We Are Still Having P-day on Friday!

June 23, 2014

Hey Famlay!

Guess what, we are still having P-day on Friday, but Elder Kimzey said that we could email today. So...hi :)

Yes we have been getting scary storms, I thought I liked them, but then I came here. The storm we had on Tuesday shook our whole apartment and the both of us awake. It was a good night for earplugs.

In answer to your 50th birthday question: England. Of course. No wait...only if I can go with you so...Italy :) That is so cool about Elder McGlothlin!! Way to be AP!! To be honest, I'm not surprised, he is an awesome missionary :) Do you guys have his email? I want to get back into contact with those guys.

This week mainly consisted of trying to find people to teach. On Tuesday we tracted for a few hours, handed out 4 Book of Mormon's and met a really nice car salesman named Josh and a YSA aged guy named Kyle who are interested in learning more! We set a goal for 12 other lessons and got 21, so we are pretty tracted out :)

Yesterday we knocked on Spring and her girls' door at 10 in the morning...just to make sure they were coming to church. And they did! For the first time in 3 months! It was great that Amber, her oldest went to Girls' Camp, she met a lot of fun people there. Sister Cutler, President Cutler's daughter-in-law, has to be my missionary rolemodel. She is so wonderful when we bring her to member-present lessons with Angela and she has that calm yet powerful demeanor that draw so many people to her. Her girls are the cutest and always run up to us to give us a hug :) She served in Belgium and then worked at the MTC! ...Which is what I really want to do after the mish. And...prepare for the big one...she is an AUTHOR! Their family is definitely one I want to keep in contact with. They give me strength to be a better missionary. Come to think of it...I think ALL the members in our ward do in some way.

Yes! I would love to keep getting the newspapers! Any new reading material (approved) is always fine with me :) That is so great that you are still teaching your eternigator Paula. We stopped by our eternigator Dee's house today and she went off on the 1 Timothy 1 scripture where it says that in the last days there will be many evil hypocrites who will say that you are not allowed to eat meat...thinking that it's us with the Word of Wisdom...and that God gave us meat to eat. I didn't know what to say when she challenged us to decide who is right: Timothy or Joseph Smith, so I calmly said--with that frustrated grin that has probably been permanently etched into my countenance by now :)--that we would study and ponder and get back with her. When I got home, I was rather frustrated seeing as how I had no idea how to respond. But when I read the footnotes, it cross-referenced D&C 49 where Joseph Smith is given the revelation concerning one of his friends who had gone apostate because of his dealings with the Shakers...who believe that Jesus already came and that meat should be refrained from...and the revelation is exactly what Timothy says regarding such. It is so interesting how people take SO many things out of context in order to fit things to what they want to believe. I am SO thankful for modern day revelation which confirms what every Christian heart longs to know: that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. She thought I was being "apolegetic" for the Word of Wisdom, because I was trying to state how coffee and smoking has addictive properties, but the fact is that I was being merely "consequential." I hope that God will reveal to us what to do with her, because as fun as it is going around and around with her regarding doctrine, where does the line have to be drawn if they are not willing to do what God asks of them to find these truths out for certain?

Kay, sorry for that tangent. I hope that we are able to find new ways to find people soon. Do any of you have any ideas? We were thinking of doing sidewalk chalk, but if you think of anything creative let me know please! :)

It is amazing how often the saying "We can do hard things" pops up from someone in a conversation or a talk and gives me a strong reminder of my motto while here, striving to do what I and everyone whom I serve with have covenanted to do.

Love you all!

-Sister Weaver-

Here is us on Saturday.
We were making candy
at Sister Black's house.

Yeah, we ar spazzes

I'm Happy The Daddio Had A Good Father's Day!

June 16, 2014

Dear Familia of Mine!

