Holla Familia!!
So..... this has been a pretty awesome, interesting week. First off we had an awesome FHE lesson with Shawna and her daughter Mariah at the Ekins home. Sister Ekins provided dinner and we did the lesson. We taught the Gospel of Jesus Christ; we did what we call life size "Bob the Builder". We did it a few weeks ago with Marie (the German Exchange student) We took them through the Journey of Life, and how everything had another meaning. It was super neat and fun to do with the Ekins little kids. So that was fun having our first new Member lesson with Shawna and it went pretty well. Sis Ekins is a pretty stellar woman. She is a convert to the church. She grew up in Texas and hadn't really heard anything about the Mormon religion. Missionaries did come and help out around her parents house, but they never taught her anything. She met her husband, working at KFC (they both worked there). They went on dates and all that fun stuff, and decided to get married! Bro Ekins at the time (that they met and were dating) was a less-active member in the church. He suggested to Sis Ekins to get married in our church by the Bishop - it was free, and nearby. So they did - again nobody shared the Gospel with her. She had decided, that before they started a family, that she wanted to join a church. So, she asked Bro Ekins what he thought and he said sure. He then suggested going to his mom's church, because then they would at least know somebody. She agreed and he looked up when church was. He then told her that church was going to be on TV this weekend. She was a little wary about that idea because of preachers on TV in Texas, but HE said at least give it a try - so She did and she loved it! Cute, little old men telling stories and explaining things so simply and clearly to questions that she had. The very first 'Church' that Sister Ekins went to/watched was General Conference. When it was over, Sister Ekins kind of sat there and then asked if that was it? Bro Ekins mother asked her if she would like to talk to the missionaries and she agreed. Two weeks later she was baptized and then a year later sealed in the Temple. Such an amazing story. She is one of those elect people that I know are somewhere out here in crazy Ohio. I just seem to be having a hard time finding them.
This week we went to Charleston Twice! It's a two hour drive both ways. So 4 hours total. We did that TWICE!! We also went to Ashland which takes about 45 minutes to get there. So yeah lots of time in the car. Lots of awkward silence because we don't have any music. I wish I had brought music now! The Charleston Sisters have a really awesome CD called Lower Lights. Anywho, the first time we went to Charleston it was for a Missionary Leadership Correlation... so I got to drop off Sister Gray and then spend the next 4 hours with the Charleston Sisters: Sister Peck, Escujuri, and Maddox. They are pretty stellar sisters. We went tracting for an hour and then had lunch and a small testimony meeting before we went back to the church. Tracting was interesting. I met my first Drunk guy... or High... or Both. I couldn't tell. He was just a little out of it. Anywho, he was just looking at us, and kept staring so I tried talking to him. He wasn't very cohesive... so we left it at that. I'm not going to lie..... during this hour of tracting, I have never been told how pretty I am in my life. It was the weirdest thing ever! It was super fun though. It was a nice refreshing break from being in Wheelersburg for so long. Also to be around New missionaries with fresh spirits is great too. I hope I get to train or something. I need a little bit of ‘greenie’ happiness in my life (ha,ha.)
Speaking of Working with Missionaries (well sort of ha,ha) this week we also had a member of the Seventy come and speak with us. His name was Elder Sitati. He is from Nigeria. I mostly heard from his wife Sister Sitati, the Leaders (so Sis. Gray) heard from Elder Sitati in another room. The thing that Sister Sitati talked about was our Relationships with others. We are ministers and if we are valiant in all we do we will not only save others, but we will save ourselves. Those that we teach will recognize us as representatives of Jesus Christ. The thing that we need to do Is put on the Whole Armor of God to take the steps forward in standing for the Truth. We need to be bold in this age, we must. We need all of the armor in order to be Protected, Strengthened, and Guided. I have this awesome coin that I got from My Bishop in College. Bishop Dunn. It is an Armor of God coin. I literally carry it with me everywhere, because it helps me remember what I need to do to get things done. Now I have Sister Sitati as another Testament of the truth of putting on the Whole Armor of God. Sister Sitati also told us the importance of our companions. If we are working together in the right way then we will both be working with all our might, mind, and strength because of the love we have for the Lord. We need to work in Harmony, we need to practice being patient and honest with them. We know each others faults - don't let those faults go anywhere outside of the companionship. We need to help build each other, and sometimes we don't' recognize or realize we are making mistakes and that is why we have companions to help us out. They are also there as another testimony. Where there is disharmony in a companionship it will appear in your countenance, and people will notice. It helped me realize all of the things that I need to fix in order to have greater Harmony in a Companionship - I am not perfect, but I need to have the desire to continually progress. That when we are having a hard time: with companions, an area, or anything, we have the choice on how to react to the situation. We can either get stuck in a bad mood and not move forward, or we can move forward learn from the mistakes that we make and others make. I have a ton to work on to become a more harmonious companion, but now I know I need to have the desire to change and figure out what is working and what is not, and I need to turn to the Lord for help and guidance on how to fix things. Communication is Key. If we let the little things get in the way, then they will become big things. So I learned a ton from Sister Sitati. Elder Sitati talked on our Purpose - and gave us the challenge of breaking down our Purpose and looking deep into the meaning. I also saw Sister Richards at the meeting! I don't know why I broke down in tears when I gave her a hug. I felt silly because I couldn't say anything to her because I was crying. But it was nice to have that opportunity to see her again and also her new companion and to hear how they were doing so well working together.
