Happy Fourth of July! It's been a great week here on Kent Island/eastern Shore. Exciting news.....sister Rees and I get to stay together here for another transfer! Yay! We didn't think it was possible since we are both visitor center sisters and usually if you go on your "outbound" (leaving the visitor center and going full proselyting) then you're together for only one transfer. We feel really blessed to get another 6 weeks to work hard and be in this branch. Last week we finished cleaning and painting Australia's back porch finally. She and her husband both said we could come back to share more messages with them which is exciting. This week was full of tracting, tracting and more tracting, but we met some pretty amazing people. One of those people was a man named Scott who is married and they have a cute little boy. They told us that they don't really go to church, but need to get in the habit of it again. They were willing to let us come back another night and so we have an appointment with them tonight. On the same street that we met Scott, we also met a young girl about our age named Kendal. She was really friendly and we talked for a while. We made some connections and found out that she had been to the Kent Island branch a couple of times because she dated a boy that was a member there! She had just gotten her wisdom teeth taken out, so we didn't stay very long but we are hoping that we can meet soon. On Tuesday it was Elder Boren's 70th birthday!! (he and his wife are the senior missionaries here). We decided a couple of weeks ago that we would have a surprise dinner for him and so we found out details of what he likes from sister Boren. When we told her, she started crying...we were a little bit confused but she continued to tell us about how nobody had ever done something for her husband like that. Ever since his illness years ago (he struggles with speech now and remembering things) she said that his family hasn't been very kind to him and it's really hard for him. She was so happy he could feel special for a day. His favorite food is a burger with mashed potatoes on it...it's actually really good! So last pday we decorated and then we surprised elder Boren. He loved it and every time we see him now he is talking about it haha! He is so great. On Thursday it was one of the hottest days so far and very, very humid. Sister Rees and I had been out in the sun tracting for a few hours and nobody was wanting to listen to us. Then our phone rang, and it was a member of the branch and she said she had a friend who wanted to talk to us. A man named Brian took the phone and started telling us that he and his wife had been going through a rough time and have been trying to find a church that felt right. He said that after meeting this member of our branch, he was really wanting to learn more and to meet with us! We had an amazing conversation with him and they are definitely prepared. It seems like it's always in those moments when you're tired and getting discouraged after working hard and not seeing much of what you think is "success", that you see the blessings or a miracle to keep you going. It was a tender mercy for sure and let me know that Heavenly Father is aware and in control of our every day lives. On Friday we were tracting and ran into a family sitting on their front porch. Their daughter Hannah who is about 11 looks at us walking up and starts yelling, "the elders are here, the elders are here!!!" Haha. We both looked at each other a little surprised and found out that their family had met with missionaries a long time ago and are good friends with members of the branch. After talking for a while and getting to know them, the mom gave us her phone number and told us to come back. She said that her son who is in the hospital right now was just saying the day before that he wanted to study with the missionaries again! So we are excited about that. They have a lot of potential and their daughter came to church on Sunday with one of her friends who is in the branch. On Saturday we were just about to leave the parking lot of our apartment when we saw an elderly lady trying to move some boxes out of a big U-haul. We got out and asked if she needed any help. She said, "wait are you being serious? Are you sure?" And we said yes and helped her move everything into her new apartment. Her and her husband were really old and they said that they had spent all day trying to pack everything up by themselves and they had no family around to help them. So it was fun getting to help them and they wanted to hear all about missionaries and what we do. On Sunday in relief society, the lesson was on obedience. There was a quote from president hinckley that I really loved. It said, "the happiness of the Latter-day Saints, the peace of the Latter-day Saints, the progress of the Latter-day Saints, the prosperity of the Latter-day Saints, and the eternal salvation and exaltation of this people lie in walking in obedience to the counsels of the priesthood of God". There are so many promised blessings that are ours if we will be obedient to what the Lord and His servants have asked us to do. Happiness, peace, progress, prosperity, eternal salvation, exaltation and so much more is right in front of us. All He asks of us is to be faithful in keeping the commandments and being obedient. It reminds me of a couple of scriptures in Mosiah 2. Verse 22 says, "And behold, all that he requires of you is to keep his commandments; and he has promised you that if ye would keep his commandments ye should prosper in the land; and he never doth vary from that which he hath said; therefore, if ye do keep his commandments he doth bless you and prosper you". Later on, the chapter ends with this verse.. "And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness. O remember, remember that these things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken it." It's amazing that Heavenly Father will always bless us for following him. It says that He never doth vary from that which he says. Also this week as I was studying in Alma, I read a verse that mentioned fasting. It said in Alma 45:1, "Behold, now it came to pass that the people of Nephi were exceedingly rejoiced, because the Lord had again delivered them out of the hands of their enemies; therefore they gave thanks unto the Lord their God; yea, and they did fast much and pray much, and they did worship God with exceedingly great joy."
I hadn't really realized the part of that verse when it says that they gave thanks and fasted and prayed. I've never fasted just out of gratitude. I've always viewed fasting as something that you do when you need help and/or strength, which it is. But with fast Sunday yesterday I decided that I would fast and not ask for anything, just thank Heavenly Father. It was a really neat experience and I was able to see just how much I have to be thankful for. I feel so blessed to have so much love and support from you all! I hope you all have a great week and I am grateful for each one of you.
Love, Sister Haertling
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