The Final Countdown

One week and I'll be done being trained!! WHOOO.  It's funny, every one here forgets that I'm still in training.  Which is both good and bad, because then they expect me to know what I'm doing and I sure don't yet. 

Monday we played some soccer with the elders cause they're boys and all boys want to do is play sports apparently.  Don't get me wrong it's fun, but we can't actually "play" together so it's just weird.  We also had a dinner at Leslie and Kenny's house with another family from our ward, the Pellands.  Oh the Pellands... where to begin?  In short, brother Pelland is about 400 pounds, unemployed, and spends his days making bracelets out of parachute cord.  He met his wife in a mental institution.  And now they are married and have two kids.  I'll just let that sink in for you... 

They really are great people and very missionary minded, but they sure are interesting to say the least hahaha.  The dinner actually went a lot better than expected. 

Tuesday was kind of a bust day we had Sister Hill go out with us and she was in the funniest mood.  We get in the car and she plops her scriptures on my lap and says “start reading I'm in a bad mood” hahaha.  So I read her D&C 121:7-9, and she seemed to like that one.  We tried to see a bunch of people with her but it all fell through.  We then had dinner with the Thevenins, who live right on Kure Beach.  You can see the ocean out of their windows!!  It is amazing.  He works for IBM. (Dad did you do something with them before?)  They are amazing people and Brother Thevenin is actually the Branch President of the YSA, but they still feed us and Sister Thevenin goes out with us.  We went to the Relief Society activity that night with her which was a "spa night" so that was fun. 

Wednesday we did ANOTHER exchange.  So once again I had to take over the area for a day.  Sister Bauer came with me this time and she is actually going home next week!  So it was interesting to be with someone who's almost done.  We talked about all the TV shows and Music she needs to listen to when she gets home.  Also ONE TREE HILL WAS FILMED IN WILMINGTON.  I don't know why it took me so long to know this.  Elder Garn (our district leader who also has a love for One Tree Hill), told me about all the places in Wilmington where it was filmed so we will be doing that soon! 

Thursday we were weekly planning and planning out Leslie and Kenny's baptism, which was supposed to happen on the 29th.  Well they haven't quite yet given up E-Cigs and they have an interesting financial situation that we weren't sure they were being quite honest about.  To be short in writing, they both get separate disability checks but when they got married they are supposed to get one?  I'm not entirely sure.  Anyways we had been trying to contact our President about it and we hadn't been able to until Thursday, I really felt that we needed to call him.  We explained the situation about the E-Cigs to him and his response was "Two weeks."  That was literally all he said, haha it was very awkward.  He is a lawyer and can be very short sometimes.  He also said we had to make sure they are obeying and honoring the law before baptism.  Long story short we had to move Leslie and Kenny's baptism back.  It was really hard to hear but I know that it will be a blessing in the long run.  We were terribly nervous to have to tell them that they couldn't get baptized on the day we had planned.  We had a lesson with them on Friday night and it actually went really well!!  Once again the Lord answers prayers.  They were understanding and willing to accept the new baptismal date of Nov. 7 if they cannot use their E-Cigs for two weeks.  So pray that they will keep their commitment and get to be baptized then!  

On Saturday Sister Francis invited us to go with her to a Fall Festival/Trunk or Treat at the Baptist church!! Hahaha, it was wild.  Thankfully most people were dressed up so hopefully they just thought we were in costume.  I had someone ask me what high school I went to... so that was awkward.  They were having a Trunk or Treat at an Arby's nearby with all old cars.  It was SO neat.  I should have taken pictures.  I'm really bad at that. 

Sunday, I had the wonderful surprise of having the bishop announce "And now we will hear from Sister Dearden" and me COMPLETELY SPACING that they had asked me to bare my testimony for 5 minutes the week before.  I literally thought I was in a nightmare hahaha.  So I walked up there and hopefully said something meaningful and shared a scripture, but I don't even remember one word that I said.  Oh dear.  We also teach the Gospel Principles class as I think I've mentioned before and there was a young man (non-member) who came with one of the less-active members who caused quite the ruckus.  Our lesson was on Eternal Marriage and we started out with Adam and Eve and he was like, I have a question and he went on to ask about if Adam and Eve are considered the first humans and what about the primitive humanoids and if they had souls and what souls are and so on. I t was very deep stuff.  And then the other members of the class attempted to answer his question instead of allowing us, the TEACHERS, to answer and it got all kinds of deep doctrine crazy.  Anywho, we were somehow able to rein it all back in to the subject of eternal marriage. 

All in all it was quite the eventful week! I will leave you with one of my new favorite scriptures:

Romans 5:3-5

"And not only so, but we glory in tribulation also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us." 

Tender Mercy of the week: We got a crock pot!

Love, Sister Dearden