So another thing that happened this week was that Shane and Rhonda got married!! Rhonda told us how it was obviously part of Gods' will to have them get married, because no one could have thrown together a wedding in less than a week if God wasn't on their side. The wedding was small, but it was a wonderful experience. Rhonda and Shane were so happy. Shane even Smiled!! Now Shane just needs to quit smoking. We set him on date for the 23rd, and he is starting the quit smoking workshop tonight. So hopefully all will go well, and now that he has a date in mind he can work toward it. Everything just fit into place for them this week. It was a crazy week, of throwing a wedding together, but it was really awesome. Rhonda did basically everything for her wedding. She made the decorations, the cake, and a few other things. So she was really down to business on having a good wedding. I did help on one thing :) I learned a few things from Deborah on making cakes. I noticed the first thing when I walked in on Rhonda making her cake that it was starting to slant (she was doing a three-tier cake) I asked her if she had supports under her cake. Rhonda asked me what I was talking about. I then asked her if there was anything between the tiers and she said no. So we took apart her cake and put supports under them, and then we made some supports, (dowels?). I saved her cake from collapsing during the night. yay. So that was fun. It was a big cake, so I'm not sure if it was needed or not, but hey better safe then sorry.
We also had an interesting opportunity this week as well. A member in our ward named Jill, she is going to college right now. Gave us a call during the day and left a message saying that she just had a really interesting 3 hr. conversation with a guy at the library. He told her that she wasn't Christian because she didn't believe in the Trinity. She was taken a little aback because she had never been told that she wasn't Christian before. So she tried to defend herself, but kept getting shot down. After the conversation she called us for help on finding more Scriptures and additional insight on what to do, because her feelings were rather hurt by what he said. We gave her several Scriptures and a few talks to read, but emphasized the importance of not arguing with people, that with contention, both sides lose. That the best thing that she could do would be to bear her testimony and move on. (the Scriptures and Talk: Matt 3:16-17; 17:5; Acts 7:55; John 17:21; Mark 14:35-36; Heb 1:1-3. Only True God and Jesus Christ whom He Hath Sent by Elder Holland). It was neat to have been able to help her out with this situation. If I had been in her situation 2 years ago, I would not have known what to do either. Luckily we had told her a few weeks earlier that if she had any questions or if she ever needed help that we would always be willing to give her our insights and help her along her way. So, Jill had another talk with the guy, and he told her that he had been studying about the Mormons and wanted to come to church with her. She told him that if he was doing it just to prove her wrong that he shouldn't come. He said that he was coming because he was curious. So he came this last Sunday, it was pretty neat to meet him. He was Super Short! Anywho, For Sacrament they talked about Tithing, and Gospel Principles was the Law of Chastity. So he really got the throw down! haha.
Well Things are still going here in the Burg. I hope all is going well with my Familia. Keep up the good work. Remember that in our times of fear is the time that we need to focus the most on the Lord to help us along our path.
Be good, Pray Always, and Hasten the Lords Work (‘cause time is running out).
Loves Yah!!!