I'm happy that Daddio had a good Father's Day and that you were able to go to good ol' Warshington. I know how you all feel about leaving somewhere and then going back to where you used to live. Many missionaries, whose time is up here, feel like they are LEAVING home. I'm sure I will as well. You grow to love the people you visit and see mature spiritually...even some of them ARE cracked off their rockers or hopped up on goofballs. I hear fun stories from Elder Larsen about crazy Eugene, OR...since he goes to school at U of O (or whichever one is in Eugene). I find it amusing that we haven't even been to Granola Ville yet, us Oregonians :)

The G's are working out, thank you ever so much for getting them to me. The clothes and junk that I sent you I thought Allison might like (I got them at a free rummage) because I can't wear some of them with my g's. But if not, I guess you can just donate them. The tin was for Nani if she wanted it...Normal Rockwell! And whatever else, I guess you can stick in my cluttered room. All was a ploy to get rid of some of my stuff I didn't wear and don't want stuffed in my suitcase. Thank you for all that you do to help me out here :)

We were challenged to give out a Book of Mormon a day at Zone Conference and so far, we have been doing pretty well. The Book of Mormon is the key for inviting people to come unto Christ. When you think about it, the BOM is our missionary purpose!

This week when we visited Angela, we helped her focus on receiving answers to her prayers in relation to reading and PONDERING the Book of Mormon. We also focused on how prayer strengthens our relationship with our Father in Heaven. She told us that she knows that she needs to be patient and ponder more frequently after she reads. But she has been praying before reading!

We met a lovely little 9-year-old girl named Emily while tracting, and her mother Kari, who is also SO nice, said that she has college work to study, but she said that since Emily is interested we are more than welcome to teach her!

We have seen miracles being wrought with our less-actives we have been seeing as well. This week, after helping Spring Gaffke and her girls clean her backyard, we read from the Book of Mormon and they asked inspired questions about the book and how they can better understand what is going on. I am so grateful for the illustrated Book of Mormon to help keep things in perspective for the recent converts of our Ward. When we visited Candy and her boys, we were able to read the Book of Mormon with them too, and were so happy that Joey read with us, who is not yet a member, and Tyler, her other son read with us and said that he liked how Alma instructed his son not to boast of himself, but in the Lord. It is so sad that her son, Kody, who just turned 18 and was the one who baptized Spring and her family, is losing faith. He came home yesterday not wanting to read with us and I'm pretty sure that he was high :( I don't know what more we can do for him or many of the others who are falling. Sometimes I feel so helpless; I'm not a counselor (although many people think we are) but where does the line draw between preaching the gospel and trying to help people with personal issues?

Our Mission Prez is strict when it comes to media, attitude, and boundaries, but he is a little more lax on music...hallelujah! Luckily Elder Wise loves the same Christian music I do, so I have been able to listen to my favorite artists from our Christian radio station back home :) My Companion is hysterical. She thinks so deeply about things, my mind feels like its imploding (in a good way) during studies. She and I have so much spazziness in common it's a wonder we ever get anything done. But our unity is so strong when we teach and whenever we recognize how we can improve our teaching techniques. I love her so much and she counts me one of her besties :) She always acknowledges my strengths and I am truly grateful for her. I am working on letting her know how grateful I am, but you know me and how well I express that :P

Yes, it is sad how much people are trying to twist gospel truths to fit their own desires and circumstance. Someone at St. Vinny's (where we volunteer) said that she saw someone from our church on the news. Great, it was probably bad. She said that some woman is threatened with excommunication because of her trying to get women to have the priesthood. Don't know if you heard about that, but I guess it made national news :(

Today, my comp and I were talking about how it may have been a little hard for Heavenly Father to oppose a plan where it was guaranteed that all of His children would return to live with Him again...but at what cost? I think the fact that Heavenly Father wanted us to be free to choose Him and work out our own salvation by coming unto His Only Begotten shows just how true and selfless He is and how much He does love His children...It is sad hearing how many people see God as brutal in the Old Testament, and how He changes to a merciful God in the New. The fact of the matter is that it is not God who changes, but man. God did not close the heavens during the apostasy...man did, and now it seems that many are following that same pattern in this day and age. All we can do is hold steadfast to the truth that we DO know, and let God take care of the rest. He has fought our battles for us; we just have to trust Him. We can do it, for...in the words of Roku from Avatar, we have done it before :)

