2 Corinthians 4:5

For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake.

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

I'm already in week 3? THIS IS RIDICULOUS!

Why does time insist on moving so fast? WHY???

Anyways...hey y'all! It's been a crazy week, so let me see if I can recap some of the highlights for y'all. We've definitely had ups and downs, but God triumphs over all, so we're doing good!

Tuesday night, we got dropped by a family that the elders who had previously been in West Houma were teaching. Normally, being dropped is a little frustrating, but this was different. We had an awesome lesson with them; we talked about how the Savior knew everything we were going through, and that He'd always be there to support us. We shared some scriptures from Doctrine and Covenants sections 121-123. Sister McKay and I sang a song. The Spirit was so strong. And then, as we were leaving, the mom told us to never come back. I didn't hear her at first, and Sister McKay was in shock, so Denise said it again...and again and again and again. We were blown away. I was angry, Sister McKay was hurt, and when we got to our apartment, we poured out our hearts in prayer. Comfort flooded our souls, and we knew that we'd done our best, and that it was accepted by the Lord. To this day, I don't know what made Denise pull a 360 on us like that, but she has that choice. Hopefully she'll listen someday. If not, then maybe her kids will. Sister McKay told me that statistically it takes 7 contacts with the Church before someone starts investigating. If nothing else, we knocked off one of those contacts for that family.

Thursday, we received a media referral off of a pass along card we'd handed out. That hardly ever happens! And this family is AMAZING. The Parfaits are so humble, and they love God so much. We got to talk with them about the eternal nature of families, and about how we go through trials to strengthen our faith and ourselves. We're super excited to teach them; plus, Chris (the dad) speaks French! CAJUN French. It's INSANE. I can pick out a sentence here and there, but it is SO different than normal French. But I love it, and I hope I can pick it up!

Last big exciting event of the week happened on Friday. One of our investigators, Brittany, got married, and we got to help set up for her reception. It felt so good to see her take a step closer to her Savior. She'd been living with her boyfriend for a long time, and she knew that in order to be baptized, she had to either move out or get married. She wants to be baptized, so she took the steps neccessary to qualify herself for those blessings. It was awesome. And her family was really impressed by all the work we willingly and lovingly did. We think this might have really opened their hearts, so we're going to take a shot at it and try to teach them. :) YIPEE!

Houma is such an amazing place. I LOVE IT!!! And seriously, I have been spoiled rotten with companions---Sister McKay is incredible. I wish I didn't have to lose her in a few weeks; she goes back to Temple Square June 10th. I'm already dreading that day.

Oh! One other exciting thing. We're teaching this lady named Holly and her daughter Paige. They are really cool. But the exciting part was talking with Holly's husband John, who is kind of anti. We had a really good talk with him on Saturday about temples; he says that his biggest hang-up with "the Mormons" is that they won't let non-members into the temple. God is amazing, and blessed me and Houma with a sister missionary from Temple Square. Sister McKay gets this question all the time there, and she did an amazing job explaining why. We've got a return appointment on Wednesday (tomorrow??? OH MY GOSH, time goes WAY TOO FAST!), and if he brings it up again, we're going to emphasize that the temple is meant for everyone, but you have to meet certain requirements. We didn't come up with the requirements, God did. We're going to bear our testimonies, and let the Spirit do what it does best---testify of truth. Who knows? He may listen, he may not. But the Spirit will be present, and Holly and Paige will feel it, and it's all because our Savior is AMAZING. The End!

Okay, now I really have to go. I love you all! I think I may have mis-typed my zipcode, so here's my new address again, just in case:

Sister Morgan Pedersen
485 Grand Caillou Apt. E
Houma, LA 70360

LOVE Y'ALL!!!

Your Friend in the Faith,
Sister Pedersen

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