Monday, February 11, 2013

hey bob!

thank you for the email!

yes there was a "blizzard"...

i dont even know what qualifies a storm to be a blizzard. it was really great though! it was just a bunch of snow and wind. i dont know how much we really got though. there were snow drifts e'rry where. so in some places you could see the cement and the grass. in other places the snow went up to my waist!

thats funny that my mission pres told you we stayed in for it! hahah. we werent allowed to drive our car, but we were outside when we werent eating or studying! we had planned on  helping an investigator, carolina, paint her walls on saturday, but we couldnt drive. so we walked there. we carried our shovels with us and helped some people along the way. it took us about 4 hours to get there because she lives 3 or 4 miles away from us and we stopped quite a few times to help people. we were exhausted when we got to her place.

we talked to her about the bom for a few minutes, then her daughter, oscany, came into the room. we have never really talked to her before; she is 15 and stays at arms length. oscany said "sorry, i just have a question". i thought she was just coming in to ask her mom where the nutmeg or extra foot cream was or something. but no! she sat down and looked at us and sweetly asked- "what IS the book of mormon? how does it compare to the bible?" wow! we were at a loss for words. we talked about the bom and the bible and the atonement for a while. by the end of our little discussion, she and her mom were both excited about coming to church the next day!

it was dark by now and their drive way was blocked in by snow that was 2 and 3 feet high. so to ensure they could come to church, and because we love them, me, s caffall and oscany went outside and cleared their drive way. then they gave us hot chocolate and crackers and cheese! we thanked them and with happy hearts we went to leave.

then they realized we walked over and they refused to let us walk back! hahaha :) we were so happy to get a ride with them. oh my. we were tired and it was late already. haha :)

the next day, carolina, oscany, and 2 of carolina's kids (6 and 9) all came to church, stayed for the whole thing and loved it!! oscany was beaming at the end and told us that she was going to mutual on wednesday. the 9 year old boy was so excited about church and told us all about primary and sunday school. oh it was a ball. :):)

we havent had a whole lot of contact with jackie (14 years old, was going to be baptized on feb 2) since she got anti-ed. after church we got a text from jackie duran saying "guys, i had a dream". now, jackie has told us in the past that she expects answers to prayers to come in dreams, which has happened for her before. we asked if we could come over and she jumped at the chance to see us! we went over there as soon as we could! on our way into the apartment building, we saw ines (jackies mom) leaving. we were nervous to see her because as of a week ago, she wasnt letting jackie get baptized, she wouldnt talk to us, and she wasnt allowing jackie to talk to us. this was our first communication with her since all that. but she was so happy to see us! i could tell she was pretty embarrassed because she was just making up excused left and right, up and down about what happened. it was really funny :) but finally she just said "go up and see jackie. have a class with jackie. she loves you!"

hahaha :) oh we were so happy and so relieved. hahaha :)

we went up and knocked on the door. jackie opened it and gave us hugs before she even let us in :) gosh :) it was such a tender moment. it had only been a week and a half since seeing her, but it felt like soooooooooooo much longer because we had been seeing or talking to her everyday. plus we have  been worried and we have been in the dark on the whole matter. well. turns out just a couple hours before we came over, a member of the ward, who is good friends with her family visited them and helped them understand the whole matter. we helped jackie with her concerns and taught her more about the bible and the bom. she felt so much better. she told us her dream... oh boy.

she dreams about her grandma who has passed through the eternal realm. her grandma was pretty close to her. she was catholic when she died. its her mom's mom. her mom also dreams about the grandma. anyway. in the dream jackie had, she asked her g-ma if the mormon church is true. grandma said "you really need to be asking jesus". jackie explained that she has, but that the answer isnt clear and she is confused. so grandma looked jackie in the eyes and told her that it is true and that it is the right thing to do. also that she shouldnt choose Catholicism. (hahahahaha) oh wow :) jackie told us that her testimony is so strong now and that she cant deny the church. oh we were so happy :) we talked a little more but didnt really talk about baptism because, well. we just didnt want to push it.

when it was time for us to go, we got out hats and gloves and were just about to go out the door when jackie said "so guys, when is my next baptismal date?" hahahaha we were speechless! haaha it was great. she laughed and said "what? can it be this weekend? i am just so excited! way more excited than last time!"

haha :)  she decided on march 1st. she is pretty happy. wow. what a day. what a week. what a calling. :)

by the way, my back is perfect and has given me no trouble. dont worry, i am being honest! :)

also, sorry about the missing puzzle piece! i didnt leave it out on purpose!

i love you bob! i am so thankful for all that you do for me! i havent got your letter yet but i think the mailmen are back out today!

i love you all! tell me stuff!
love sister buxton