ALSO: I won't be able to email next Monday because Sister Silcox is going to the temple, and since I have already gone, we are going on exchanges and I am going to have my P-day on Thursday. I may or may not be able to write since I will be in another area for a day, but I will try so you can always check just incase :)

I love you all more than you can possibly comprehend!

Sister Weaver :)

Oh Family! You Are Such A Strength To Me!

June 9, 2014

Dear Family & Friends,

Oh family! You are such strength to me. I'm not going to mince words about how a mission is HARD, but with each passing day, we try to manipulate our weaknesses into strengths through recognition and then application. It's all we can do. We can complain, and moan, and murmur about how life stinks and people will never change, and how the MTC didn't prepare us for the dramas of people still living in a high-school mindset, but all-in-all, if we don't act on the truths we have learned, and apply them ourselves, before we even think about inviting others to do what we are preaching, all of the work we have covenanted to do is set at naught.

I don't know if you saw on the news about the two 12 year-old girls who assisted in the premeditated attempted murder of their friend, but it happened last Saturday and many in the ward are discouraged...because one of the girls' family is in our ward. I never met her, because she is sort of inactive seeing as how her mom isn't a member, but a couple of the girls in our ward know her. Brother Tateoka is their home teacher and he told us...before we even knew...not to stop by their home if we had been visiting them. He then told us at YW that if anyone questioned us about anything, to keep it on the DL, since we in reality didn't know the basics, just that it all tied back to an online gothic "game" of sorts where they were doing it in honor of one of the characters in some horror story someone had written. The girl who was stabbed 19 times is okay, but in the hospital still. They left her in the woods and she crawled to a bike path where a biker found her. The sad part is that they admitted it and because it was premeditated they will be tried as adults.

Satan is truly targeting children younger and younger, because it is this generation that has to be the strongest. We have been teaching the importance of instilling the values of the Gospel of Jesus Christ into the upbringing of our children in recent lessons we have been teaching, including the importance of family prayer as an invite. I agree with Brother Tateoka that the two things that the news will most target and glean from this tragedy is the website and the dangers of children accessing the Internet unsupervised and the age of the girls.

Please keep all families involved in your prayers.

That is so weird!!! YOU HAVE A DEE TOO!! ...She was the one that made me cry, sort of. She is an "eternal investigator" too and keeps learning things from outside sources about the history of the church and deep doctrine and everything EXCEPT the core truth that the gospel provides!! She doesn't want to keep the cycle of missionaries going either because she doesn't want to get attached so she's in a limbo right now where we are trying to limit seeing her because she doesn't want us to proselyte at her. Which kind of defeats our purpose, but she still wants us to help out with stuff, which we do want to do still. She wants us to help prep her patio this week for a housewarming party and said she would invite us, but only if we could remove our badges, because some of her religious friends would be there...BAHHHH!!! To remove our tag is to remove God. Anyway, sorry, it just ticks me off sometimes when people's soil (I am using my parable) is so hard and stony that no seed can take root, even when they have received certain things pertaining to the gospel to be true. This is a gospel of complete authority, and whatever you received as truth in the beginning, is just as true now as it was then. All that you have to do is hold on to it and remain true to it.

I think my parable went ok...I hope it did. Even if it didn't, I had fun doing it :)

Just dip a chip in THAT cheese pahaha

Love,

Your Dear Missionary, Sista Weava

P.S. Our district decided to go mini-golfing today instead of sports. Here's a pic.

