Helaman 10:4-5

Sometimes... A mission is REALLLY HARRDDD, BUT it is SO WORTH IT.

How is everyone doing??? Steph. I'M OBSESSED WITH HER ALREADY SHE IS SO CUTE CONGRATS!!! SEND ME PHYSICAL PHOTOS SOON PLEASE.

 

First things first. Some really really sad news....

 

Friday, we had district meeting. Shirley called us 5 times during our meeting and left 5 different voicemails telling us in a mad voice that she is NOT getting baptized and that she got her answer from the Bible that she doesn't need to be baptized and that she is going to another church. MY HEART BROKE. My spirits were really low at that point and I started to read from the scriptures. I came across Helaman 10:4-5 and replaced my name with Nephi's. It brought me much comfort and made me realize that hey, I planted a seed and she just isn't ready now. It can be SO unbelievably frustrating to be a missionary when things like this happens, but then I think of when Elder Holland said, "I'm convinced that missionary work is not easy because salvation is not a cheap experience. How could we ever believe it could be easy for us if it was never easy for him?"

 

We tracted into this couple and the husband told us he went to our church in Louisianna and didn't know there was one here in Clanton!!! Miracle!! His wife is not a member and said she was really interested!! We gave them the first lesson and it went really well. We are meeting with them tomorrow!!!

 

We haven't been able to contact Betty for a good 2 weeks :( I hope and pray that she is okay and is recovering from her depression. She is such a sweet lady and wanted to be baptized!!!

 

Sister Gustafson and I are really trying to find the "elect" people here in Clanton. Just keep praying for us!!!

 

On Saturday, our branch had a fall festival!!! GUESS WHAT. There were 10 youth that showed up and GUESS WHAT ELSE??? They all showed up at church yesterday and OH MY, you should've seen the smile on my face. I was sooooo excited!!! I don't think anyone even realized how big of a miracle it was! There are tender mercies all around us if we just look for them.

 

I'm just so grateful for this mission.

 

Last Monday, we went to an icecream place called "Deri Delite" with Sister Lutz. While we were in there, one of the workers came over to us and said, "Hey. Y'all are missionaries? I used to go to your church. I'm baptized and so are my kids!!!!!" We asked her if we could come over some time to visit and she said she would love that!!! She told us she has been meaning to go back to church for quite some time now. Then, as we were saying our goodbyes with sister Lutz outside of Deri Delite, ANOTHER worker came outside and said, "So. WHAT do Mormons actually believe?" I told him that we KNOW that Christ's true church that he established is back on the earth! We gave him a Book of Mormon and now the Elders are going to teach him :)

 

We were able to see a lot of less active members this past week which was awesome. I think if there's nothing else I can do here in Clanton, I AT LEAST want to bring less actives back into the fold. There are 140 members in Clanton with about 25 that are truly active. They are just as important as a baptism, if not more!

 

We meet with this cute couple, Rena and Nick every Sunday night!!! Rena who's 21, is inactive, but loves the church. Her parents had a rough divorce which made her make some poor mistakes and she had an ADORABLE little boy when she was in high school with Nick. THEY ARE GETTING MARRIED NOW!!! WAHOO!!! They are awesome though. We walked in the house yesterday and guess what movie they put on? "The Other Side of Heaven!!" I was dying. they are so precious and always want us to come over. They are truly a miracle!!! Nick is not a member, but we send him scriptures via text every day and he tells us that he loves getting them! We will start giving him actual lessons next Sunday. I have a vision of them entering into the temple one day. Ah they are so great!!!

 

I'm so grateful for this gospel. I'm grateful for the south. I love it here. People say the funniest things....

"I'm fixin to go to the store." ... Fixin? What?

"I reckon it's down there yonder." ...huh?

Sister Gustafson has an AMAZING voice, so we have come up with this new idea of singing hymns before every lesson with everyone!!!! It really does bring the spirit nicely!

 

I know that Heavenly Father loves us so much. He is so so good!!! Jesus Christ went through so much for us so that we could be happy. He really did. I just pray for y'alls happiness every day. Ah. I love my family so much!!!!!!!

I love Sister Gustafson!!! 

SUNDAE SUNDAY!!!! (We decided to make this tradition to only have ice cream on Sundays :)) 

We got a new car!!!!!

