Last Tuesday after p-day was over, I went on an exchange with Sister Mat in Anderson. It's been labeled as 'the ghetto'. I was excited. Fishers is ritzy, and no one is home during the day. There's a lot of work to be done with people in humble circumstances who are willing to listen. So, I was super excited to spend a day there. We went out tracting for 2 hours that evening, and I expected to see some miracles. And I wasn't disappointed. We continued to see miracles Wednesday morning and afternoon as we went out. Here's just the big ones.
We found Robert Simmons and talked with him about the BOM. We testified and he was really receptive. He said he was really confused about what way was right, and his mom was also looking for a good church. Sister Mat shared Alma 32:21 with him and he really liked that and said it made sense. We testified that the glorious thing about the gospel is that it makes sense! We were able to pray with him on his porch and set up a return appointment. It was a really hot and humid day, and I left my water in the car. He was an answer to prayer as he offered us cold bottled water. He works at Texas Roadhouse, and he said maybe next time he'd give us steaks. He was so grateful that we came by and was excited to meet with us again and learn more.
When we finished tracting, we were walking back to our car, and there was a lady (Deanna) pulling weeds by the mailbox. I was going to ask if she needed help and strike up a conversation, but another girl (Mercedez) came out of the house as we approached, and we taught her about the BOM. She seemed interested to learn about it, and we gave her a pass along card. As we were finished talking, I felt to still ask Deanna if she needed help. She jokingly told us to start on the other side. We put down our things and began pulling weeds. Boy was she surprised! We helped for about 10-15 minutes and talked with both Deanna and Mercedez about our missions. We asked if we could come back and help again, and a service appointment was set up for the next day. The house was Deanna's mom's, and she came out and met us. Here's the miracle - Deanna lives in Fishers. That's my area! She gave us her address and said she'd love to have us come by and do service for her. Sweet! A contact for the Anderson sisters and one for us too! It was then that I knew that it was right that I was in Anderson on the exchange rather than Sister Summers. Sister Summers doesn't like talking with people when they're in their yard, and I'm sure that after talking with Mercedez, they would've just passed on by and not talked with Deanna and offered help (especially since Sister Mat is from California and has never pulled weeds before!) It was a neat opportunity, and I'm glad I took it.
We went to see Maggie Brown the next day, who Sister Mat didn't think was too interested. She's a bit older, and she used to be a pastor. She talked about some of her kids being murdered (it's the ghetto...), and we asked what brought her joy and she said Jesus brought her joy. We talked about the BOM bringing her more joy and happiness and gave her a copy. We sang Battle Hymn of the Republic with her - she joined in on the chorus. It was so cute! We asked if we could come back again and talk with her more about the BOM and she said we could come back everyday! As we prayed for her, the Spirit was strong and she had to go wipe away her tears before telling us goodbye. She told us she loved us and wanted us to come back.
