Jesus is alive and well

I AM SO HAPPY.

Goodness.

Heavenly Father is such an amazing person.

It's neat to think that we are helping God fulfill HIS dream which is found in Moses 1:39 :)

This past week has been AWESOME!!!! I'm officially in a TRIO and it is honestly one of the best things that has happened to me on my mission. I am serving with Sister Clark who is from Oklahoma and Sister Downs who is from Colorado. We all work REALLY WELL together and we have so many inside jokes with each other and it's only been 5 days!!!! We call ourselves "the triple threat" and may or may not say that when we answer the phone. We are all constantly laughing and embracing how awkward a trio can be. Heavenly Father has helped us out so much! We have been starting with a clean slate of no investigators, BUT we have been able to find a lot of people in just a few days!!!!!

 

I am just going to list some fun/funny/spiritual experiences that have happened these past few days...

 

-We went to the store to go find new investigators and as I was walking back to get a cart, I just smiled at this man and he gave me a huge smile back and continued on his way. He then saw my companions (Clark and Downs) and stopped them and said, "So who are you girls?" I caught up with them and we started to explain that we were missionaries and that we were called to serve in Alabama. He then said, "Oh that's neat!!! I'm actually a prophet and I could sense that you girls are good spirits and that you have the light of Christ with you." We then had small talk with him and he started to explain all of the prophecies he has made about tornadoes and the second coming. ha, it was fun to talk with him. He is super devoted to following God which I admire. He then walked away and then we continued on our way through the store. Then, about ten minutes later, Prophet Tolan comes back and tells us, "God wanted me to tell you ladies that you will be taken care of with college and that you will receive scholarships." WELL SWEET!!!!! Thank you to Prophet Tolan!!!!! I am obsessed with the south.

 

It has been really nice outside recently and we have been able to find a lot of new people through just walking around neighborhoods!!! I had the chance to play basketball with 10 elementary school kids. It was hilarious because every time I would make a shot or steal the ball, one of the kids named Godwin would yell, "OOOHHHH THIS WHITE GIRL HAS SKILL." hahahah we handed them all pictures of Jesus and they loved it!!! We are going to start playing with them once a week and hopefully start to add in some principles of the gospel. CAN'T WAIT. We found three other guys playing basketball at a different park and asked them if we could play with them this Saturday and they said yes!!! woot woot!

 

We met this lady named Michelle who was just sitting in her car with a REALLY CUTE puppy. We approached the puppy first and started asking her questions about her dog. We talked with her for a good 30 minutes and it ended up with us giving her a Book of Mormon and having a return appointment with her (which we went to yesterday). Michelle has had such a rough life and no longer has custody of her 2 kids. She used to be into drugs and found God through that and the experience of losing her baby son because of SIDS. I KNOW that Heavenly Father has put her in our path. We had a lesson with her yesterday, but the puppy kept distracting the lesson because he kept biting and jumping on us and Michelle didn't do anything about it. Anyway, we have another return appointment with her which is great!!!! We are planning on bringing some chew toy for the puppy to have so that the spirit can be there in the lessons. Before we left, Michelle told us, "y'all are such innocent girls. I can just tell from the way you look and your countenance." It was so sweet for her to say and it meant a lot to me.

 

I am the designated driver for the trio and since Madison 3rd ward boundaries are so different, I had no clue where I was going and Sister Clark would direct me. Well, she said "turn left" and I didn't hear her and ended up turning left down a different street. I then jokingly said, "Well, shoot. Maybe God wants us to be on this street instead." We saw a cute family sitting outside on their driveway and decided to park the car and talk with them. As we got closer to them, the dad gave us a dirty look and told his kids to come inside with him. We then saw that his neighbors were sitting outside getting ready to leave. It ended up being this group of "artsy/gothic" musicians and we were a little hesitant to walk up to them, but I thought to myself, "They NEED this gospel just as much as anyone else" so we started to approach them and one of the guys popped his head out of his car window and said: "Are you the Mormons???" We smiled big and just said YES. He then continued, "Oh. I hate Mormons. I'm a satanist." .....awkward silence..... then he said, "Nah. I'm just kidding. I actually dated a Mormon in high school." Anyway, it was really awkward and the conversation ended with me trying to give his drunk friend the Book of Mormon after his friend called us pretty girls. hahahaha We were all laughing so hard after we walked away. Oh boy. Such good times. Missions are weird. But we did find a PREPARED lady named Dana right next door to the artsy musicians and we have an appointment with her this week!!!! She said she was super open and has been looking for a church for the past few weeks!!!