Elders: Larsen, Kimzey, Wise and Hubert

No My Companion Didn't Get Sick...But EVERYONE Else Did

June 2, 2014

Dear Family & Friends,

No, my comp. didn't get sick...but EVERYONE else in our District did...not gonna lie. We were dropping like flies, so Sister Silcox went sanitize-happy...I don't blame her :)

This week is transfers and guess what?? We are all staying together again!!! That means I'll have been 6 months with Elder Kimzey and Hubert! (whoa...I'm coming up on 6 months in July...AHHHHH!!!) Since we are all staying together we have District Meeting on Tuesday and we all are giving lessons on parables. I chose to do the parable of the sower (about the testimony of people's hearts) in Matt. 13. I'm hoping to find some talks about it.

Sad about the Johnson's!! I hope that you guys will be able to still keep in contact with them. That's nice of Bro. Johnson to ask about Austin and I :)

Yay! Keep building those relationships with people outside of the church because missionaries' relationships are sometimes a transfer short, but it is those members' relationships that will last. As far as your investigator principal lady goes, I'm reminded of a quote from miss Marjorie Pay Hinckley: "First I obey, then I understand." Just some food for thought.

C.S. Lewis is so boss! I have "Mere Christianity" and 3 or four of his other books under my bed in my bin of books if you want to read it all. Also, check out the book of his called "The Screwtape Letters" at the library. I'm so sad I didn't keep that one. It is narrated by the devil and as creepy as THAT sounds, it is still a really good insight into how Satan works for our destruction and how God works for our good.

People are so sweet! After we got creeped out by some druggie on the street, we headed to Culver's and got dinner. Then, out of the blue comes some man I never met (who I thought was another creeper) but turned out to be the brother of someone in our ward, Brother Ducharme! He and his wife gave us a gift card for next time we come to Culver's, since they couldn't buy us dinner this time. And I thought people buying you stuff on the mish was just a myth! Anyway it was cool. It's interesting how the Lord puts all kinds of people in our path in the same hour, some who bring us discomfort and some who bring us joy :) Don't judge anyone too quickly.

We were blessed with the opportunity to attend a couple of BBQ's this week were a lot of less-actives in attendance. We met a man from Milwaukee who said he would be interested in learning more so we will refer him to the missionaries by him. Candy attended Church and we were able to watch Joseph Smith: The Prophet of the Restoration with her and Spring's girls. We also answered some questions they had about the restoration.

We taught Angela about modern-day prophets and read an excerpt from Thomas S. Monson's talk he gave in General Conference about loving one another. After we asked her if she had received an answer about whether Joseph Smith was a prophet she said, "It's fathomable."

The Blacks sat in when we taught Brandon and helped answer a lot of his questions about the Holy Ghost and Priesthood Authority.

When we met with Renee, and taught her The Plan of Salvation she said that she was really interested in the Book of Mormon and likened what she had recently read to herself! She also bore testimony of the Holy Ghost and how she feels it every time we meet. We taught her more about the Gift of the Holy Ghost and how she can feel that same happiness constantly. Rosa sat in with us and bore powerful testimony of her conversion and how she feels as a new member of the church. She wants to come to at least one lesson with us a week.

Jesus read Alma 7 with us and Gao, when we went over last night, to discuss how the Atonement has blessed him. He and Gao have an understanding where he will be in attendance with her every time she goes to church. I truly hope that some day his going to church and reading the Book of Mormon will help strengthen his testimony to the witness he has already received about the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

I love you all! Know that all is well here and with each step I see the people around me taking toward the Savior, the wider the window of my understanding opens toward His eternal promises.

...And remember the truth that once was spoken: to love another person is to see the face of God! :)

-Sista Weava!-

P.S. Someone's phone went off with mama’s ringtone just a sec ago and I thought it may have been you, pah!

Remembering Memorial Day!

