Patience....

Ahoj!!!!

 

So as Sister Scerra were sitting around talking about our week of patience and trying to figure out what to do for this week. We have found that we are on opposite ends of the spectrum. Her lowest two are my top two and vice versa. So this week is our week of knowledge! We realized that there are nine Christ-like attributes and we have 9 weeks in a transfer! So I thought that was awesome. I have a theme figured out for each week already!

 

So our week of patience wasn't what I expected. For Sister Rosenvall and I everything just fell through. But for Sister Scerra and I the Lord chose a different path. I am not exactly sure how to explain it. But we have been shown the blessing of the patience we have had all transfer! We got 4 new investigators this week! Pavel and Josef are Catholics who are older a father and a son. The father is like 82. We are excited to be teaching them, they are formers, but we didn't know that. Josef's other son Daniel is a pastor and holds church in his basement. We also have another investigator named Chizo. He is awesome and he actually works higher up in a Christian church. He teaches the congregation a few times a year and he also plays in the band, sometimes he plays guitar and other times he plays the drums. He has lots of good questions and is really interested. We teach him in English as he is from some place in Africa I think.

 

The last new investigator is another former. His name is Peter. Sister Scerra is always surprising me. So she called this former and talked to him last week. He is really interested and just doesn't have time to meet as he lives far away and doesn't feel like his family would be accepting of us coming over and lots of different factors. So this week when she called him she ended up teaching him prayer and answering his questions. She also committed him to pray to know how we could meet and what to do. She then set up a return phone call to check in and find out when we can meet. We weren't sure if that would count as an investigator or a lesson and it went through lots of different things and came back approved. But the best part of it was when he thanked Sister Scerra for her patience and willingness to teach him even though it is not how we normally do things. It was just really neat and he is a sweetheart.

 

Sister Scerra is always being an example to me. We were at the train station and I was trying to figure out where we were going and how we were going to get there and everything. Then working with the phone and trying to get the GPS to tell us how to get there from the station. Sister Scerra has to use the bathroom so I continue to fiddle with the phone and the next thing I know, she is talking to the the lady you pay to use the restroom about prayer. Then all the sudden she is praying with her! I guess the lady was quite depressed and so she followed the spirit and taught her how to find hope through prayer! Sister Screrra is always surprising me and encouraging me.

 

We had a chalk display on rodokmen (family history) this week and so Elder Burton and I drew while our companions contacted. I had handed Sister Scerra the cell phone and sent her off. Well as the chalk display came to a close, the Elders phone started ringing. We were calling them! Elder Earl laughing picks it up and says hello as Sister Scerra is searching her pockets for the phone. Then Elder Earl gets this shocked look on his face as he realizes someone is talking to him and it is not us. He says hold on and hands it to Elder Burton who then gets instructions to where our phone is. We have no idea how we lost it, but a lady that lives close to where we were had found it for us and called the elders who are on the background of the phone. Thank goodness I had the elders show me how to get that on there! Who knows who she would have called to try to get a hold of us, there is a list of about 500+ numbers and hardly any of them know us very well.

 

Jaroslaw, our awesome Polish preacher, read most of 1 Nephi last week. We felt like we should prepare something on chapter 13 and it is a good thing we did. When we asked him about his reading he talked about 17 and 13. The two we felt we should talk about. We started easy with 17 and then went into 13 with the great and abominable church. He flat out asked if that was the Catholic church. Then said, "It is ok you can tell me, I won't be offended." He is so sweet. We used chapter 14:10 and the intro to the Book of Mormon last paragraph and talked about how we are here to share what we know and to invite him to find out for himself. We are here to tell him who is right and who is wrong. I think that is what we did. It was interesting. But really good. We started the Plan of Salvation, but he has so many questions and comments we only got to pre-earth life before we had to end. We gave him the pamphlet to read and that night he texted us and said that he had read the pamphlet and the additional study at the end and shared a verse in Alma 34 that he really liked about how we will stand before God at the judgement day. I just love our investigators! I love this work, it is so wonderful!

 

Sunday was the primary program and it was so great! I love watching the little kids, they bring me so much joy. We have 10 girls and 1 boy. Then we have 2 nursery girls and 1 nursery boy. The poor boys are way out numbered! Our investigator Lukas came to church, that was exciting, he is wonderful! But Kat'ka didn't make it. :( Our precious Kat'ka isn't going to make her baptismal date. Satan is really working on her. Her little daughter got pneumonia this week and so we are not able to meet with her as she is working and trying to be a good mom and do everything she can. But we keep in touch with her and she is continuing to read and do what she can. I just love her so much!

 

I think that is about all I have time for and it is probably pretty long, sorry about that. I got a little carried away.

 

Love you lots!

Sestra Hicken