Our week started with one of the funniest things that has ever happened. Sister Hill went to the Jacobs to do some service. We have a rule as missionaries that we are to back each other up when we are driving. It is such a pain at the Jacobs house because you have to do like a 40 point turn to turn around, and that day, it was pouring rain. Above their house is a field, so dear Sister Hill and i thought, "We don't need to back, we will just drive in the field and flip around." Well, we quickly found out that the field was FULL of ditches and deep holes. We definitely got our car stuck. As we were praying to Heavenly Father asking him to help us get unstuck, up the hill comes...yup...you guesed it. A cop. It was hilarious. He came up to us and asked what in the world we were doing. We explained to him the situation and he told us he was going to call other police officers so that we didn't have to pay for a tow truck. We sat in our car just waiting for the other cops to show up. Sister Hill and i were praying SO hard that nothing bad would happen, and the Jacobs wouldn't come outside and see the chaos going on outside. We were laughing hysterically. (i am pretty sure it was a stressed/scared laugh though) Finally, the other cops came. He called 4 officer. 4. Here we were sitting at the top of a hill in a field in the pouring rain with 5 police officers trying to get our car unstuck. They got it unstuck and there was NO damage to the car and NO fine to be paid. It was so great. Things like this only happen when companions with Sister Ritter. (;
After our incident, we started to clean the Jacobs house. It was such a tender mercy, because a family that we had wanted to start teaching came over to visit and we were able to share a message with them after we were done cleaning.
We also got to start teaching Henry again. We randomly(which isn't really random) decided to text him and ask if we could start meeting with him again. He is so open to the gospel. He wants to be baptized really bad, but his family is very against it. He has a strong testimony and is half way done with the Book of Mormon. I am excited to continue meeting with him. He told us that he is still praying about it and that he might just have to make a decision for himself and hope his family will still support him. Sister Hill and i don't believe that Henry is real. He is so prepared and so open. It is so nice to teach him and to have a nice discussion with him.
Wednesday, we had district meeting. We talked all about how the gospel of Jesus Christ can and does bring great joy into our lives. We all shared experiences when the doctrine of Christ (Faith, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and Enduring to the end) has helped us in our lives and how we have learned from that experience. The spirit was so strong in that meeting. It was so nice to feel the joy and peace that comes as we talk about Christ and his teachings. I love the gospel so much. I find so much joy in missionary service. I love Rolla. I love Sister Hill. I love the people we meet and teach everyday. I wish i could express in words how much i truly love being a missionary and the joy it brings into my life every single day.
After district meeting, all the missionaries came with us to Penny's house. We all sang 'The Spirit of God' to her. It was really cool, and we think she liked it. (;
As we were planning for our day, we had the idea that we would fill an open time with visiting Brother Woodward. We had a couple of appointments and at the end of the last one, he texted us saying, "I need you girls to come over today, its been a while and i need a lesson." It was so cool to see that Heavenly Father inspired us to write him in our planners the exact time he wanted us to come over. That was a testimony to me that God really does lead this work.
Thursday we had the lovely experience of being anti-ed by a mostly active member. It was unreal. I never in a million years i would ever experience that on my mission. We shared a scripture with him that talked about Christ and his atonement. We testified that we knew that the atonement will help him through his trials and help him as he tries to follow Christ. He was so persistent about telling us that we can't KNOW spiritual things. We can only BELIEVE. He asked us, "Do you know that St Louis is next to the river on a map?" Sister Hill and i both looked at him and said, "No. We have never been there. We don't know that." He said, "Well, you can look on a map and see it is true and then drive there and see it for yourself. You can know that. But you can't know God is real." We said, "well, just like the map of St Louis, you can read the scriptures to find out the things that God did with his people and the things he commanded them and know. Then you can do the same things, receive the same blessings, and know that it is true." He paused and then completely changed the subject and rattled off a bunch of crazy math equations and said he knew those were true, but we can't know God is real. Sister Hill stood up and said, "Thank you for having us over, we are leaving." That was an incredibly hard experience. It makes me so sad to think and know that people are not putting their faith and trust in Heavenly Father, but they will put their trust in man. I KNOW that God is real. I KNOW that he loves us. I KNOW that he guides us every step of our lives. I KNOW that the scriptures are true and that they testify of Christ. I KNOW that he have a savior and that he loves us. I KNOW that Christ lives.
That night, we did a fake baptism with Penny. We showed her the font, and we helped her understand what the baptism would be like. It was really cool to do and see her open up more and more. Even though she still won't set a date to be baptized, i know that she will be baptized one day. She knows it is true and she thinks about it all the time.
Friday we did a whole lot of tracting. We met a super awesome lady. As we were tracting, we saw these cute little cats. They started following us, so we named one Purr. He followed us up to the door and would leave with us. He followed us forever. It was super funny.
Saturday was Halloween. It was a really fun day. We started with a breakfast at the Claytons. Then we had some appointments and ended our day at Roni's house for dinner. I attended my first ever authentic Missourian fish fry. It was really good. We had a ton of food. We also wanted to wear camo shirts to his house, because he is ALWAYS in camo. So we changed right before we got there. He was so happy. He said, "those are the coolest shirts i have ever seen." Then we had to be home at 6. We got home, carved pumpkins, and i went to be super early. Plus than i got to sleep an extra hour because of the time change. It was a great night.
Finally, Sunday came and Sister Hill got up and bore her testimony of the experience we had with the difference of knowing and believing things. It was super awesome. After that, EVERYONE emphasized the words "I know" in their testimony.
We also got to go to the Hills' sons baptism. It was a really fun night.
I am so grateful for the knowledge of the gospel. I am grateful for the hope and the peace the gospel brings. I am grateful to have Christ' restored church on the earth today.
I love you all.
Love,
Sister Ritter
Pictures:
1) We heart attacked Penny's garage, and she decorated it more for us. The sign says, "For my 2 special lady's in my life." hahahah(:
2) Me, Penny, and Sister Hill
3) This is my camo outfit. (;
4) We actually like camo and wish it was allowed to wear all the time.
5) Happy Halloween!
No comments:
Post a Comment