 

We met this lady named Mary who is this old southern baptist black lady who has really rough dementia. Ah. She was so precious and sang us a song!! over and over and over again... It goes like this:

"Jesus is alive and well. Jesus is alive and well. Jesus is everywhere. He knows me and he knows you. Jesus he watches over me. He loves to rock me to sleep." And then you repeat the song about 5 times more and that was basically the time that was spent with Mary. We sang along with her after the second time. Love her so much!!!!!!!!!

 

We went to visit this lady in our ward named Sister Ballers. She can't come to church because she has really bad MS. She has a caretaker at her home and her name is Lisa and she is in her late twenties!!! We introduced her to the BOM and gave her one!! It was so precious because she innocently asked us if she could write in it. Then, she wanted us to sign it!! Lisa has been through a lot as well and left her home when she was 15 years old because her mom was very abusive. She really opened up to us and it was such a tender mercy from the Lord because she seemed so "stand offish" when we first met her. I can't wait to see what unfolds!!!

 

These past few days, I have really been trying to focus on the idea of: "Is it better or is it easier?" I am striving to do those things that may be harder, but BETTER to do. We got finished with an appointment at 8:40 pm and had 20 minutes until we had to go home. President Hanks has really stressed the importance of using the extra minutes that we have to be successful missionaries. He likes to use the word "Lagniappe" to describe this idea. Lagniappe basically means: "for good measure. And then some. that little bit extra." God really will reward us for doing those things that will stretch us. Anyway, back to my story. We had 20 minutes left and we felt the need to go into the store "gamestop". Which is totally random for us to go to because it's a video game store, BUT we talked to the lady working in there for a good 30 minutes about the gospel!! She knows a lot of the Mormons in Madison 2nd ward which was really neat!!!!!! We are going to stop by today and give her a Book of Mormon!!!! God works in mysterious ways and really notices our efforts. One thing I have learned is that no effort is wasted!!!! God knows the intents of our hearts and wants to bless us.

 

I finished the Book of Mormon!!! WOOT WOOT!!! Seriously, I am amazed at this book and the power that it brings to conversion. What a beautiful blessing it is to have that added knowledge in our lives.

 

ANNOUNCEMENT: We will be receiving mini ipads this April and will also be using Facebook to share messages and chat with investigators!!! It will be such a GREAT resource to have for sharing the gospel!! I guess we are allowed to skype non-member friends from home and give them the lessons!!!! I AM SO EXCITED. I feel like missionary work will really change here!

 

I want y'all to search the talk, "His Grace is Sufficient" by Brad Wilcox. His words are so powerful and inspirational!!!!

 

I hope all is well with y'all and I hope that you are noticing God's love in your lives. He is watching over us and knows us so well. We need to trust in Him. I love how Christ is always inviting us to come unto Him!!! What an amazing thing to understand!!!!! He will never push us away.

I am so happy and I am so excited to be serving here in Madison with the triple threat. We are all really hard workers and we balance out each other really well. The ward is great and is a lot bigger than 2nd, but I love it!!! I was able to bare my testimony yesterday in Sacrament meeting and it was the craziest thing because I wasn't nervous at all!!! Being on this mission has changed me in so many ways and sometimes, I don't even realize it until I take a step back and look at how I was before. I AM GRATEFUL.