May 21, 2014 Zone Conference

Sisters Weaver & Silcox

May 27, 2014

Dear Family & Friends,

Sorry I couldn't write yesterday, seeing as how it was Memorial Day, so we were put to work :) It's okay though, because we were invited to two BBQ's and I ate so much watermelon, I'm surprised I didn't get the squirts.

I thought a lot of Grandpa too yesterday and all the work he is doing on the other side. Can you imagine how frustrating it must be for the missionaries on the other side of the veil? They are preaching and helping others become converted to Christ, but they have to just stop there and wait for us idle mortals to do the ordinances they need. And I was complaining about having to be patient! We have been striving to further teach the importance of family history work in the field and I can see why.

Ha ha Allison cracks me up! I am so happy that she is seizing missionary opps here and there...sometimes those are the most effective. Yeah actually we just had Zone Conference this week and I got to see Sis. A and Elder Schvanny and a whole bunch of missionaries I haven't seen in foreva! We were trained on the gathering of Israel and then the departing missionaries gave farewell talks :( They said that they did not want to leave and I don't blame them. A man named Anthony who was just recently converted came and bore his testimony, since one of the missionaries departing had taught him and it was so powerful I (almost) cried.

It has been HOOOT!! 90ish yesterday. Humid too, ugh. But we have an air-conditioned car, which I am eternally thankful for. We helped a less-active Sis. Figge weed her garden and I am so happy that she is so open to us now. Service softens hearts! We then went to ANOTHER BBQ at Bishop Sefcik's house (which is borderline Count of Monte Cristo). We planned a lesson but there were so many people, it didn't happen. We engaged in an epic ping-pong battle and I could not have stunk more, as usual. I would be worried if by some miracle I WAS good at extra curricular :P I then thought I would show off my skills in their basketball court, but then after accidentally pummeling a child in the face with a volleyball, I thought I had better stick with Catch Phrase.

Amidst such opposition comes such wonderful triumph! This week I was disappointed when we couldn't dedicate as much time to finding as we could have, due to me having the flu, but I know without a doubt that the people we did meet with were prepared by God to receive the message the Holy Ghost had to deliver!

Can I just say that our District is the best ever? Always serving. When I was stuck in bed with a fever, they graced me with pop-sickles and kept checking up till I got better. Then poor Elder Wise got sick, so we took care of him too. So don't worry mommy, there is a mission-family watching out for one another here, too :)

I was so happy to meet with Renee, a new investigator we found tracting after we tried to place a Book of Mormon after Zone Conference. Sister Hansen and I taught her the Restoration and when we asked how she felt about what we talked about, she said, "Excited! This just makes sense." She said she would continue reading from the Book of Mormon until our next visit.

On Friday, we learned that one of our less actives Gao, who has been living with her boyfriend Je'sus, had made up her mind that what she was doing was wrong and that she was planning to move out. But, as surprise would have it, he proposed to her! He said that he knows that her faith is very important to her, just as his faith in Jesus Christ is important to him, and he would never want to do anything that would stand in the way of her faith. And so, Gao challenged him to go to church with her for 6 months and on Sunday...they both came! It was the first time I had ever seen Gao go to all three meetings.

I think I got a taste of the joy that awaits us in the eternities when the Lord revealed His Spirit to our congregation on Sunday. During Sacrament meeting, we heard three powerful talks on the Priesthood, and I am so happy that Je'sus and Angela were both there to hear it; we had JUST taught Angela about receiving a testimony about the Restoration and that Joseph Smith was a prophet. In Gospel Principles, our ward mission leader Bro. Tateoka taught about baptism! He even opened the font and invited Je'sus and Angela to come and see it and ask questions. It was completely inspired! I could not stop my smile from spreading.

I truly do hope that Angela receives a testimony of the prophet and this gospel so that she too can make those covenants and experience the joy awaiting her and her family!

Thank you for all you do in furthering this work and for helping me to stay strong and positive! 

Love you!

-Sister Weaver-

Happy One Week Since We Skyped!!

