Feeling the Love

It's a good thing that I didn't send my address out to ya'll, or I'm sure I would have been overwhelmed with gifts from my admirers this week. Haha. But if you do ever want my address, my parents have it [Editor's note - it is on top of the blog]. Just so you know. 

Last Monday after I sent my email we didn't do much except go for dinner at the H family's home, which was absolutely delicious. Their kids are adorable too, so it was really fun to be over there. We also got to practice sharing the message of the restoration with them, which was great since I haven't had a lot of time to do that yet. 

Tuesday was Valentines Day, but like good missionaries Sister Hill and I have 'locked our hearts' and we hardly even noticed. This week we had a car (which is so so so nice) so we spent a lot of the morning driving to the houses of former investigators to see if they were still interested. No one really answered the door except D, who is a single mom with a lot on her plate that she has to deal with. She was very kind and said she would love to meet with us again if we can find a time that works, so hopefully that pans out! 

Wednesday I found out why a lot of missionaries that come to Shelby gain weight (I'm trying really hard not to). In the morning we volunteered at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore, and the manager, who is a member, bought us lunch, so we were stuffed. For dinner we went out with another member family, and we were stuffed again. So I'm really starting to take morning excercise time more seriously. That day we also drove out to King's Mountain, a nearby town in our area, to visit a very sweet member who has been missing church because of health problems. 

Thursday we helped with bingo at the assisted living facility again, and then helped Sister H weed her garden. It was nice to spend the time outside, because the weather is absolutely beautiful out here. They also had some cats living in the backyard. There are lots of cats roaming around Shelby, and so far, most of them have been nice. We also visited a recent convert, J, to teach him tithing as part of the new member discussions. He has a super strong testimony and practically taught the lesson for us. Then that night we were messaging former investigators on Facebook, and one of them messaged back saying he would be interested in learning more! It was especially a blessing because he had been dropped in the past because they weren't able to contact him through his busy schedule. Luckily, technology came through for us. 

Friday we had zone meeting, which was a new experience for me. I got to meet a lot of missionaries I had never met before. We learned some new skills and did a lot of role playing with the Book of Mormon and such. We also did- gasp- exchanges with the sister training leaders, Sister Johnson and Sister Nunies. Even though I'm the new one, Sister Hill went up to Mooresville and Sister Johnson came back to Shelby with me. There wasn't a whole lot of time when we got back from the meeting, so we went around visiting former investigators. No one was home, and one neighbor threatened to call the cops on us, so that was fun. I did end up learning a lot from Sister Johnson. 

On Saturday we exchanged back again. A lot of our appointments fell through, so Sister Hill and I volunteered at a member-owned store. It was really fun. They invited us over for dinner afterwards, so again, I was stuffed. 

Sunday was such a great day. I love the Sabbath and the opportunity we have to go to church, and the Shelby ward is so welcoming. After church and our studies we went out to Boiling Springs, since we don't get a lot of opportunities to go there. We tried a few former investigators, but of the ones that answered, they mostly weren't interested. There was one man who had moved, and the man living there now asked us to come back at a different time. We also did tracting for the first time, where we just walked down the street and started knocking on doors. A couple of people told us to come back another time, but I'm not sure if they were interested or just polite. We also visited the A family, who were super sweet and gave us a bag of snacks to take home. 

Anyway, this week is going to be a car week again, which is a blessing. I am learning so much out here. It's a beautiful place. I hope ya'll are doing well! 

Love, 

Sister Reay