Thursday, March 20, 2014

Promptings...Listen and Follow Through!


This week has been an interesting one for me.  I remember in high school Kami and I had this binder full of notes that we’d pass back and forth in the halls (because we didn’t see enough of each other already) and we’d draw roller coasters of how our day went.  Well, if my week was a roller coaster, it’d be a crazy up and down one with lots of loops.
My week kicked off with going to the beach and downtown Charleston thanks to Elena.  Oh my heck, so fun!  There is a place in Charleston called King Street that is SO COOL!  It’s covered in stores housed in bajillion-year old buildings.  Awesome! 

 
Bryndee and Sister Glauser

 
Roommates:  Sister Glauser, Sister Stoleworthy, Sister Robinson, and Bryndee
 
Then Tuesday was exchanges with the traveling sisters.  I got to go up to Columbia with Sister Creager, and work west Columbia YSA Ward.  We traipsed all through downtown Columbia, taught in the USC Library, and ate fro-yo with investigators.  It was one of the funnest (most fun?) exchanges I’d ever gone on.  We got to teach a young man named Marcurious, who was preparing to be baptized.  We taught about the Gospel of Christ (faith, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and then enduring to the end.) and it was such a cool lesson!  Repentance is probabally my favorite thing to share with people, because it’s the most beautiful feeling when you’ve really truly rid yourself of things in the past that weigh you down.  Sometimes, I feel like repentance gets such a bad rap…like it’s a negative thing to have to repent, but really we are so blessed to be able to start from right now and be clean.  As we taught that to Marcurious, you could see him light up, and it was the coolest thing!

Then when we got home, it got really cold (almost freezing again!) and it started to rain.  Fun fact:  Whenevr it rains, people stop letting us in their homes.  It was ok though…we made the most of it and tracked down some less actives we’ve been meaning to get to.  Scary/Crazy/Spiritual experience:  We were in a neighborhood at like 8:30 at night (pitch black) and were walking to go find an address when a thought came to my mind, to walk back  to the car.  I ignored it (STUPID) and we kept going.  We get to the address and started walking back to where we needed to be, when we hear this low growling.  We turn around to a very angry German Shepherd/Rottweiler/ Bear.  I’m pretty sure that thing was about ready to tear us to shreds…I don’t think I’ve ever been so afraid in my life.  We both instantly started praying, and the impression came…don’t run, don’t look at it, just walk back to the car…we did, and it followed us very closely, growling and barking the whole way.  It didn’t start running at us until we were near the car and we were both able to get in before it hit the car.  Moral of the story:  Pay attention to promptings!  Heavenly Father loves us, and wants to keep us safe!

I also got to go on exchanges with Sister Stoleworthy this week.  She is such a powerful, on-purpose missionary!  I took her around my area this time, and we got to teach Kitt.  We’re really, really trying to help him make the decision to be baptized, but every time we would go over, he would flood us with questions about race, polygamy, the millennium (he studies…a lot…try explaining polygamy to a def man sometime…it’s really, really difficult!). This time, though we were able to ask him some inspired questions that got him thinking about how he really need to not put off baptism.  Way cool lesson.

Oh!  Miracle!  At church on Sunday, our investigator, Darryl comes, and we didn’t even know it until after Sacrament meeting!  The cool thing was, the members just took him right in, sat him down, introduced him to everyone…even took him up to meet the Bishop.  It was completely wonderful, and he loved it!

Welp, that was my week.  Next week, Elder Zwick is coming to do a mission tour & MLC.  Should be pretty cool!

Well, y’all have a blessed week!

Love,

Sister Derrick

Oh P.S. I bought alligator from a less active man off the side of the road!  Elena’s going to cook it up for us…I’m pretty excited.