Hello Fambly! And Fry-ends!
This
week was pretty rough. Especially today. We started off the day going
to the UrgentCare place because Sister Andrus (roommate) got a staph
infection from mosquito bites. Yesterday she woke up with about 10-15
bites, including 2 on her face, and then this morning they were so
swollen she looked like a chubby Asian kid. Plus the one on her finger
made her and so swollen that she couldn't move it. So we drove her to
the doctor and they gave her some medicine. This is the third time she
has gotten an infection from mosquitoes while on her mission. And I
thought they bites I got were bad . . .
We
got a really cool referral this week from some Elders up north. He met
the Elders in Pembroke Pines at his other house and then we got to teach
him at the house he is currently living in here in Kendall. He is so
cool! His name is Ken and he is a pharmacist for the operating room at
Baptist Hospital. (So yeah, he's a doctor) He is very interested in
learning more about the Church and receiving the forgiveness of his
sins. He went to church, but up in Pembroke Pines. He doesn't really
want to go to church down here where he lives because he doesn't really
like the people in Miami (he says he's not racist because his ex-wife is
Latin), so we're not entirely sure what to do with him except see him
whenever we can; I just want him to get baptized. It would also be nice
to be able to see it! And to get him some friends down here.
We also got a media referral this week. We stopped by the night we got
it and she told us she just wanted to read the Book of Mormon and didn't
really want anything else to do with the church. We asked if we could
come back the next day and bring her one, and she accepted. We came back
in the morning with a member and got to sit down and talk with her. She
is pretty religious and spiritual and had looked up a lot of
information about the Church. She herself is Catholic and prays all the
time. She is also a cancer survivor, having had breast cancer twice as
well as cervical cancer. She is so grateful just to be alive! She asked
us a lot of random questions about "special underwear" and polygamy, and
the member was very helpful as we carefully explained things. Being
able to share the Book of Mormon with her was really cool, since she
already had a desire to read it. And although she told us she doesn't
want us knocking on her door, she told us she would call and was
interested in visiting church one day. She didn't come to church this
week, but I know we planted a good seed and when it takes root, she has
our number.
This week we had exchanges! I got to go up to Hialeah and Sister Syme
stayed here with Sister Clayton! They came in the same time and are
really good friends. I got to go up and be with Sister Carnes! It was
fun to be with an old companion again, and we are both so different then
we were in the MTC. We had a ton of success in their area. Hialeah is
full of Cubans who seem to have just gotten there. It is very much like
being in a different country because everyone there is from Cuba. We
talked to maybe 3 people that spoke English and that's just because they
had been here long enough to learn it! We blessed 8 people and got 6
return appointments and 4 accepted baptismal dates! It was incredible!
The downside of the exchanges was coming back to Killian. Don't get me
wrong, I love Killian and it feels like home, but it was a really rough
week because almost all of our appointments fell through, all our dates
got dropped, and only 2 of our 22 blessings resulted in return
appointments. It was truly a miracle we had three people at church!
Hopefully next week will be better. I'm not discouraged because I've
learned on my mission that everything will work out, but it is still
trying during times like this.
Two funny stories from the week:
On
Friday we were harvesting and there were some little kids playing near
us. As we walked between doors, the little boy yelled out "I'm the boy! I
protect the wee-man!" It was hilarious! We had to stop and laugh before
going to the next house.
On Wednesday, we stopped by one of our very slowly progressing
investigators named Joe. He has been a huge Romney supporter from the
get-go, so we wanted to see how he was doing. He told us that he read
two chapters in the Book of Mormon on Election Day just for good luck
and that he was planning to come to church if Romney won. He didn't come
to church. But he's still hilarious.
Inspirational Story:
While
I was up in Hialeah, Sister Syme knocked on a door and the woman who
answered said, "I'm a member of your church!" We went to see her on
Saturday and she told us she got baptized when she was 17 and is now 35,
divorced, and has 3 girls (11, 14, 16). She said she hasn't been to
church in 10 years. She stopped going to church when she moved and
didn't like her new ward. It was so sad to hear her, but we were so
excited to be able to find her again! She is even said she would come to
church if she didn't go visit her mom. (Her mom must have won-out
because she didn't come). We are super excited to go see her and her
family again and teach them all! Yay! Stumbling upon lost sheep is so
exciting!
Shout out to Jordan and his ward for helping Less-Actives come back to church! You're an inspiration for everyone!
Okay, that pretty much wraps up my week. How was yours?
Love, Hermana Sheffield
P.S.
Marvin gave a talk in Church yesterday and Juan confirmed Manual! I
love seeing recent converts fully participating in the Church!!!!!
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