Yard Work- Love Service!

We were able to do some service this week.  Helped a member clean their yard.  In England what happens is in the winter you have moss that begins to spring up and then it gets a little warm and it just grows like crazy.  The moss grows throughout the grass and under the trees, trampoline and everywhere.  So we spent a while on that, and filled 5 black bags and a big garden waste bin full of grass clippings, moss and weeds.  I love just getting service in.  It was like 22 degrees Celsius which is like 70 degrees F.  It was a pretty warm and I got a little tan on this week, already have the farmer’s tan going on.  Another time we were able to work with another member and work in his yard as well.  This time I was pruning a huge bush with blackberry vines growing through it.  So it was an adventure!

In addition to some of our appointments this week, we have come across some potentials in the area book.  So we are working to stopping by them all.  One that we stopped by was like ya I would love to meet with you.  We went back for our first lesson with them.  This person left the church as a teenager and just didn’t really know about things anymore.   So we are planning to go through all of the lessons again with them. We are pretty excited about this one.

Another lesson with a person who had heard some things about the apostasy and had some questions.  We tried to explain in some depth how the apostasy took place and why it took place. But it didn’t really make it all click.  So I just testified my heart out.  I said that I knew the events happened, that I didn’t know it by any evidence that people have shown me, nor by any study that I have done.  But that I knew by the power of the Holy Ghost it was true.  When I said that, there were no more questions about it.  The conversation continued from there.  What about Joseph Smith?  We talked about how it either happened or it didn’t.  The question, so if Joseph Smith did see the vision what?  If the vision really happened then Joseph Smith was a prophet, which would mean the church was true.  So what if Joseph Smith didn’t see the vision?  Then Joseph Smith was a liar and a coward, and would be leading people astray.  Exactly!  It is either true or it’s not, there is not a gray area.  So the person committed to pray about it.  Making good progress.  It was wonderful!

Another investigator is doing great- with a strong sincere desire now to know it’s true.   The district is doing really good.  Four of the five areas have someone on date for baptism. We have 10 on date for baptism in total.  Things for the district have really taken off again!

This week in church the missionaries were asked to do a musical number for sacrament meeting.  My companion and one of the other sisters can really sing, and other sister is good at the piano.  Somehow my voice got dragged into it. But it was a really good musical number, it was “If the Savior Stood Beside Me.”   The bishopric asked us to start to prepare one for next month already.  It was awesome!

We had been told about getting ipads some months ago. But nothing happened.  We received word we will be getting them the end of this month after some special training.   Have to see how that goes.

Funny moment- I stopped a guy on the street this week.  He was like I am an atheist. I was like oh really?  He was like ya I am 98% atheist and 2% agnostic, just in case.  Then he walked off.

Thanks for emails, prayers and such. 

Love, Elder Stevenson