I can AT LEAST love the people

Hey y'all!!! Another fast week has gone by!!! Seriously, it all seems like a big blur to me. Ah.

I am so grateful for this gospel. I love the people her a lot a lot. Like a lot.

 

I am training!!! WAHOO. My new companion is Sister Gustafson. Yeah. Try saying that last name 3 times fast. She is such a sweet person!! I love her. She reminds me of Heidi Poppleton with her sense of humor and how she says certain things. She is so determined to find people and is very diligent!!!! It was so funny to see how she reacted to meeting certain people. She has never been to the south hahah. We have elders serving with us in Clanton now!! WAHOOo

 

WE HAVE A NEW INVESTIGATOR AND GUESS WHAT HER NAME IS??!!!?  !!!!!!!GRACIE!!!!!!! Isn't that so grand? It's meant to be. We knocked on her door and she let us right in. She didn't even ask who we were and she said, "So what lesson do you have today?" She got her pad of paper out and started to take notes. We just started to talk about the restoration and she was just amazed that there was another set of scripture. She kept saying, "now why have I never heard of this?" She also told us that she was going to share the Book of Mormon with the people she teaches in sunday school at church. Hope that one goes down well. haha we will see her again tomorrow!!!

 

Shirley is supposed to be baptized by this weekend, but I have a feeling that she won't. We taught her the Law of chastity lesson which went well, but she feels a lot of guilt. Her "fiance" James is still in the hospital with his broken hip so I don't really know what to do because she has to be married or move out before she is baptized. Ah. I just have to trust in the Lord and in His timing with things.

 

We haven't been able to get a hold of Betty in a while. Her husband called us and told us she enrolled herself in a mental hospital for some time to get over her depression. Please pray for her!!!

 

We have a baptismal date set up with Cynthia on November the 16th!!! We came to her house one night and caught her in perfect timing!!! She was sitting outside, talking to her sister on the phone. When she got off the phone, she told us, "you know what's weird? I was about to call a lady from my church and ask her when I could get baptized and then y'all showed up." yup. God works in mysterious ways. It has been so hard to get a hold of her so it's a miracle that we were able to! We taught her the Plan of Salvation and she just kept saying, "WOW! WOW. OH MY. YES JESUS. YES." hahaha SHE LOVED IT. We invited her to be baptized and she said yes!! I'm obsessed with her. She has a heart of gold.

 

So, in training meeting with President Hanks, he told us to take our new companion out tracting the first night. So, that's what sister Gustafson and I did. Pretty sure she was scared to death because as we were going to the next door, 5 cop cars started to surround us because there was a fight going on a couple doors down. They started to ask us questions and we didn't know anything!! Oh. how I love clanton. A LOT.

 

I was looking through our branch roster one night and came upon a name and thought it would be a good idea to visit her. She was a less active member and lived closeby. We went to her house and were greeted by 3 HUGE dogs who basically attacked us. So fun. She welcomed us in and then just started to talk about how awful she thinks the church is and how we are living in our own bubble and yadda yadda. I didn't want to argue so instead, I just said, "Do you mind if we say a prayer with you?" She replied quickly saying, "No! GET OUT OF MY HOUSE." I just politely smiled and said okay and then she replied again saying, "I hope y'all are able to find God someday" So fun. Sister G. and I just said a prayer as soon as we got in the car because the spirit was NOT there in that home. It's so sad and I hope and pray her heart is able to soften.

 

I am so grateful for this gospel. I know that maybe I'm not the greatest missionary in the world, but I do know one thing: I LOVE the people here. I'm literally obsessed with them all!!!

I know that this church is true. I know that Heavenly Father knows what's best for us. READ MOSIAH 4:9!!!! I love King Benjamin!!!!

Missionary work is really hard, but I'm obsessed with it. There are just too many good things that outweigh the bad every time.

I know that God let's bad things happen to good people because HE LOVES US and knows what we need to go through. I know that prayer works and that He really does listen. I know that if you have a grateful heart, your life will become a little easier to deal with. I love y'all so much.

May we all try a little harder to be a little better every day!