Our plans didn't go through Wednesday, so we switched things up. The street we had planned on tracting was on the other side of town, so Sister Mat picked a new street closer to where we were. It was refreshing to actually find people at home! As we hit a few doors in a row where no one answered, I said to Sister Mat "there's someone on this street that's been praying for us to come. I don't know if it's a man or woman, but I feel they're praying for us. And when we come, they will cry." I then told Sister Mat that if they were praying for us, we should pray for them, that they would be home and recognize us as an answer to their prayer. A few houses later, we met Eileen. We asked how she was, and she said "not good" as she was still mourning the loss of her husband who passed in January. I got excited (is that wrong?), and I told her that we had a wonderful message that would bring her peace and comfort, and asked if she had time. She was very pleased that we meant right then and welcomed us in. We sat down and she started talking to us, and then she began to cry. The Spirit pressed upon me very strongly that she was the one. I was overflowing with the Spirit, and I told Eileen about what I had told Sister Mat and told her that she (Eileen) was that person and that God sent us there to help her. We talked of the spirit world and how her husband (Fred) is not far from her. She did most of the talking, but I think being there to listen was part of the reason we were sent there. I felt impressed to give her a BOM, and as I was about to do so, a very strong impression came to me about what I should say to her. I told her that her husband Fred wanted her to have the book and that he was learning the truths it contained in the spirit world, and he wanted her to know the truths as well. Apparently Eileen didn't pick up on the fact that we were Mormons until we gave her the book. She just got so excited and talked about elders that used to visit them and they had their pictures and addresses. She said she probably still had a BOM somewhere, and the Pearl of Great Price too. She was starting to remember some things about the gold plates. She asked if the BOM was something that her son would tell her didn't agree with the Bible and to get rid of it. Sister Mat bore strong testimony that Satan works hard against the truth and tries to keep people from it, and that the only way to know for yourself is to read it, and she shared her testimony of the BOM. So powerful! We shared with her Morm. 7:9 about the Bible and BOM, and then Eileen told us she would hide it from her son so he wouldn't take it away from her. Hehe. I then felt strongly prompted to promise her that if she would pick up and read from the BOM any time she felt sad, that she would be comforted, and that it would work EVERY time. She promised she would do that. Yay! She asked us if we would pray for her and "lay our hands on her" (this was actually before we found out elders had visited her before, so we were not sure what exactly she was expecting, but then we realized she wanted a Priesthood blessing). We explained that we didn't have the Priesthood, but we could have someone give her a blessing, and we did leave a sweet prayer with her. As we were leaving, she told us that she did feel like we were sent by God to her to lift and inspire her. Wow. What an experience. I've never felt the Spirit so strong and direct in prompting me to say things and promise someone blessings. It was very clear, and I had no doubt that the words I spoke were from God and that they would be fulfilled. What a miracle.
The last big miracle was as we were going back to our car after talking with Eileen. There was a guy (maybe in his 40's) on the porch of the house we had parked in front of. I asked if we could give him something. We went up and gave him a BOM pass along card and testified of it. He made some kind of creepy remark that he wanted to talk to us because we were pretty. He said he had a roommate once who was Mormon and the elders would come over and they would talk, but they didn't agree on everything. Sister Mat asked what his thoughts about our beliefs were, and he said he was kinda turned off to it by some South Park episodes. I thought "oh great". He talked about some episode that mocked the translation process of the BOM. I wasn't sure how to respond, but almost immediately, the Spirit came over me and filled my mouth. I testified boldly that the BOM was translated by the power of God and those who mock don't understand the things of God. I felt power rushing through me as the Spirit guided my words. It was like a surge of energy - I don't think I've felt that that strongly before. I then testified that he could come to know the truth as well by reading from the BOM. He looked at me and said he could really tell that I sincerely believed what I said. He said he could tell there was a power, a light about me. He looked at Sister Mat and said he saw it in her too, but more so in me at that moment. He said he would call and order a BOM. Wow. My testimony of the principle taught in D&C 100:5-8 was strengthened one hundred-fold. I was so grateful for the Spirit in guiding me and using me as an instrument to help this guy feel the Spirit. I was so glad that though he was mocking our beliefs, and the power of God, he wasn't too far gone that he couldn't recognize the Spirit.
While I was in Anderson, Sister Latu was here in Fishers, and while visiting a member family and sharing the message of the Restoration with them, they gave us 2 referrals! Miracles all around! Sister Mat and I got 3 new investigators for them, and Sister Latu and Summers got 2 referrals for us. Yay! I love missionary work!
Thursday, back in Fishers, I was pondering upon miracles, and how miracles are brought about. Sister Summers and I talked about it, and though we recognize that part of it is dependant upon the people and their circumstances, a lot of it also has to do with our faith/expectations to see miracles. Since then, we've been focusing more on trying to do everything we can so God will bless us with miracles, and so that we have a right to expect miracles. A lot of it has to do with attitude. In this area, it's very easy to get discouraged when no one's home and when people are so complacent with their beliefs. So we've been working on keeping up our obedience and faith, and it's been working.