 

Happy birthday to BRAYDON THIS UPCOMING WEEK!!!!! LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!!!!!! WOOT WOOT!!!!!

 

MYKY,

 Sister Platt :)

 The Gonzalez family. (less active family that we LOVE and taught lessons to)

Cute Mr. and Mrs. Cobb. Mrs Cobb is a retired Methodist minister who we "practice" teaching lessons to. she told us that if she wasn't Methodist, she would be Mormon!

THE TRIPLE THREAT

We went to a camp fundraiser for the young women and two couples in our ward (in this picture) kept wanting to bid money for us to receive cake! haha best thing ever.

MARY AND HER PRECIOUS SON PHEONIX!!!

Curveball

Ah. You guys. Missionary work is SO CRAZY and Heavenly Father really likes to make me stretch and sometimes throws curve balls at me. So... Transfer calls were this past Saturday and GUESS WHAT? I will just lay out what the phone conversation was....

Us: "Hello! this is Sister Platt and Sister Sheffer"

Assistants to the President: "Hello!!! How are y'all doing?.... Sister Sheffer, you are leaving!..... and Sister Platt... you are transferring over to Madison 3rd ward and you will be with Sister Clark and ANOTHER companion serving as a trio."

Ummm. What???? I WILL BE IN A TRIO GUYS. THIS IS GOING TO BE SO WEIRD. hahahahah Sister Clark is my roommate so I already know her which is a comfort. Ah, we were joking around about how we are going to do door approaches and we have decided to just sing and be like the 3 amigos. It will definitely be interesting and I'm excited for the challenge. hahaha Everytime I told a ward member that I was moving over to 3rd ward and that I was going to be in a trio, their response was, "Oh. that's going to be hard." Psh. It will definitely be fun!!!!!!! mah. I am so sad that I will be leaving the Madison 2nd ward though. :/ I seriously JUST got finished with learning everyone's names and now, Heavenly Father just thinks that I need to expand my mind even more! The Madison 3rd ward is HUGE. Wish me luck!!!!!! It's a completely different area as well which will be really weird :( ah, we have to pass all of our investigators down to the other sisters. Goodbye Thor and mary :'(

Anyway, this week was really weird. Sister Sheffer and I were both sick for two days. Ah, I HATE being sick; especially as a missionary. It felt really weird to go from constantly moving and talking to just becoming a couch potato. It was my first time being sick this whole mission which is a blessing!!!!! Being sick really made me miss my mom because she wasn't there to give me some random essential oils that strangely would have helped. hehe

IT SNOWED A LOT here!!!! We weren't allowed to go outside for 5 hours one night which really made the work slow this past week. Our neighbor, Chris, knocked on our door and told us to come outside and have a snowball fight with his kids. We took the challenge and totally defeated him and his children. They kept wanting to aim at me which was REALLY RUDE. haha It brought me back to the days of Rexburg which made me happy! Sister Clark and I tried to make a snow angel and it was a complete FAIL because the snow wasn't compacted so we ended up getting mud on our jeans. The next day after the snow had stopped was lots of fun!!! Everyone was outside making snowmen and the whole town just slowed down for a day!!!  

We met this super cute girl named Paris as we were biking home from the store. She was getting gas for her car and we just complimented her on her shirt. She started to talk to us for a good 20 minutes and we all instantly just became really good friends!! She is 23 and goes to this non-denominational church because she doesn't agree with her 7th day Adventist church that she used to go to because she really enjoys eating pork! haha There are A LOT of 7th day Adventist's here. Anyway, we gave her a restoration pamphlet and told her that she would LOVE coming to our church. She got really excited and we exchanged numbers. We called her last night and she is super busy with work this week, but we are going to have icecream with her next week! woot woot!