May 19, 2014

Re: Happy One Week Since We Skyped!!

Happy One Week Since We Skyped!! Was I on the big screen? I didn't notice till afterward haha.

You hang in their Mommy! One scripture that has helped me in numerous ways is found in D&C 84:

109 Therefore, let every man stand in his own office, and labor in his own calling; and let not the head say unto the feet it hath no need of the feet; for without the feet how shall the body be able to stand?

 110 Also the body hath need of every member, that all may be edified together, that the system may be kept perfect.

Also, cross-reference this with 1 Corinthians 12:11-31. It talks about all the members of the church being one body in Christ and that each of us, because we are all baptized by that same Spirit, will have abundant honor given us and gifts of the Spirit, if we seek them by serving Him. It's a pretty cool scripture.

This week we were able to visit with Angela again and a recent convert, Sue Pavolovich, sat in and gave phenomenal input regarding the Plan of Salvation. Angela also introduced us to her mother, who was a little iffy about meeting with us regarding all of the crazy rumors about those "Mormons." But after we talked with her for a little bit hopefully she saw that we were normal people and we prayed with her.

Thank you for that scripture, I really needed it today. Dee said she wanted to get baptized (for the first time ever!) and then took it back within the same few days :( She talked it over with her husband and said that she is going to spend about 6 months without hearing doctrine from anybody religious so she can read the scriptures and find out for herself...which is fine with us, seeing as how the word of God reveals all truth to those who truly seek it. I'm just not sure if we should stop by to say hello anymore, or just let things be, as they should. Yesterday, before we found out about this, we stopped over to teach her the first discussion, but then she told us this and she said that she doesn't like it when people pretend to care about others. Then she put me on the spot and said that she could tell that there was something I didn't like about her and then I burst into tears...I don't even know why :P I guess it has to do with how much I try and put my heart and soul into caring about others, bearing my testimony as I go, and then they turn and say I don't. I know I'm not perfect. And there are some things that people do that bug me. But it is not my place as a missionary to nit pick at all the little things that make no significance to why I am here and why God has called me here. I don't think I ever cried on my mission (except for my blessing and sympathetic crying) until yesterday and it wouldn't stop...I guess the reality of the mission is finally catching up with me. My annoying people-pleasing characteristic is for sure being tested, but I hope that my inadequacies can be made stronger as I continue to bear what I know to be true. I am sad to see Dee go, she is like a mother to me. But I feel like Moroni too, seeing all this turmoil around me and, for some, there is nothing I can do to change their choices to stay in the dark. All I can do is continue in what the Lord has entrusted to me to accomplish: to help prepare the hearts and minds of those around me to the knowledge of Jesus Christ as there Lord, Savior, and Redeemer.

Sometimes I really don't like agency! Bah!

Anywho, sorry I went off on that, I just really needed to vent. I hate having to try to keep that mask of keeping it together on my face ALL the time...back to the goodness of this week :D

While tracting we met a nice woman named Michelle who was actually interested in reading a copy of the Book of Mormon so we left her with one and set up a tentative time when we could come back...after she had read some of it. She also gave us her number so I hope that we will get in contact with her soon.

We went to dinner with the Calabro's who's son invited his girlfriend Reilly over. They are both so friendly and enthusiastically active in drama, which of course, knowing me, I ate up everything they said right on the spot. I love talking with drama geeks, they remind me of me :) We then gave a lesson on the Liahona and how the Book of Mormon is a spiritual guide for all of us. They all bore powerful testimony of the Book of Mormon and we left her with a copy to show her parents! We will continue working with the Calabro's in fellowshipping her to the gospel.

Sister Weaver bruise from a dog

I got bitten, (I guess clawed), by a dog yesterday. My first dog story!! Take a look at that bruise!! It's more yellowy purple today, but I couldn't get a good enough pic...sorry mom :( Don't worry...my skirt didn't tear and it didn't break the skin so I'm pretty sure I don't have rabies.