Thursday night we met with Linda again. She had more questions about the spirit world and life after death. We read Alma 42 with her, and commited her to read Alma 40-41 before our next appointment. We promised her as she did so, she would feel that it was true and she would feel peace. She told us that peace is what she's been looking for after the passing of her son in January. Her Catholic beliefs are kind of getting in the way of her grasping the truth, so we continue to pray that she'll accept the truth, and leave behind the false notions she's been taught for so long. It's hard to teach an old dog new tricks. But it is possible.
We were able to meet with Ronnie, a lady we tracted into a while ago. She's busy, so she just said to try stopping by when we were in the neighborhood. We were able to spend some time with her and talk with her about prophets, Joseph Smith, Pres. Monson, and the BOM. She was interested in learning more about Pres. Monson and the things that he's taught, so we gave her both church websites, and the general conference link. We also gave her a BOM and a Joseph Smith pamphlet. She seems pretty open to learning about our beliefs. Hopefully she'll sincerely read in the BOM so she can feel the Spirit and have a desire to learn more for the purpose of conversion.
After we spoke in church a few weeks ago, Drew Davisson (12) came up to us and asked us for a BOM to give his friend. We ate with them Friday night and after we shared a lesson about missionary work and commited them to invite someone to church and pray about someone they could give a BOM to, Mattie (10) asked us for a BOM to give her friend that she had talked to about it. Way to go kids!
We went tracting Saturday in a neighborhood we hadn't started in yet. On the first door, the lady said she wasn't interested and shut the door. Then she opened the door right back open and said we weren't supposed to be soliciting. We told her we weren't, and we were allowed to be there. She slammed the door. We went on to the next house, and before we even got there, the same lady came out of her house and ran towards the management office or something. After knocking on a few doors, we saw a man coming towards us, but he was still a distance away. Darn people who want to keep their neighbors from having an opportunity to hear the gospel! A few days prior a man asked us to leave his neighborhood because we weren't supposed to be there. Grudgingly, I followed his wishes. Anyway, we kept knocking, and one lady answered, and we had a nice conversation with her. She'd been to Salt Lake, and we testified of the BOM being a way to come closer to Christ. She thanked us for coming and wished us luck. As we left her porch, we looked around, and there was no more man coming towards us. I'm convinced that if it was someone to come get mad at us and make us leave, that we were blessed for testifying, and he saw the pleasant interaction we had with that lady, and decided to let us be. I know we're blessed as we do the Lord's work.
That night we stopped in to see the Booles family - the Egyptians we met a number of weeks ago. The wife is about 1/2 way through the BOM, the husband has read some parts here and there. Abir (the wife) sees it as an important historical record, and great evidence to give to the Jews to convince them that Jesus is the Christ. We testified that it was written for everyone, not just for the Jews, but she didn't seem to grasp that. She was fine with it because in her mind, anything that talks about Jesus and agrees with her beliefs is good. We shared Morm. 7:9 and Moroni 7:14-16 with her. We had a good conversation with her and Emad (husband), but they miss the mark on the full purpose of the BOM. Hopefully as she reads the 2nd half, she'll come to understand. There is a slight language barrier, but not as much as with Farduce (the lady from Syria that we gave the other Arabic BOM to). We invited them to church, and they said they would come visit sometime, but they didn't know if/when something would come up, so they didn't want to commit to a specific day. Imagine my surprise when Emad walked into the chapel the next day! He said he tried to get Abir and his son Karim to come with him, but they said they might come next time. It was fast Sunday, so I prayed extra hard that nothing "weird" would be said. He enjoyed the meeting. He only stayed for sacrament meeting, but he said next time he comes, he's going to bring his wife and son. In time, the Spirit will work on all of them.