It was randomly 65 degrees on Friday which was a complete shock! ah, I love warm weather; especially as a missionary because people just seem happier. We were trying to find a man who recently moved into the ward and knocked on the door of the house we thought he lived in. A super precious black Baptist preacher answered the door. We asked her if the man lived there and she replied with a no and then said, "but you sisters can come in and pray with me." We all held hands in a circle and she wanted me to pray. I said the prayer, I'm seriously OBSESSED with the south!! People are SO faithful and really pray with every fiber of their being. Then, she said, "Now, I want to pray for you sisters." She continued: "Dear Jesus God. I just love you God and I thank you for these sisters. Please Protect them Jesus. They are doing your work Jesus. Jesus we know that through you, we can be strengthened as you tell us in the bible. Please strengthen them.... Amen."

SHE IS SO PRECIOUS. Oh my goodness. That experience of praying with her just made me see the power that prayer can have and how we really do need to pray to our Heavenly Father with power and focus like this sweet lady that we met. I will never forget her. She gave us a hug and kiss on the cheek as we left. :) Seriously, I NEVER want to leave the south!!!!!

We went with Sister Bernabei (Relief society teacher) to deliver flowers and cookies to the single ladies in our ward. (Mainly the less-active ones). It was SO MUCH FUN!!!! Guess what happened yesterday? ALL OF THOSE LADIES CAME TO CHURCH!!!!!!! It brought a huge smile to my face. It just comes to show that all people really need is LOVE. People need to feel loved and needed. It is so critical! It was such a simple thing that we did for them and yet, it made all the difference. God is good! Sister Effinger and her daughters came to church AGAIN yesterday. SHE IS OFFICIALLY AN ACTIVE MEMBER OF THE CHURCH :) Gah. It will be REALLY hard to leave that sweet family. I really do feel like I had a special connection with them and that I was there for them specifically.

I am almost done with reading the Book of Mormon for the first time on my mission!! I am seriously in love with this book. It is so funny how excited I get to read it every morning. I have been reading in the last few chapters of Mormon and I just LOVE chapter 8. In the beginning of this chapter, Moroni, the son of Mormon, starts to explain how he is all alone and how he is going to hide up the records and that it is wisdom in God that he should hide them. He explains how the Book of Mormon shows that the eternal purposes of God shall always roll on until all of God's promises are fulfilled. Verses 14-16 are very powerful to me. I have heard from so many people here about the idea of "if God really did want the BOM here on this earth, why can't we see the actual plates?" These verses basically answer that question which is SO NEAT. Moroni explains that the records should not be for someone to get gain, but the purpose of the records is for man to get closer to God. At the end of the chapter, Moroni begins to talk about the many churches that will be built up to get gain and how the power of God will be denied. (TOTALLY see that here!!!) Verse 35 is pretty cool to me. Moroni says, "Behold, I speak unto you as if ye were present, and yet ye are not. But behold, Jesus Christ hath shown you unto me, and I know your doing." WHOA. Isn't that neat to think about? Moroni saw the days that we live in now and he knew that we would need the Book of Mormon in these last days!!!! I would encourage y'all to read Mormon chapter 9! It has TONS of really deep/amazing verses in it! God is good and His purposes shall always move onward!!!!!!!

I'm really sorry this email is all over the place, but I just love this gospel so much. The more I read and pray, the stronger my testimony grows. This gospel is so real. I was reading some missionary themed quotes on lds.org and one that I really like was by Uchtdorf. He says, "The Lord doesn't expect us to convert everyone. He simply expects us to OPEN OUR MOUTHS." Amen. I am trying every day to be more bold and open my mouth. Heavenly Father will always back us up if we will just try to open our mouth and share the truths that we are so blessed to have. We need to bring the message of HEAVEN to others on this earth.

I love being a missionary! God is good and is on our side! Through Jesus Christ, we can be lifted up. Even as he was lifted up by the cross, we can be.

Well, I'm finally going to the NASA space and rocket museum today with 4 other sisters!! Our investigator, Mally is taking us for free!!! WOOT WOOT!! I'M SO EXCITED!!!!!!!