 

P.S. Jenna and parents, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE PACKAGES. They came on a day that I needed them most :) So so grateful for my family!!! AHHH

10/14/2013

How are y'all doing??? I love getting all the emails and letters from y'all!!! So fun :) I love my family so much. I can't get over how BLESSED I am to have such amazing parents, sisters, and a brother!!! I can't get over the fact that I was born into such an amazing gospel centered home with the TRUTH that is here on the earth!!! I know God lives and loves us SO MUCH!!! He is in EVERY detail of our lives!!!! We just need to put our trust in him!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO JENNA ON THE 18TH!!! WAHOO!! LOVE YOU SISTER!!

Guys. This whole mission thing is going by way too fast and needs to slow down!!! Holy cow. Another grand week here in good ole' Clanton, Alabama. I'm so grateful to be here. OH GUESS WHAT. I AM GOING TO BE A TRAINER this Wednesday!!! AHHHHHHHHHHH. I will still be in Clanton! So crazy. I'm excited for this opportunity that I have to train a new missionary. I still feel like I am new, but I know that this will help me grow A LOT. We went down to Prattville and had interviews with President Hanks. I love that man. He is so smart and so funny! Sister Hanks is the sweetest woman who just loves everyone and treats all the missionaries like her own kids.

Friday was fun. Sister Casperson and I rode bikes the whole day and boy, were we a sight!!! We went through the "projects" area and tracted there and got a lot of return appointments!!! Guess what? EVERYONE was obsessed with my bike!! Two little boys started to follow me on their bikes and just kept staring at my bike. I then asked them if they wanted to see a cool trick. I started to fold up my bike and they just started beaming with excitement!!! It seriously is the BEST finding tool ever. People in their cars would stop me and ask me where I got my bike haha. Although one girl started to point and laugh at me :( shaoot. So funny though. We tried to visit with Fred again who we set an appointment with, but he wasn't there. We started to talk with his neighbors and they were obsessed with my bike as well. We rode past this house with 4 black kids just sitting outside on the porch dribbling a basketball. I biked over there and introduced myself and then challenged them to a game of HORSE. They looked at me and just started to laugh. They did not think I was serious. I told them that I played in High School and said that I would probably beat them (I tried to get them mad hehe) and then they just told me that they would meet me at 5:00 any day at the courts to play cause they go there every day! I will most definitely come this week!!! wahoo.

So when we tracted, we asked people if we could just say a prayer with them and their whole family. Before we say the prayer, we ask them if there are any specific people that they want us to pray for. We then write down the names and go one by one with each name. 

-Laquishanae

-Toriaque

-Equinarae

Yeah. That's just an example. It was so fun to say during the prayer!!! haha I love the people here :)

One day, sister Casperson and I walked into Walmart to do some "finding" there and a lady came out and just casually looked at us and said, "no buggies y'all" I don't know why, but it was the funniest thing ever!!! We were laughing so hard. Maybe because I still don't understand why the heck people call the shopping carts "buggies" haha

Shirley has a new baptismal date for October 26th!!! We are really trying to help her out. She told us that she knows the Book of Mormon is true, but she just wants to be ready for baptism on her own time. We made a calendar for her with different scriptures that she would read for every day so that she will be more ready. We taught her the Word of Wisdom lesson last week which went well except she still doesn't fully understand the need to give up coffee. Tomorrow, we will talk with her about the Law of Chastity which hopefully will go well!! Please pray that she will be open to marrying her "fiancé" James!!! Only problem is, is that James has been in the hospital for his broken hip and she doesn't know when he will be out because they don't have insurance to take care of him. It's just one big mess. blah.

We met with Betty again and she wasn't feeling too well. She did tell us though that she was thinking about Jesus Christ and she said, "If Jesus Christ had to be baptized, then why shouldn't I be?"  (Betty used to be scared of baptism because she didn't want to disappoint God if she wasn't a good example after being baptized.) We testified to her the truth of what she said and I think she really accepted it. She wasn't able to talk too long because she wasn't feeling well. She has been through so much sickness in her life, so it's hard to catch her on a good day where she is able to talk for a long time. She did tell us that her daughter, Liz wanted to come to church with us this coming sunday with Betty as well!!! Liz lives about an hour away and only comes to visit every 2 weeks. I'm so excited to visit with Liz again. She's amazing!!!

We met with a lady named Glenda who hasn't come to church in nearly 12 years, but has been sealed to her husband in the temple and even was relief society president at one time!! She broke down in tears and told us that she has a testimony of the church, but she could not emotionally go back to church. She explained to us that her husband is black and people in her branch where she used to live, were VERY racist and constantly tortured her and her husband for having a mixed marriage. We just listened to her and offered her comfort to the best of our ability. She told us that we could come back anytime to talk with her. I will try to see her this week and maybe talk about the importance of the sacrament and to give the Clanton Branch a try! 

