Wow! I got all your pictures from the hike and it looks like you all had a blast!! Enoch, It looks like you have grown! You're getting to be so big :) It looks so beautiful there! How amazing. We're so lucky to have such a great outdoors-men for a dad :)
Well we had a really fabulous week! The branch is getting smaller and smaller though. I am pretty sure we are not even technically a branch anymore. We helped the Herricks move this week. And Vasu (our recent convert) moved to another ward close by. Natasha (another recent convert) also moved back to her home and will be attending a singles ward there. I hope that both of them enjoy their new wards and are taken care of!! Because the Branch is so small we stay very involved as missionaries. Sister M plays the piano in sacrament. We've bother given talks. We teach gospel principles every week for second hour. Last week I taught Relief Society. We have been asked to give 2 minutes talks and sharing time in Primary and we have visiting teaching assignments. Hahha, so yeah, we stay very involve in the branch. But I LOVE it! I really, really enjoy teaching. I love sharing what I know with other people. I love watching it click for them. And there is nothing better then people telling you that your lesson really helped them understand a principle or answered a question. It makes me feel so wonderful :)
And although a few people (ok a lot of people) have left the branch, we are bringing more in. We have had one or more investigators at church almost every single week for the last 5 weeks. So that has been awesome.
We have found and brought back to church Angela DeSpirito. We like to call her our Jamaican Mama because she feed us every Saturday and walks us out to our car and gives us food to take home. We love her.
And also Michelle McCarthy has come the last two weeks she's been in town and she told us that she wants to start going to church when she is in Georgia as well!
We found the Jada Family (Husband and wife from India) and they have started coming back to church as well every other week or so. We hope to help them to come every week.
There is a girl named Leah who stopped the Elders on the street and told them that she is a member. Her records had been lost and no one would have found her if she didn't approach them. We have been over a few times and are reteaching the lessons. She wants to come back to church.
Sandra I have been meeting with ever since I got to New York. She has been through so much. I learn something new from that lady every single time I go over to her house. She is currently trying to overcome her smoking habits and she wants to go to the temple so badly. Her work schedule will finally allow her to come to church in Sept. Her progression has been slow which has been discouraging at times. But teaching her over these last 4 months has taught me patience. Not only patience for others and their progression, but patience for myself. Looking back over these last 4 months I have seen amazing growth and progression in her. She is so much happier! You can see it in her eyes and in her smile. I am so thankful that we didn't give up on her because now she understands what she has covenanted to do at baptism. And she wants to live her covenants! She wants to be at church because she finally understands the significance of it and of partaking of the sacrament.
Nothing makes my heart swell more than thinking about all these less actives and how they have come to remember and feel again the significance of the covenant they made at baptism. When I see them come and partake of the sacrament at church and I know that they are truly repenting and trying to improve--wow. Nothing makes me happier then that.
I hope that each of us remembers the significance of the sacrament in our lives.
Well we had a crazy thing happen to us this week. While we were driving there was a big dump truck in front of us. And I don't really know what happened but something fell loose and it was dragging behind the truck. Sparks were flying and rubber and other pieces of rubble started flying up and hitting our windshield. We were screaming and freaking out!! haha but we were fine.
Oh and Zack, I had a dream last night that you and I had these massive black curly beards. Like a straight up pirate beard. it was legit.
Well family, my time is up here. I miss you all so much and I hope that you have a wonderful week!
Love Sister Lounsbury
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