I am so happy. There is just so much GOOD IN THIS WORLD!!!!! Everyday, I'm seriously BLOWN AWAY at how great of a family I have. I know I say that in every email, but it's so true. Never forget that.

MYKY,

Sister Platt

Some of the cute young women in the ward.

the UGLIEST cat I have ever seen!!!! hahah people in my ward call her "LUCI" short for Lucifer... 

Sister Clark, my new companion this week.

I accidentally broke the rules :-(

Helloooo everyone!!!!! Goodness, every week seriously flies by! It's just the craziest thing to see how fast time goes on a mission. At the end of every day, Sister Sheffer and I look at each other after we plan for the next day and say, "And just like that. ANOTHER day has already passed!!!" So nuts. Ah, you guys. I have a really funny/scary/sad story to tell y'all. I totally broke a "white handbook" missionary rule. Are you ready for the story?....

On Tuesday, Sister Sheffer and I were biking to our next appointment which was a Relief Society social at the church. We had invited some less actives and wanted to be there for it. Anyway, the church is 5 miles away and the only straight way to get there was on this super scary road called "slaughter". We decided we probably shouldn't go that way, so we ended up weaving through neighborhoods. I was following Sister Sheffer and stopped really fast to adjust my seat and make it higher. The next thing I know, Sister Sheffer is NO WHERE IN MY SIGHT. WE HAVE TO BE WITHIN SIGHT AND SOUND OF EACH OTHER. I just got on my bike and started peddling and peddling. I ended up going a completely different way from where she went and we were both away from each other for a good 20 minutes. This was the first time I was ever alone for my whole mission!!! I was panicking. Sister Sheffer had the phone and I didn't have anything. I stopped and just said a prayer and told Heavenly Father that I was frustrated and lost and didn't know where to go. Then, a thought came to me: "Just go straight to Mally's". Mally lived about half a mile away and I just started peddling to her home. I knocked on the door and the first thing that Mally says to me is: "What is wrong??? You look as white as a ghost!!!" I just started to talk really fast and asked her if I could borrow her phone. Luckily, I was able to meet back with Sister Sheffer and all was dandy and fine. It was the most awful feeling to be away from someone that long. Our reunion was as if we hadn't seen each other in years! haha. That experience started to make me think about how glorious it will be to see my Heavenly Father and dad again. It also made me think about how sometimes in life, we have to go through trials of feeling utterly alone in order to draw closer to our Heavenly Father and find different solutions to come back to Him. Wanna know something funny? The next day, during Zone Conference, we had training on always staying with your companion. Yup. Big slap in our face haha Heavenly Father definitely has a sense of humor. Oh well. Lesson learned.

Speaking of Zone Conference, IT WAS AWESOME!!! I love hearing from President and Sister Hanks. They are such amazing leaders and have taught me so much!!!! He talked a lot about teaching using Christ's words and works and how we won't ever be able to measure our influence for good. A quote by him that he said was, "If faith isn't in our hearts, then our power to endure will crumble." I LOVE THAT. It can apply to all aspects of life. We can either choose to have faith and trust in God OR we can choose to worry and be miserable. This gospel is not about proof, it's about having faith and feeling the spirit. We can't convince anyone what we believe by just teaching them the principles of the gospel. We have to teach it by the spirit and help them develop their faith. President Hanks also talked about eagerness. Are we truly eager to share the gospel? Do we ponder continually the things of the Lord? Do we show God the desire of our hearts by our words and actions? Sister Hanks talked about self esteem and how we should NEVER compare ourselves to anyone else, but our best self. Comparison is truly the thief of joy. It just doesn't make sense to compare someone else's really strong strengths to our weaknesses. She also said that our weaknesses show a lot more while we are on a mission because we are trying to represent the only perfect person who walked this earth, Jesus Christ. I feel like I have been comparing myself to a lot of missionaries which is totally wrong. Numbers aren't everything. I have really learned just how to love and help people. If I can truly just love people and be where the savior would be if he were here, then I will be able to say at the end of my mission that I was a successful missionary. God is good!!!!