Sister Karen Call
So..... this has been a pretty awesome, interesting week. First off we had an awesome FHE lesson with Shawna and her daughter Mariah at the Ekins home. Sister Ekins provided dinner and we did the lesson. We taught the Gospel of Jesus Christ; we did what we call life size "Bob the Builder". We did it a few weeks ago with Marie (the German Exchange student) We took them through the Journey of Life, and how everything had another meaning. It was super neat and fun to do with the Ekins little kids. So that was fun having our first new Member lesson with Shawna and it went pretty well. Sis Ekins is a pretty stellar woman. She is a convert to the church. She grew up in Texas and hadn't really heard anything about the Mormon religion. Missionaries did come and help out around her parents house, but they never taught her anything. She met her husband, working at KFC (they both worked there). They went on dates and all that fun stuff, and decided to get married! Bro Ekins at the time (that they met and were dating) was a less-active member in the church. He suggested to Sis Ekins to get married in our church by the Bishop - it was free, and nearby. So they did - again nobody shared the Gospel with her. She had decided, that before they started a family, that she wanted to join a church. So, she asked Bro Ekins what he thought and he said sure. He then suggested going to his mom's church, because then they would at least know somebody. She agreed and he looked up when church was. He then told her that church was going to be on TV this weekend. She was a little wary about that idea because of preachers on TV in Texas, but HE said at least give it a try - so She did and she loved it! Cute, little old men telling stories and explaining things so simply and clearly to questions that she had. The very first 'Church' that Sister Ekins went to/watched was General Conference. When it was over, Sister Ekins kind of sat there and then asked if that was it? Bro Ekins mother asked her if she would like to talk to the missionaries and she agreed. Two weeks later she was baptized and then a year later sealed in the Temple. Such an amazing story. She is one of those elect people that I know are somewhere out here in crazy Ohio. I just seem to be having a hard time finding them.
This week we went to Charleston Twice! It's a two hour drive both ways. So 4 hours total. We did that TWICE!! We also went to Ashland which takes about 45 minutes to get there. So yeah lots of time in the car. Lots of awkward silence because we don't have any music. I wish I had brought music now! The Charleston Sisters have a really awesome CD called Lower Lights. Anywho, the first time we went to Charleston it was for a Missionary Leadership Correlation... so I got to drop off Sister Gray and then spend the next 4 hours with the Charleston Sisters: Sister Peck, Escujuri, and Maddox. They are pretty stellar sisters. We went tracting for an hour and then had lunch and a small testimony meeting before we went back to the church. Tracting was interesting. I met my first Drunk guy... or High... or Both. I couldn't tell. He was just a little out of it. Anywho, he was just looking at us, and kept staring so I tried talking to him. He wasn't very cohesive... so we left it at that. I'm not going to lie..... during this hour of tracting, I have never been told how pretty I am in my life. It was the weirdest thing ever! It was super fun though. It was a nice refreshing break from being in Wheelersburg for so long. Also to be around New missionaries with fresh spirits is great too. I hope I get to train or something. I need a little bit of ‘greenie’ happiness in my life (ha,ha.)
Speaking of Working with Missionaries (well sort of ha,ha) this week we also had a member of the Seventy come and speak with us. His name was Elder Sitati. He is from Nigeria. I mostly heard from his wife Sister Sitati, the Leaders (so Sis. Gray) heard from Elder Sitati in another room. The thing that Sister Sitati talked about was our Relationships with others. We are ministers and if we are valiant in all we do we will not only save others, but we will save ourselves. Those that we teach will recognize us as representatives of Jesus Christ. The thing that we need to do Is put on the Whole Armor of God to take the steps forward in standing for the Truth. We need to be bold in this age, we must. We need all of the armor in order to be Protected, Strengthened, and Guided. I have this awesome coin that I got from My Bishop in College. Bishop Dunn. It is an Armor of God coin. I literally carry it with me everywhere, because it helps me remember what I need to do to get things done. Now I have Sister Sitati as another Testament of the truth of putting on the Whole Armor of God. Sister Sitati also told us the importance of our companions. If we are working together in the right way then we will both be working with all our might, mind, and strength because of the love we have for the Lord. We need to work in Harmony, we need to practice being patient and honest with them. We know each others faults - don't let those faults go anywhere outside of the companionship. We need to help build each other, and sometimes we don't' recognize or realize we are making mistakes and that is why we have companions to help us out. They are also there as another testimony. Where there is disharmony in a companionship it will appear in your countenance, and people will notice. It helped me realize all of the things that I need to fix in order to have greater Harmony in a Companionship - I am not perfect, but I need to have the desire to continually progress. That when we are having a hard time: with companions, an area, or anything, we have the choice on how to react to the situation. We can either get stuck in a bad mood and not move forward, or we can move forward learn from the mistakes that we make and others make. I have a ton to work on to become a more harmonious companion, but now I know I need to have the desire to change and figure out what is working and what is not, and I need to turn to the Lord for help and guidance on how to fix things. Communication is Key. If we let the little things get in the way, then they will become big things. So I learned a ton from Sister Sitati. Elder Sitati talked on our Purpose - and gave us the challenge of breaking down our Purpose and looking deep into the meaning. I also saw Sister Richards at the meeting! I don't know why I broke down in tears when I gave her a hug. I felt silly because I couldn't say anything to her because I was crying. But it was nice to have that opportunity to see her again and also her new companion and to hear how they were doing so well working together.
