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
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