Anyway, we have a new investigator named Marcus!!!! GUESS WHERE HE IS FROM???? CLANTON!!!! It is totally meant to be!!! No one in Madison even knows where Clanton is hahaha. He was surprised I actually served there. Marcus is going through a divorce and has an ADORABLE little girl named Hayley. We went over to his home with Sister Jones and introduced him to the Book of Mormon. His eyes lit up as we started to talk about it and about our church services. He told us about how he hasn't been to church in years and that he wants to learn more so that he can raise his kids in the best way possible. He got so excited when we told him about nursery for his daughter. Sister Jones invited him to help out with the scouts because he is good with his hands and they needed help building some type of simulator. Anyway, he told us that he was going to come to church (We didn't even have to ask him), but he sadly didn't make it yesterday because he was in Birmingham figuring out things with his divorce. He is so ready though!!! 4 days after meeting him, we biked past his house and saw his ex-wife whom we had never met. We were debating whether or not we should talk to her. We both felt impressed to just go for it. SHE ENDED UP BEING REALLY NICE. We talked to her for a good 30 minutes about the church and she told us that half of her friends growing up were Mormon. She isn't too interested, but she told us that we should "definitely come back to teach Marcus and get him baptized!" hahaha She was super cute and kept telling us to be careful on our bikes and not walk in strangers homes... As if we have a choice!!!! We are going to go back tonight (if there isn't an ice storm... People are freaking out because there is apparently supposed to be 3 inches of snow tonight ha) and see if he's home!! woot woot!!!!

We taught Thor and Mary yesterday!!!! As soon as we walked into their home, Mary offered us a glass of water and asked us how we were doing. This may not seem like a big deal to y'all who are reading this, but she showed absolutely no interest in befriending us and now she loves having us over!!! MIRACLE. #servicesoftensstoneysouls We talked to them about the Plan of Salvation and only got through half of the lesson because they had lots of questions which was awesome! The spirit was super strong and I know that they could feel it. In the last appointment with them, we invited them to read the introduction to the Book of Mormon and they did!!! Thor said: "I loved reading the third paragraph when it says that the Book of Mormon tells men what they must do to gain peace in this life and eternal salvation in the life to come. That's what I want and what I have been looking for." AH. We were able to testify to him that it is true and that it DOES bring so much peace and lets us know the steps we need to take to gain eternal salvation. The Book of Mormon+ the spirit really is such an amazing tool in conversion. Sometimes, I get so frustrated when people just won't read it. They just need to realize what is right in front of them!!! Gah. I'm grateful for Thor and Mary and their willingness to read it and ask questions. God is good and angels are preparing the hearts of men to receive this gospel!!! (Moroni 7:29)

Sister Effinger came to church AGAIN yesterday and participated in Relief Society and is totally going to the R.S. recipe exchange this Thursday!!! Ah, I love seeing people come back into the fold. Her daughters weren't able to make it because they were with their dad this past weekend, but they will come next time and we are meeting with them tomorrow night and will probably start teaching them!! woot woot!!!!! All I really want to do is bring others closer to the savior than they were before. The savior never moves out of place. We do. 

Well, that's all I have to really report on this past week. It has been really cold and humidity is kinda the worst thing ever. haha. The cold just pierces through my bones. It's the strangest feeling. May we all strive to do something that stretches us every day. What are you going to do today that will bring you closer to Christ? If you were accused of being a disciple of Jesus Christ, what evidence would they find? 

Love y'all so much!!!! God is good and I am a happy missionary. This is the best thing that has ever happened to me. It's the hardest thing that has ever happened to me as well, but it's cool to think that this is the closest I will ever be to walking side by side to how the Savior's life was. I love the fact that I am relying on the Lord EVERY DAY in all that I THINK, DO, and SAY. Have a great week!!!!

