"Ya'll better get on this boat."

Subject line is from an awesome kid Nathaniel. He was imitading Noah at this time when we were discussing how important it is to listen to prophets.

CHRISTMAS CHEER
So I got a friendly sheet of shout-outs from the post-Christmas party. Thank you, thank you. Made my day. :) It was so good to hear from so many of you! I was, however, extremely horrified to find out that there were no beanie weenies present and I assure any who were in attendance that that will NOT be the case next year.

THE JAIL
So this was one of the highlights, for sure. There’s a member of the church who’s currently in the county jail. Not sure what for but it doesn’t really matter. The sisters have been going and teaching him and since the areas combined we haven’t been able to get out there. We finally went the other day. It was him and another guy named Randall who’s not a member but who’s been taking the discussions. Through a glass window over the telephone. It’s crazy. It was so cool cause there were a lot of people in and visiting the jail and everyone’s countenances were so sad. But as soon as these two gentlemen rounded the corner to get on the phone with us you could just see a light in their eyes. The Spirit was so strong the whole time we were talking. Brad (the one who’s a member) said that at first when he got there he was in solitary confinement (for health-related reasons) and spent 23 hrs a day by himself and was able to just fully immerse himself in the scriptures. Since he’s been in jail he’s lost his house, his wife, and his kids and is going back to nothing when he gets back. But at the same time he feels so richly blessed because of the understanding he has gained of the scriptures and the truthfulness of the gospel. The other guy Randall is excited to get baptized when he gets out of jail. They’re so awesome. Brad does a “prayer call” every night and gathers all the inmates who want to come and they close their night with a prayer. So cool. He taught me lots just in the short time we had to talk.

MR. SLEDGE
I think I wrote about this guy before. Norlan. He’s the one who stopped us in the middle of the hallway to talk tell us how much he loved the Book of Mormon and was hoping to get back in contact with missionaries. Anyway, at the jail we met this lady Teresa. She looked really familiar and we finally figured out we met her at the library LAST p-day. We talked for just a second and she was like, “yeah, my boyfriend has that book [Book of Mormon].” Turns out her boyfriend is Norlan! What are the odds?! So we went over there again yesterday and taught them. They’re both so cool and inquisitive and everything they ask or have a concern about can be answered so simply through the gospel. It’s so dang cool.

COMPS
So Sis Sinclair is leaving next week. Crazy! I’ve learned so much from her. She’s such a 100% missionary. She just works everyday until there’s nothing left in her. She’s a real powerhouse. I’ve been blessed with really awesome trainers (Sis Faulkner as my real trainer and Sis S as my “outfield” trainer. It makes such a difference cause they set a high precedence and you don’t even know there’s any other way to do it. :) She lives outside LA though so I’ll for sure see her again. Sis L and I would love to stay comps but they’ll probably put the areas back into 2 again so we’ll see.

IN GENERAL
I’m loving everything here. We are seriously so, so blessed. Little miracles daily. Like just this morning a called a girl who ordered a Bible so we could set up an appt. She said she’s watched the commercials on TV and the questions they’d show (about our purpose in life and the Lord’s plan for us) were questions she’s always had. She’s 20 with a husband and 2 little kids. Another boy who’s 17 ordered a Book of Mormon and we’re bringing it by this week. He says his dad passed away a couple years ago and since then he’s had questions that no one else has been able to answer. I’m so excited to meet with them. I know that the gospel has all of those answers. It’s plain and perfect truth and I’m so thankful to have it in my life.

Love you all!
-sis c