On our way home from interviews with President Hanks, we stopped to get gas. I was outside, filling up the gas when the man next to me looked over and asked me "what is that thing on the back of your car?" I explained to him that it was a bike rack because we are missionaries and use our bikes. He just kept asking more and more questions like: "Are you a nun?" "How long are you here?" "Do you actually knock on doors?" Then, he asked a question that sort of took me back. He said, "What do you believe that is different from everyone else's beliefs?" I told him that we would be happy to sit down with him and talk to him more about how our beliefs are unique from anyone elses." He agreed! We invited him to our scripture reading class as well, but he declined because he had work. We will probably stop by and see him this week!!!

Oh, you wanna hear a really awkward story? So, we went over to Jenny Williams house. Jenny is this sweet lady who sometimes comes to church. We had dinner with her and her "significant other/fiancé" named Barney. We had pork chops (EVERYONE EATS THOSE HERE) and some beans with cheesy potatoes. After dinner, we sat down with them and went over the "15 step program to stop smoking" with them. Barney didn't seem too excited about it, but Jenny was excited to start the program!! Barney was telling us how he doesn't think he can quit because he is a truck driver and gets bored a lot when driving and smoking is his only option. I innocently suggested to him that he could maybe chew bubble gum instead and just have a competition with himself to see how big of a bubble he can blow. He replied saying: "I don't have any teeth to chew gum." He then started to go off topic and talk about his past drug life and how he lost his teeth because of all the meth he used to do. Yikes. Good thing he is a super sweet guy who didn't take offense to it. haha

I love y'all so much. Thanks for all of the support. Every day goes by so fast here. I can't believe it. I'm so excited to be a trainer!! I'm excited to teach and find more people who are prepared to hear this message!!!

I have been reading in 2 Nephi and I just love the message found in chapter 31 about the Doctrine of Christ. Nephi explains the importance of baptism and why Christ, who was perfect, had to be baptized to show that he wants to follow his Heavenly Father and keep the commandments. I also love chapter 29 in 2 Nephi! Verses 6-12!! It talks about the need for the Book of Mormon and there have been so many times where I just want to share this with EVERYONE here. Goodness.

Anyway. I lOVE Y'ALL!!! BE GOOD AND BE STEADFAST IN CHRIST. God is watching over y'all and loves y'all so much!!!!

Love,

Sister Platt

# of bug bites currently on my legs: 23

Our Lovely District

We love riding bikes on dirt roads

Beautiful Sunset

Heavenly Father is preparing so many people

Hello everyone!!!!! I love y'all so much!!! I hope all is well :)

 

Wow. Wasn't conference just grand?? We watched it at the church and had the opportunity to have lots of investigators there which was so great! I loved Holland's talk and also the talk on exclamation points. Our beloved prophet is the most precious man alive. I love what he said about conference and how it was the most inspired conference he has ever been to!!!

So, this week was another grand one!! Full of ups and downs for sure!

 

I just want to focus on three major things for this week...

This guy named Matt came to church this past Sunday and said, "I just felt like I should be at church today so I came." He was investigating the church about a year ago with the Elders. He just got out of prison (not sure what he did) but he just wants to change his life around and is really really humble. We taught him the first lesson and he seemed really receptive of it. He came to our scripture class and even to a session of conference!!! He said he would be baptized and we even showed him the font at the church. His response to seeing it: "WOW. THAT'S HUGE. Does everyone watch you?" haha too funny. We are excited to continue to teach him :)

 