Blacker's Daughter's Wedding
(Pic...cuz I'm a creeper)

Oh yeah! On Saturday we were able to attend the Blacker's daughter's wedding reception! They are adorable and Sister Blacker is such a magnificent member missionary!

Candy, Sister Silcox, Mia,
Sister Weaver, and Spring

Also, we went to Mia's preschool graduation.  Candy and Spring and her girls are in the pic.

Love you all!!

-Sister Weaver-

All Of You Looked Great On Skype! Happy Mother's Day

May 12, 2014

Dear Family & Friends,

Thank you so much Mommy! All of you looked great too...and Mom, your hair!! Va Va Voom!!!! Hope you all had a great rest of your Mothers' Day!

Thank you also for the card...it warmed my heart :) I am so thankful that I have a loving family. I look at many of the families here, or the lack of, who do not even know the blessings the gospel can bring and that gratitude is more fully realized and appreciated. Here I am complaining about my own feeble struggles and I think of the missionaries who come from homes like that: disowned by their families, having to pay their own way...a mission is probably more of a heaven on earth for them than many of us hope to obtain in this life.

If I hope to gain anything from my mission, I seek the Lord's help in guiding me to mature in the confidence that I lack spiritually and emotionally. I hope that the wisdom and spiritual experience I gain while serving others will help me raise my future children to become the missionaries that the Lord wants them to become.

I also got the opportunity to chop wood yesterday! Or...try to at least. The English Elders as us were over at the Black's for dinner and the elders were going to town so we felt left out. If you want a picture of what I looked like trying to chop wood, just think of Rose on Titanic...yeah, I was worse. But no one got seriously injured. The Elders told us they tracted into a legit Count of Monte Cristo house!!...And got a return appointment!!!! A John Tanner in the making haha.

Sorry I didn't have time to teach you a lesson yesterday, I was just absorbed talking about myself I guess: P But here's one now: When you get the chance, read the story of Ammon and King Lamoni again in Alma 19. And pay special attention to Abish...the ultimate member-missionary and how she RAN to every house to tell her friends what she had witnessed and bore testimony to them. They trusted her. We set apart missionaries cannot teach someone the doctrine until someone they trust first opens the door.

I told you a little about this yesterday, but our new investigator, Angela is so willing to meet with us and we are grateful and amazed that she has been reading what we have invited her to read as well as keeping commitments to meet with us and even attend church! Sister Black sat in on the lesson about the Restoration of the gospel, and she has done such a beautiful job fellow-shipping her and offering to give her rides to church events. Angela and her 6 year old son Jesse went to all three hours of church and I was so excited that it was Mother's Day, since she is so interested in families and how they can be eternal. It is so devastating when people do not even try to progress, so when they do, the joy that I feel is magnified 10-fold!

I also forgot to tell you about the BBQ Brother Tateoka put together at Bathezda Park this last Friday for all investigators and less-actives. Sis. Black gave Angela a ride and it was a MIRACULOUS turnout! So many people that Latoya Scheunke (a recently coming back less active. She began coming back once her son was baptized :) invited from Milwaukee! I hope that we will be able to see them again and offer them more invites to attend church and church-related activities. Members truly are the glue that holds missionary work together.

Last night, after we Skyped y'all at the Phillips', we were able to talk to their friend and neighbor, Patty a little more. We showed her the Mother's Day video on lds.org (which you have to, no..GET to..see by the way) and the Because of Him video and she loved them! She loves the missionaries and their dedication and agrees with a lot of doctrine and has even read the Book of Mormon, but all of her liberal views seem to keep her at bay. She would be an amazing kingdom-builder but all that we can do is just keep loving and inviting her.

Love you all so very much and thank you for caring about me enough to give me this incredible opportunity to help the Lord keep His promises to His children!

-Sister Weaver-