We have Jaidyn, our 9
year-old gymnast friend, on baptismal date for March 10th still, and
everything is going well! Her and her dad have been coming to church
weekly, and it's cool to see the change that's happening within their
hearts! Brother Davis (who has been less-active since teenage-hood) used
to come to sacrament meeting with Jaidyn, but then would leave and come
back at the end of church to pick her up at the end. For the past two
weeks, however, he's stayed all three hours and has really enjoyed it!
And then this past Saturday they had a gymnastics competition over in
Pocatello (about 5 hours away) and when we saw them at church the next
morning they told us how they had driven all night to get back in town
so that they could go to church the next morning. 💛 We're seeing their
faith and their love for the gospel increase so much as they are
beginning to make sacrifices for the Lord. It's awesome. 😊
Also,
we got a referral from a member who said that her neighbors next door
were very Christian people, and that we should see if they're interested
in adding to the truths that they already hold dear. When we stopped by
to meet them they were in the middle of eating lunch, but they invited
us to come back the next day to talk about what we believe. They said to
come at noon, so the next day we made sure to eat lunch a bit earlier
so we could make it to their house in time for our appointment. Then
when we got there they said, "I hope you came hungry," and had prepared
for us a cute lunch to eat while we talked! We were so full, but ate it
anyways because it was so thoughtful of them. We talked a little bit and
gave them each a Restoration pamphlet and they invited us to come back
this next Friday so they can feed us dinner (and celebrate Sister
Bradshaw's birthday) and teach them more about what we know. They were
busy this past Sunday, but said they'd come to church with us next week,
and I'm excited to help them receive even more truth about their Savior
and His restored gospel that will lead them to make covenants with
their Savior that will allow their hearts to be filled with His love
even more! Sweet is the work. 😁
This past
week we also got permission to start teaching the grandchildren of a
sister named Violet that we've been working with to bring back into
activity because she wants to go to the temple with her husband to be
sealed for time and all eternity! Her daughter (another less-active
member who is married to a man who is not a member of the church, who
live on the same property as Violet) said it'd be good for us to teach
her children and to help them prepare to be baptized. So we're going to
start teaching them this coming week, which I'm excited for!
And
finally, our investigator Daphne has been going through so much over
these past couple of weeks (she was sick, then her son was sick (which
the flu has even killed some people this past year, it's dangerous!),
then they were robbed, then she had spinal surgery for her scoliosis,
etc), so our contact with her has been minimal (texting and occasional
stop-by's), but she's been reading her Book of Mormon and continuing to
pray, and she texted us this past week saying that she had her
"epiphany" and that she wants to start completely living the word of
wisdom, as she had "a chat with the Lord" and, starting March 1st, "it's
all gone." She then told us that she had other news too, but that she
wanted to share that with us in person! We have an appointment with her
tonight and we are just so happy to see how reading the Book of Mormon
and praying has allowed that gateway for personal revelation from the
Lord to open up for her in her life. I know that our fasting and mighty
prayers have helped, but that, just as my inspirational sister (Sister
Aurelia Wilcox) said: the Lord loves each of us. He wants every one of us to be happy, and He does all He can to bring each of us to Him, and we just have to allow it. Turn to Him, let Him heal you, let Him in. He will fill you with peace, and He will make you happy. He will make your burdens light through the joy of His Son even that you cannot feel them upon your backs, even while you are in bondage. (Alma 33:23, Mosiah 24:13-15)
Sometimes members have great referrals that lead to baptisms and
long-time membership in the church- but something I've learned here in
Idaho (where a lot of people are already members) is that most people
have lived in the same house and had the same job for 20-50 years, and
they've already referred all of their friends, neighbors, and co-workers
and don't know who else to refer! So, we've been doing a lot of finding
efforts with family history and all of the other wonderful suggestions
found in the "Finding People to Teach" section of Preach My Gospel. Of
course, we always ask everyone for referrals, and sometimes they
do pan out, but it's the awesome little experiences of finding those
who've been prepared simply by being guided to them by the Lord that is
so exciting!
--
Love you guys,
Sister Wilcox
Images:
Favorite Picture! Let Him In!
Got to wear the hat Victoria made me because it snowed again!
Got heart-attacked from the Bunnell ward primary 💛 thanks guys!
Baptists
put a pamphlet on our windsheild while we were in an appointment lol
(you can see our little Christus on the dashboard- so cute 😊)
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