So another thing that happened this week was that Shane and Rhonda got married!! Rhonda told us how it was obviously part of Gods' will to have them get married, because no one could have thrown together a wedding in less than a week if God wasn't on their side. The wedding was small, but it was a wonderful experience. Rhonda and Shane were so happy. Shane even Smiled!! Now Shane just needs to quit smoking. We set him on date for the 23rd, and he is starting the quit smoking workshop tonight. So hopefully all will go well, and now that he has a date in mind he can work toward it. Everything just fit into place for them this week. It was a crazy week, of throwing a wedding together, but it was really awesome. Rhonda did basically everything for her wedding. She made the decorations, the cake, and a few other things. So she was really down to business on having a good wedding. I did help on one thing :) I learned a few things from Deborah on making cakes. I noticed the first thing when I walked in on Rhonda making her cake that it was starting to slant (she was doing a three-tier cake) I asked her if she had supports under her cake. Rhonda asked me what I was talking about. I then asked her if there was anything between the tiers and she said no. So we took apart her cake and put supports under them, and then we made some supports, (dowels?). I saved her cake from collapsing during the night. yay. So that was fun. It was a big cake, so I'm not sure if it was needed or not, but hey better safe then sorry.
We also had an interesting opportunity this week as well. A member in our ward named Jill, she is going to college right now. Gave us a call during the day and left a message saying that she just had a really interesting 3 hr. conversation with a guy at the library. He told her that she wasn't Christian because she didn't believe in the Trinity. She was taken a little aback because she had never been told that she wasn't Christian before. So she tried to defend herself, but kept getting shot down. After the conversation she called us for help on finding more Scriptures and additional insight on what to do, because her feelings were rather hurt by what he said. We gave her several Scriptures and a few talks to read, but emphasized the importance of not arguing with people, that with contention, both sides lose. That the best thing that she could do would be to bear her testimony and move on. (the Scriptures and Talk: Matt 3:16-17; 17:5; Acts 7:55; John 17:21; Mark 14:35-36; Heb 1:1-3. Only True God and Jesus Christ whom He Hath Sent by Elder Holland). It was neat to have been able to help her out with this situation. If I had been in her situation 2 years ago, I would not have known what to do either. Luckily we had told her a few weeks earlier that if she had any questions or if she ever needed help that we would always be willing to give her our insights and help her along her way. So, Jill had another talk with the guy, and he told her that he had been studying about the Mormons and wanted to come to church with her. She told him that if he was doing it just to prove her wrong that he shouldn't come. He said that he was coming because he was curious. So he came this last Sunday, it was pretty neat to meet him. He was Super Short! Anywho, For Sacrament they talked about Tithing, and Gospel Principles was the Law of Chastity. So he really got the throw down! haha.
Well Things are still going here in the Burg. I hope all is going well with my Familia. Keep up the good work. Remember that in our times of fear is the time that we need to focus the most on the Lord to help us along our path.
Be good, Pray Always, and Hasten the Lords Work (‘cause time is running out).
Loves Yah!!!
Sister Karen Call
Me and Bonnie!!
Me and the Kinker Girls!! Braliey, Lexi, and Laiken!
Sister Boldrin, Me, and Sister Lytle!
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