Second things second: Sister Spindler is also getting transferred!
That came as quite a surprise! She's moved every transfer, and we both were sure she'd finally get to stay somewhere longer than 6 weeks. Another surprise that came, is that the other side of Bloomington is now going to be a sister area (instead of elders), and our area is going to stay a sister area (rather than switching to elders as was previously thought last transfer). So, we're thinking that one of us might go to the other side of town. I sure hope it's not both of us - that would be a cruel joke. But, if that's what happens, that's the Lord's will, and I'll learn to accept it. Sister Jenson and Sister Smith are staying together, but they will be in a trio. I told President Corey that I volunteered myself to be in another trio if it meant being with Sister Jenson. That'd be neat. I don't think that'll happen though. We'll see tomorrow. Interesting things...
We met with Bill and Aggie again Thursday. We discussed their reading in 2 Ne. 29 and 1 Ne. 13. When we asked them what they thought about Joseph Smith, Aggie said "Oh, I believe he was a prophet!" and Bill said he believes the Book of Mormon is authentic. Grins from ear to ear! :) :) :) Aggie told us that Bill took the BOM with him to their prayer/study hour they do at their church at the beginning of the month. And he took it to the doctor's office when Aggie had an appointment. Oh, I just love them both. They came to the ward activity Friday which was a potato bar and lip sync activity, and they loved it. Aggie said she was really touched that we didn't have meat (they gave up eating meat on Fridays for Lent). We went to see them yesterday to teach about tithing and for me to say goodbye. Aggie said "I don't like this! Who do I need to call?" Hehe. As we were preparing to leave, tears came to her eyes. Oh, I sure hope it's in the Lord's will for them to accept the gospel in this life and be baptized. I hope the new sisters work well with them.
We met with Sharon and John Flake Friday and talked about prophets some more. We had asked John to pray about whether Joseph Smith and Thomas S. Monson were prophets. He's a lot like me - he's very logical. He's learning about our faith, and he doesn't find anything wrong with it, but I think he's lacking a spiritual conversion. I think the logical conversion is coming just fine, but it's the spiritual witness that is crucial. We visited them yesterday too and we talked about the Atonement and also faith, and we brought up D&C 88:118 and talked about how we need to learn by studying, but also by doing and acting - exercising faith. It was a good lesson with them. Sharon is really sad to see me leave, as I am the last of the 3 original sisters that she knew. I told her and John that when John gets baptized, we'll all come down for it. She liked that idea. :) She is a strong lady, and her example and influence are a great strength for John.
Friday at the Shalom center where we do service, I gave Hank (a volunteer) a Book of Mormon. He's known a few Mormons during his life, but he didn't know much about the specifics of our beliefs. Last week I talked to him about general conference, and I felt that he would be receptive to a copy of the BOM. So I wrote my testimony in it and also a list of passages that talk/testify of Christ. As I gave it to him, he was very gracious and said he would love to read it and it meant a lot coming from us. I told him of the list of passages about Christ that I had included, and he said it really meant a lot to him. Wow, what a great guy. I'm sure he will read from the Book of Mormon.
We invited Tom Meador - another volunteer - to the ward activity that night. He said he'd come, and he did! That was exciting. Sister Spindler sat with Bill and Aggie and Sister McGlone, and I sat with Tom and introduced him to some other great guys in the ward. He received some good fellowship and enjoyed himself. He had some logistical questions about the church and stuff that we answered. He's curious, but not interested at this point. He is quite religious though, as he's said that he's recently turned his life over to Christ. We talked about answers to prayers and how He guides our life. He's a great guy. I can tell he's still searching for something. He doesn't know it, but hopefully when the gospel reaches him, he'll recognize it.
This week has been hard for me. As I said, Monday was good, but the rest of the week has been really hard. I talked with Pres. Corey about it and he gave me permission to call Sister Jenson. She gave me some more good advice and encouragement. It's still been hard to implement, but knowing what to do is the first step to putting it in action. Friday started out really hard because of my attitude, and Saturday was probably the hardest day of my mission. But I didn't let that stop us from going out, and we found a guy named Sean who was interested in coming to church at the YSA branch and he actually did come to sacrament meeting Sunday. I know we were blessed as we were out doing the Lord's work, but it was still hard to align my thoughts.
I'm sad to leave this area, but I'm excited to reinvent myself with a new companion, taking the good and leaving the bad, and striving to implement the things I've learned this transfer. I've had the mindset of getting a new companion for the last week, so if Sister Spindler and I both get sent to the other side of town, it'll take some time to adjust my mindset. But I know this transfer has been a good learning experience for me. I told Pres. that I'm glad he listened to the Spirit rather than logic in putting us together and I'm grateful for having been through the experience. It's not something I want to do again though. So hopefully I learned my lessons, and I'll move on to learn more lessons. But if not, I'll trust in the Lord, because this is His work.
So, stay tuned for next week's epistle from a new location! Take care all!
-sister humpherys
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