4th of July, Mosquito bites & a Double Baptism!

**NOTE TO THE READER**
I purposely combined last week's email with this week because of the holiday/super short email - and knowing she would have a lot to tell us concerning the two baptisms that she participated in this past Saturday.  P.S.  Enjoy the video - Susan

July 6,2015

Dear Family & Friends, 

Sorry this will be a short email because not much happened at all this week that is fun and interesting to report on!

So interesting week of struggle but it ended in a fun note! 

All week we have had meetings and training and lessons and we have just been up to our ears in doing everything that we possibly could do! So we have kept up with our investigators and Timothy is awesome! He had his baptismal interview and he PASSED! Yay! We had our last lesson and our district leader interviewed him and said he will be a great missionary someday! :D
Also it was a complicated week with Brother West. We have been trying to teach the last of his lessons and get him ready for baptism but his work schedule has been crazy so trying to set up anything with him is near to impossible. Our ward mission leader decided that he wasn't ready for baptism so he argued with us back and forth all week and even gave a call to our mission president. Than President Brough called and told him that he was wrong and that when he interviews Brother West that he will make the baptismal decision. So he PASSED! Brother West is set to get baptized and is set to get baptized this Thursday with Timothy! So we will have a two baptism day celebration! Whooooo!

American Idol, here we come...
SHORTCUT LINK BELOW IF THIS VIDEO WON'T WORK

Video - Shortcut.lnk (file://BCWKITLT07/Users/Susan/Documents/Video%20-%20Shortcut.lnk)

Also we had an awesome Fourth of July! Our ward didn't start any fun activity or BBQ so we asked the other missionaries if there was anywhere that we could go to and so our entire district went up to New Albany at a members home and played games and ate dinner and dessert. We then watched the fireworks be set off and we all talked and laughed and president gave permission that as long as we were with members that we could be out until 11! What!?! Weird. Now we are thrown off on our sleeping schedule so it feels like we are jet- lagged but that's okay!
Also we spent the day with a few other members and had a sure blast!

Well really that is all for now! I am working hard and I love my area and doing the best that I can. We now get two more sets of sisters that president gave us to lead over and so now we have 7 sets of sisters to exchange and take of and one of the companionship's is three-ship! So this will be sooooo interesting to see how it all works out! Anyway I love you all and hope you have had a great Independence Day celebration! 

Stay safe! Love ya'll!
~Sister Jones

July 13, 2015       (Happy Birthday Uncle Rob!)

How did your double baptism go on Saturday?

It went really well! Surprisingly! Because its felt like our ward has been completely against us baptizing Brother West.  And our ward mission leader was even seemed against us baptizing him, and he even called President Brough and yelled at him telling him that Brother West shouldn't get baptized and all.  Then President Brough had the interview and found Brother West completely worthy of baptism and called our ward mission leader and told him to repent.  It was awesome! Then they both got the Aaronic priesthood yesterday and Timothy met with the bishop to plan and prepare to go on a mission in a year! So amazing! :D it was an awesome Saturday!

Brother West was so excited for baptism that he stood right in the font and with his head erect and ready to be dunked! Afterwards he came up to us and said "thank you so much sisters" and it was so cool that I wanted to cry because of how proud. Of them I was! I know that this church is true and that Heavenly Father guides our foot steps to where He needs us to be!

What are the names of the two converts that were baptized?

His name is Greg West and the other is Timothy Hiser-Hall

The baptism was awesome! Timothy had been fellowshipped by a family from Crestwood (they introduced him to the church) – they came and many more members. We went and got both Timothy and Brother West a tie to wear.  And they wore them on Sunday when they got confirmed and the Aaronic priesthood! So cool! So proud! 

Mosquitos  Galore

This week was a week of little bugs doing was they do best.  EATING ME ALIVE! We had a few biters here or there and then we would be okay and then Sunday we received a referral from a random contact and we had to run through what seemed like the woods just to get to her front door and after we knocked twice we realize that there Mosquitos everywhere! So as we were freaking out and still waiting for the woman to open the door we were swatting our legs and each other's legs and then a little middle aged woman wearing Amish clothing opened the door and asked us to step inside for a second before she was leaving.  So we did.  She was shorter than Sister P. And wearing Amish clothing, had some form of social anxiety and wouldn't look us in the eyes and would talk about anything she could that didn't make sense; with a swamp cooler blowing right behind us and us scratching our legs right in her door way. She denied our invitation to come back and we ran out the door and as I was walking towards Sister P. She starts busting out laughing and says "your legs look terrible!" And I look down and realize I am covered in mosquito bites! Covered!  So we decided to do a bite count and realize that in under a minute 28 little blood suckers massacred me!  Even on my face and neck!

And this is only the one corner of my legs!

Learning to use our iPads/Miracles

We have been trying to enter old records into our iPad area books, and it has been a trial.  But we saw a miracle come from it! So while I was entering a record I noticed that the person had jumped out at me and that I should call her. I did and she said that she would meet us and so I set an appointment with her and we went by later in the week and she wasn't home! We were so bummed but we left a sticky note and then went and talked to a woman we saw. 

This woman was great and asked so many questions about the Book of Mormon and prophets and so we set a return appointment with her and walked towards a less actives house and noticed that the person we left a sticky note with had a car that pulled up in front of her house. 

So we decided to knock again and they were home! She invited us straight in and we shared the restoration with her and she said that she hasn't chosen a church yet because she didn't like that every church she has walked through has made her confused every single time. Then when we shared about a modern day prophet she said it all made sense! She agreed to be baptized and we set a time to come back! 

Please keep her and her family in your prayers because we know they are ready and prepared to receive the restored gospel!

Lesson learned for the week

Well a lesson I have learned this week is what it means to have a positive attitude and that by having a positive one makes the day a whole lot brighter! 

It does us no good to have a dreary face because we are one earth to live and love and learn and that includes finding happiness in the littlest of things. 

Sister Patterson has been a great example of that and I have learned by trial and error and prayer on how to be happy. I know God hears our prayers, whether said or unsaid He knows what we want and as long as we are righteous he will help us to receive what we need!

I love you all and hope your week is as bright as your faith!

~Sister Jones