Yet another miracle, Sister Hatch told us last weekend about her friend Shannon who asked her how she could convert to our religion. Wow. She couldn't come to church last weekend because she was out of town. But she came with her 2 kids this Sunday and she loved it! We only got to meet her briefly as she went with Sister Hatch to YW. She was well taken care of. Brother Hatch called us that night and asked if we could come to their house for a lesson with Shannon. WOW! I was so super excited! It's like a missionary's dream come true! We visited with Sister Hatch Monday to learn more about Shannon's interest level and what she already knows about the church so we could prepare an awesome lesson for her for Wednesday. She told us that she knows the Joseph Smith story and because of recent experiences with the passing of her mother, she is receptive to it. The Hatches had them over for dinner Sunday, and they gave her a BOM and bore testimony of it. SAWEET! Shannon is super excited to learn, and Sister Hatch said Shannon mentioned that there must be something true about this church. I'm so stoked for Wednesday!
We met with Carl again Sunday. He apologized for not being able to read very much. "I just barely finished the 1st book of Nephi". Wahoo! That's more than most people do! We talked about the things he learned and answered a few of his questions. The Spirit is working on him. We extended the commitment to exercise his faith and come to church. He said he wasnt sure because of his work schedule. We promised him that if he put the Lord first and made the decision to come, that everything would work out and fall into place. He said he's going to continue reading the BOM all the way through. He accepts it. It's so amazing. I believe the Spirit is converting him without him really knowing it. Kind of like the Lamanites in the BOM who were "baptized with fire and the Holy Ghost and they knew it not."
We got back in touch with Norma and Clifford Sunday and shared the REST DVD with them. They liked it and had some more questions about the BOM. We commited them to read from the BOM and pray about it and they would know it was true and feel the Spirit. Clifford expressed concern about understanding the language (the old English style), and we promised him that if he truly had a desire to learn, as he put forth the effort to read, the Spirit would help him understand. They were both willing to read and learn. Hopefully we can meet with them once more before he leaves for Germany for a 1 year post (he's a Navy doctor).
We met with Earl Thomas again, the old man, who just couldn't accept Joseph Smith as a prophet, or the 3 kingdoms of glory. He talked about death and what happens afterward again, and we had the opportunity to give him a BOM and invite him to read Alma 40-42 so we could come back and discuss it with him next time. His heart has been softened to the point that he accepted the BOM and said he would read it, and he was looking forward to discussing it with us.
We met with Ali, Cindy, and their daughter Alisa last night. It started out good with some questions about the spirit world, and we talked about work for the dead. They have some very similar beliefs and practices regarding work for the dead. (Sometimes the similarities are hindrances rather than helps.) Then the conversation digressed into a disagreement about beliefs about John the Baptist and Jesus Christ and their roles and missions. They have wacko beliefs about that. I knew we needed to bring it back to the BOM and testify, and we tried, but Ali kept at it. Cindy finally intervened (Alisa had left at this point) and told Ali to stop because he was getting stressed and we looked stressed. We had been there for a while at that point, and timewise, we should've left, but I didn't want to leave on a contentious note. So, I let the disagreement be a great segway into the Restoration DVD that we had planned on sharing with them. It was a good segway, and Alisa came back for it, and they all liked the video. We testified that it truly did happen, and that the BOM is given to us to "confound false doctrines and establish peace" (2 Ne. 3:12). We gave Alisa her own copy of the BOM and left the DVD with them. They asked us when we could come back. We had planned on commiting them to come to church, but they took care of that, and chose June 20th to come to church with us. I love it when people commit themselves. I was frustrated with how the middle of the visit went, and I knew I wasn't doing the right thing (because I didn't know how to bring it back), but I feel that the beginning and end went well. They said they would read in the BOM for next time. I have great hopes for Alisa, and then Cindy. Ali might be a little harder to convert. He's done it before though - he used to be Muslim.
Well, that's all the miracles - the big ones at least - for this week. It's been an amazing week, and just writing this email has helped me to recognize just how blessed I am to see all these great things happening. I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
sister humpherys
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