MYKY,

Sister Platt 

P.S. THANK YOU SO MUCH TO MY SWEET MOTHER FOR THE FUN PACKAGE THAT MADE ME SMILE. It was perfect and exactly what I needed on the day that I received it!!!! I have the best family ever. It is a fact. I know it.

Uncle Sam!! okay, something I forgot to mention in my email... So for our zone conference lunch, we had a yukelele (however you spell that instrument) group come and they were people from all types of faiths!!! They sang some fun christian songs which involved lots of clapping and shouting "JESUS REDEEMED MY SOUL. OH YES HE DID." All the missionaries joined along. ahhaha but this guy in the photo is 94 years old and is just awesome! I had to get a photo with him. haha

Cute Deanna!! She is our ward missionary and LOVES having us over for dinner!! She is a professional cook and oh my, her food is delicious!! She made shrimp for us and I actually ate it!! I hate shrimp, but I LOVED hers!!!!! Her son plays for the NBA Hawks!! pretty sweet!!!!

I'm so GRATEFUL

AHHHHHHH WARREN IS SO PRECIOUS OH MY GOODNESS. LOOK AT THAT BUTTON NOSE!!! Ah. I just got chills looking at the sweet photos of him. Gah. I just love him so much and can't wait to meet him when he is running around. :) CONGRATS TO MERE AND GARY!!! LOVE Y'ALL SO MUCH!!!!!!! AWWWWWWW.

 

Well, this week had a lot of ups and downs, but really, I just don't even remember the bad stuff because there is just WAY TOO MUCH GOOD to share!!!!!

I had a really neat experience that I will never forget. On Tuesday night, the Huntsville elders randomly called us and mentioned how they found out I knew ASL and that they needed my help to teach a deaf investigator that they have. They wanted me to meet this investigator the VERY next day. I was freaking out and prayed for a really long time; asking Heavenly Father to help me remember what Sign Language I had learned in high school. I was so nervous to teach him and really turned to the Lord for help. So, Wednesday rolls around and we are at the door of the deaf man's home. He opens the door and I just immediately started to sign!!! It felt so natural and I KNOW that it was only through the spirit that I was able to communicate with him. I told him that we were Sister missionaries and that we wanted to share a message with him about Jesus Christ. I told him our names and he told us that his name was Donald. He told me that we needed to come back later because his girlfriend was a Jehovah Witness and didn't want us to come inside. I asked him if we could go downstairs and teach him in the lounge and he just kept saying to come back later. We left him with an ASL restoration movie to watch and he said he would. IT WAS JUST THE COOLEST EXPERIENCE. I'm so grateful for the chance that I had to use ASL and really put my knowledge to the test. SO GRAND.

 

We had 3 INVESTIGATORS AT SCRIPTURE STUDY THIS WEEK!!! Mally, John, and Nick!!!! It was the greatest thing ever and we were all just smiling from ear to ear.

 

We met with Randall, an investigator that we met through contacting who was friends with Lisa. We took a member over there with us to help teach and we just decided to invite him to be baptized because we really had nothing to lose. We just wanted to see if Randall was serious or not about us coming over. We kept getting the impression that he is just lonely and enjoys our visits. We taught him the whole 2nd lesson which is on the Plan of Salvation. He made fun of the whole lesson and the spirit just wasn't there. We asked him if he read the Book of Mormon and he replied, "Honestly. I won't ever read it so you can just take it back." It was dead silent in the room for a good 30 seconds. Thoughts in my mind kept coming. I just kept thinking, "Does he realize what he is missing out on? He doesn't even see what's right in front of him!!!!" Wanna know the best/most awkward part of us getting up and leaving? He asked if he could have a hug and we declined (obviously). Needless to say, I have learned how the spirit can only be there when an investigator is honestly interested and wants to learn more.