So, we went to visit Jeff Dalrymple again and met him outside. We started to talk with him and then his step daughter swung open the door of his house and yelled at us saying, "YOU MORMONS ARE EVIL. IT SAYS IN THE BIBLE TO NOT ADD ANY MORE SCRIPTURE." So lovely, right? She slammed the door and we just continued to talk with Jeff. Jeff is just lonely and just needed someone to talk to. We started to talk with him about our standards and other things and he seemed really receptive of it. Then, his stepdaughter came outside again and sat down and just stared at us while we talked with Jeff. Jeff noticed her giving him the stink eye and so he quickly just shook our hands and said, "thanks for stopping by." I started to rummage through my purse to look for a restoration pamphlet and his step daughter yelled, "OH NO. DON'T YOU DARE GIVE THAT TO HIM. I WILL BURN THAT DEVILISH BOOK IF YOU DO. IT'S NOT ALLOWED IN THIS HOUSE." We gave it to him and just told him we cared about him and wanted to help him. We got in the car and I just started to cry. Not even because I was upset with what his step daughter was saying. I started crying because it was then that I realized that SHE NEEDS this gospel and so does he!!! I just kept praying that her heart would just be softened. That experience just made me realize how important this gospel is. Heavenly Father wants all of His children to return to Him!!!

 

Last night. Was A MIRACLE. Pure miracle and exactly what I needed to experience. It was just one of those times on my mission that I will ALWAYS remember and cherish. Ready to hear about it? okay. Sit back and relax and let the tears of joy start coming :)

We decided to go and visit our investigator Betty again last night and teach her about the Plan of Salvation. Her daughter, Liz (who we have never met before) answered the door and just gave us the look on her face which basically meant "what the heck are you two doing here?" We just told her that we were missionaries and that we were there to visit her mom. Betty told her to let us in and then we just sat down and got to know Liz better. She was a little hesitant at first to talk with us, but with time, the spirit really softened her heart. She started to ask us why God would allow certain things to happen to us if he loved us. She was especially mad that children would die at such a young age. We explained to her that Heavenly Father has a plan for us. She started to ask more and more questions and finally, I just asked her, "How much time do you have?" She agreed to listen to us and we went and sat at a round table as we explained the plan of salvation with her using cards!!! It went really really well. The spirit was SO strong in that room the whole time. When we explained it to her, she just kept smiling. She told us that she never understood why her minister told her that we would live in heaven with God and be happy, but we wouldn't know anyone or recognize anyone from earth. She just kept saying, "How could we possibly be happy if we just lived by ourselves without our families or friends?" DING DING DING. She has been so prepared!!!! We explained to her basically everything about the plan of salvation and she LOVED IT. She told us that we need to go into her church and explain it to everyone there. haha She loved looking at the Book of Mormon and she just kept saying, "this makes sense! why doesn't everyone just listen to you guys? So many people from my church think that you guys are satanic, but I am feeling just this warmth while y'all are teaching. There is no way that is from satan!!!" We then shared with her Moroni 10:3-5 and explained the Holy Ghost. We asked her if she would read to know that what we have taught her was true. Her reply: "I don't need to pray. I know it's true." We just laughed and then said, "Will you follow the example of Jesus Christ, and be baptized by someone holding the priesthood authority of God?" SHE SAID YES. But she said she felt unworthy. We explained to her repentance and Betty said to her, "We can get baptized on the same day Liz!!!!" Yeah. Miracle. She told us that she learned more from us in just that hour of talking with her than she has in her whole life of just going to church every Sunday and that we answered questions for her that her minister couldn't even answer. Betty then said to LIz: "Really. Everything that these girls have to say is that God loves you." Then, Liz replied saying, "yeah seriously. I have heard it so many times tonight. More times than in my whole life." She then told us that she needs to tell all her friends about us and about the Book of Mormon and how it's not bad.

Yeah. I'm just so happy right now!!! God is so good!!! and you wanna know something else miraculous??? As we were leaving, Betty's husband softened up as well and told us thanks for coming over and that we just make Betty so happy!!!

 

Heavenly Father is preparing so many people here. God is so good!!!

Update on Shirley: We found out that she isn't married, but her "fiancé" James recently broke his hip and is in the hospital so she has been there the whole week!! It has been a bummer, but it is definitely testing my patience!! I just want her to be baptized now, but God knows timing better than us!!!!

 

I love being here. I never want to leave. I just love my life and being a missionary is a great blessing. Sometimes, it can be scary, but I just need to realize that fear is the opposite of faith!!!! God is in control!!!!! I love y'all so much and hope y'all are doing well!!!!!

I have gotten so many bug bites, it's not even funny. Goodness. I'm obsessed with this place and I love my Savior so much. He knows us all so well and knows what we need in life.

 

"Be still and know that I am God"

Love y'all so much!!! I pray for y'all every day!! I really really do!

 

Love,

Sister Platt :)