The Lord loves Ithaca!

Hey Family!

I just briefly skimmed the emails but I saw that Uncle Dirk and Aunt Laurie received their mission call!!!!!!!!! Or should I say, President and Sister Jergensen? That is so neat! Des Moines, Iowa! I remember meeting people in the MTC with that mission call. If I had only known what they have to look forward to, such a loving mission president and wife, I would have told them! Those missionaries are so lucky! I know Rochester has an opening and I was hoping they’d be called there and then allow us Utica missionaries to go to Pageant. Ha ha. The Lord has marvelous things in store for you Dirk and Laurie. I just can’t wait for you to see it. It is so real. I heard people say, “You’ll find that the Lord is preparing people for your message before you even meet them” all the time, but I thought it was just a common saying. I’ve now have a testimony of it. My mission president always says, “There is nothing more important that you could be doing right now than to be here. Nothing.” You are going to be so wonderful. The missionaries there in Iowa are in for a treat. There is nothing more fulfilling than missionary work. Congratulations. I will write you a letter because my mission president’s wife keeps talking about you. It’s so funny. She pulled out some magazine and said, “Is this your Aunt and Uncle?” Ha ha. President and Sister Bulloch are excited for you too.

Well, it has been such a great week! I don’t even know where to start. I feel so grateful because I am finally seeing what a mission is all about, helping people find happiness through Jesus Christ’s gospel. The people we are teaching are eating it up and there is a definite change in their countenance. Tyesha is getting baptized on Saturday. We are trying to really instill endure to the end to our investigators who are getting baptized this week so that they know that life still has it’s ups and downs after baptism. Yesterday we were teaching Tyesha and she just gets it so well. She was like, “I feel like I’m on a boat sailing towards Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and I’m getting closer and closer, but the closer I get, the bigger Satan’s waves become and he’s trying to knock me off course. He won’t do it though. I’m gonna keep on fightin!” Ha ha. She loves church and how there are classes for all her children. She says, “It’s like Mcdonalds, I’m lovin’ it.” At the end of our lesson she just went off for 20 minutes bearing her testimony. She calls us her guardian angels. Her father is a pastor and we have fasted for her to come out and say, “This is the only true church.” We know she likes it, and she has a testimony of the Book of Mormon, but to say this is the only true church was a step since her Father is a baptist pastor. But she did it. Yesterday she bore us the most powerful testimony I’ve ever heard an investigator bear. Me, Sister Stewart and Tyesha were all in tears. She was just expressing her gratitude to God for sending us to her at the time she was looking for a church. Our fast and prayers were answered. She was able to gain a testimony that this is the only true church. She also has been struggling with the decision on moving back to Virginia where her family all is. It won’t happen until the Summer, but she couldn’t seem to get an answer. We taught her about fasting and she fasted about it. The next day we visited her and she said, “Sisters, I GOT MY VISION!” ha ha. She said she had a little vision of her kids with all their stuff and a moving truck outside her apartment. Ha ha. I love seeing investigators develop a testimony of what we teach them. She said she won’t move until the Summer. She expressed to us yesterday that she is going to find the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints there and pull her family in one by one. It’s just a big chain effect! The women in Relief Society have reached out to her amazingly. They pick her and her two year old up for playgroup weekly. They also pick up her daughter for Achievement Days and her son for Young Mens. The Ithaca Ward is awesome.

Tracey is great too and all set for baptism. We worked through the abuse thing and she was interviewed by our mission president. He actually spoke in our ward on Sunday. It was combined ward and branch because there was a huge YSA conference held here. Singles from the East coast came. I saw Nate Wright and Briana Haynie from your BYU ward dad! We talked.

We are teaching 2 families right now and they are all coming to the baptism. The baptism of Tracey, Tyesha, and Tyesha’s two kids are this Saturday at 2. We also set two more people for baptism that I’ll tell you about next time!

Also, Sister Stewart is getting transferred! I’m getting a new comp. I feel good about it but it’s sad to see my trainer go.

Thanks for the Vday packages. I’m so spoiled! The church is true! I love you all so much!