 

OH MY. GUESS WHAT. Sister Effinger (the one who has been less active for over 20 years) CAME TO CHURCH YESTERDAY AND BROUGHT JAYLEE AND HER OTHER DAUGHTER MAGGIE!!!!!!! They stayed the whole three hours and they all enjoyed themselves so much! Sister Effinger participated in Relief Society and ah, it was just the best feeling in the world to see her come back into the fold. I really do feel like my purpose here in Madison has been for this sweet family. Sister Effinger texted us last night and said, "Thank you sisters so much for coming over to my house last week. My daughters adore you both and they have never shown interest in my church until y'all showed up at my house." MIRACLE. Jaylee (15) and Maggie (13) haven't been baptized, but we are going to be patient on when a right time is for us to teach them because their dad (who is divorced from Sister E) is super anti about basically religion. So for now, we are just going to love them unconditionally :)

 

We taught Thor AND his wife Mary yesterday!!! This was our first time teaching Mary which was exciting. I think she softened up to us because we brought them over a dinner after she had her son, Pheonix. Food really does soften people up. hahaha We gave them both the first lesson and the spirit was super strong in the room. Mary said that she was willing to read the Book of Mormon and told us that she would read the Introduction and write down any questions that she had for the next time we come over. They are such amazing parents and are totally married which is so rare!!! Even in Alabama!!! Ah, Sister Sheffer and I just have a vision of them getting sealed in the temple one day with their sweet little boy Pheonix!!!!

 

We had a leadership meeting and we watched a broadcast from Tennessee and Elder Perry spoke! That man is HILARIOUS and so adorable. Ah, I just love him. He talked about this gospel and the need to share it. He talked about the age change and how that announcement is just as important as the restoration of the gospel!!! CRAZY. It's so neat to be a part of this work!!!!!! I challenge y'all to really help the missionaries in your ward. We really can't do this work alone. Success truly comes from the ward helping out. Elder Perry also told us to go out and count how many "no's" we can get when talking to people and just wait for that one "yes" that will make all the difference!!! The next day, Sister Sheffer and I decided to try it out and went tracting. We had gotten 8 "no's" and then, we found a "yes"!!!! A man named Marcus who just went through a tough divorce asked us to pray with him. We have an appointment with him tomorrow!!!!!! Missionary work is seriously so much fun!!!! People are just so great here.

It snowed here at the beginning of this week and oh my, people were freaking out. It was so funny. It didn't even stick!!!!!! I guess the schools were closed down in the mornings ha. .... Meanwhile, in Rexburg....

 

One thing that I have learned this week is to just put my trust in the Lord. Last Tuesday night, I was just being selfish and kept thinking how I feel like I haven't progressed at all. I just prayed and a confirmation came to me that I just needed to be patient and that God is working through me every day. Whether I realize it or not. I LOVE Doctrine and Covenants Section 58, verses 2-4!!!! READ IT. We cannot see all that God can see. We really just need to trust in Him and He will direct us to where we need to go and who we need to become. Glory ALWAYS comes after tribulation. God is so good! I tell myself that every day.

 

We had Zone training this past week and our zone leaders are just AMAZING people!!!! Elder Hunt prayed individually for each one of us and gave us a scripture that he thought would benefit each person. On the piece of paper he gave me,

2 Corinthians 4:17-18 was written next to my name. I had never even heard of that scripture until I read it that day. It was exactly what I needed to hear and I know that Elder Hunt was inspired to give me that specific scripture. Elder Hunt encouraged us to write any thoughts that came to our minds and I wrote a good 3 pages on it!!!! Heavenly Father is so mindful of each one of His children. He wants to be there for us. He wants us to communicate with Him.

 

I love y'all so much and hope this past week has been full of miracles!!!! Please, try to focus on the tender mercies of the Lord and I KNOW that if you will do this, you will be able to be happier and truly "inform your face". SEEK THE FACE OF THE LORD as it says in D&C 101:38. Do we have the image of God engraven upon our Countenances?

 

MYKY,

Sister Platt

The snow everyone was freaking out about.

My Companion

Roomies/Companions/BFF's I love these sisters!!!