I'm not coming, girl.

Subj line: Imagine Brooklyn accent this time instead of Southern. This is our neighbor Barbara who said we should come over anytime for coffee, but not to discuss religion because she was raised one way and, well, she’s not coming. :) She’s awesome. I had a fun time imagining her imagining me dragging her by the arm into the font. :)

SIS B
So can I tell you how much I love my companion?! They’re all good, of course, but it’s fun to have one that you’re just very much the same. We discovered that we’re both EXACTLY 5 feet tall and left-handed. What are the chances? She’s very hard-working and likes get things done. We have tons of fun together.

DIANA
K so there’s this nursing home we sing at every so often and we’ve got lots of friends there. We were in visiting Harold before Sis S left and she got really light-headed and almost fainted and had to sit down. So they called in a couple nurses to check on her. One I’d never seen before. She was about our age and seemed really cute and genuine. She was way cool. I decided to seize the day (once we knew Sis Sinclair was ok) and tell her a little about www.mormon.org and to check it out and that it was amazing. A couple days later we get a referral that a 20-yr old girl had ordered a Book of Mormon and Bible. We go to drop it off and guess who opens the door!! Yahoo! It was Diana. She is AMAZING. I can’t explain how prepared she is. I had just been telling Sis B earlier that you can really tell when someone is understanding the message we bring because beyond just feeling the Spirit they’re like, “whoa! That’s amazing! There’s a prophet on the earth! There’s an ancient record of Christ’s appearance to the people in the Americas? This is awesome! I have to tell someone!” So yeah, that was her. She was so excited to hear about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon and it all made so much sense to her. Everything she said about her own beliefs was so in line with the gospel. It was insane. She was so excited to hear about the gift of the Holy Ghost that is available through the priesthood after baptism. She’s AMAZING. (Maybe I already said that…) We’re super excited to teach her again and pray that nothing will get in the way. The adversary sees when people are really gaining understanding and are going to be a powerful tool in the Lord’s hands and he tries the hardest on them.

THE PROPHET
We found out on Sunday night that President Hinckley had passed away. It was interesting because as soon as I heard it, I just felt peace. It’s so clear to me that he’s happy with his wife and that he’s hard at work. I’m so thankful for the knowledge of the Plan the Lord has for each of us and our role in that plan. I’m so thankful that plan is centered around Jesus Christ. I’m thankful to know that this is His Church on the earth today with a fullness of that truth and that priesthood power. I’m thankful to know that despite the death of the prophet, nothing changes. This Church is established on the Lord Jesus Christ and will move forward until He comes again. My companion said it well when we were talking about how Pres Hinckley definitely wouldn’t want us mourning. She said she imagines that if he’s watching us and we’re all hung up and mourning he would say, “What are you doing? Get to work!” I know that’s true. The best thing we can do is buckle down and serve others and live the gospel the best way we know how. Death is not the end and it’s not even a tragedy when we understand the gospel of Jesus Christ. I’m grateful to know and to feel that.

Thanks everybody for your support of the missionary efforts in Canton, GA and wherever you may be (San Diego, Nauvoo, Provo, Russia, Indiana, Virginia, New York, Alaska, Hawaii, Arizona, Washington, etc.) I love you all!

--Sis C