins a member of the 70, I am so excited I love mission conferences so much!
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My companion is really amazing. I ask so many questions and sometimes I think I know what I am doing. But she is patient with me and just walks besides me while I learn. She says she loves watching me learn and grow because she feels I am learning so much by the spirit. She teaches me so much but I dont get it until like the fifth time she says it, but she still loves me. She is an incredible example of talking to everyone. She says hi to everybody and gave a Book of Mormon to the man that did the Emission test on our car! I just sit in the passenger seat with my jaw open AMAZED at her courage. My courage is coming slowly, I just need to act on it more.
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Being on a mission is so cool, everyday I am like I CANT BELIEVE THIS IS REAL LIFE. I know I will look back on my mission every single day for the rest of my life so it is so cool to be living RIGHT NOW in a memory that I will be remembering some day. I don't even know if that makes sense but basically I am actually, in reality, on my mission and the that is so cool. I am slowly learning how to give my Heavenly Father everything, my thoughts, my fears, my hopes, my pride, my goals, my might, my strength, my time. I realized today that a good missionary isn't perfect at what they do, but I think rather a good missionary is constantly repenting. Repent is to change. So if we are truly and honestly repenting we are truly and honestly changing. A great servant of the Lord changes for the better everyday.
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I know my Savior is real. He walks with me. He walks with you too. Look for Him mom, I promise you He is there.
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Goodluck this week with the wedding. I'll have Grandma Oldham go in my place since I can't be there. Tell everyone I love them. I love madz, and gen, and blakey and keltzie and Mitch and Holly and daddy so much. Let them know that I miss them, but I am happy and getting happier everyday. My goal is to get to the point where the mission is all that I am, its all that I know and want to know. I am not there yet but I do believe I am getting closer. I love you Mom so much, your the best Mom in the whole world I just know it.
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SHout out to Shelby, Jessi and Anne!
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Love your favorite sister missionary, Sister Oldham