Samantha leaves to go the MTC on Wednesday so her farewell was yesterday. My dad sent me a copy of her talk and I cried. She's going to be a really good missionary but a little part of me is already a little trunky for her to come home because I miss her a lot. She's my best friend.
Transfers are coming up this week and Hermana Petty is leaving Memphis so we spent a lot of time visiting everyone, taking pictures, and Hermana Petty saying goodbye. The members and I are sad to see her go, but since she's been here 6 months, I guess it's time for a change. Memphis (and I) will be getting a brand new missionary! I'll excited to meet her. All I know so far is that she's native and coming from Texas.
Hermana Petty and I have seen so many miracles in our 3 transfers together. We've worked so hard with the members to help them trust that we're good missionaries and it's finally paying off. On Thursday after our English class, a couple of the members came in and were talking to the people and fellowshipping them. It was so awesome! Afterwards, one member who has been struggling to stay strong in the church said, "Hermanas, I feel the spirit coming back to me because I was a missionary to them!" Then after that, the branch president's wife asked us to help her fellowship a young woman in the branch because she's struggling and then she gave us a referral! It was so awesome, especially because we don't get referrals that often. I am so excited for the new Hermana to come and work here in Memphis and see even more miracles.
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| Also, Elder Anaya is going home, so lots of changes for the Memphis Spanish District. |
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| Elder Anaya's funeral. Sorry, I don't look very sad. Elder Smalley was making me laugh! |
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| Hermana Petty saying goodbye to Hermana Dunn... a branch member here. |
This week we taught the grandkids of our recent convert, Miguela. When we texted their mom to ask if we could come over to teach them, she responded back saying, "Actually I would love that a lot." Their names are Yari and Jr and they are 12 and 10 so we tried to make it fairly short and interesting so that they would like it. They usually come to church every week with their family so we asked them what they thought about church and they said they like it and they feel good when they come. They also said they are interested in learning more about the church. Jr was participating a ton during the lesson, even when he didn't know the right answers. When we were talking about prophets, we were naming some as examples like Adam, Noah, Abraham, etc. And Jr said, "Genesis?" When we asked what they know about Jesus, he said, "he's the Father of God? .... wait I mean the Son of God!" It was cute. He was having a hard time sitting, especially at the end but he was still answering questions and trying to participate, which was awesome. They recognize a change in their grandma since her baptism and know what it was a positive thing. They seem to like us and so that was good. At the end, we asked them to pray about our message. They really understand the concept of getting an answer and looking for the Holy Ghost while praying. Yari was a little hesitant to commit but we talked about it and told her that she doesn't have to pray in front of anyone and could even do it in her head if she wants. After we talked about it for a while, she felt better and was able to commit. The lesson was so awesome, I don't know why we didn't try harder to teach them before!
I've been reading the Book of Mormon again and it's so awesome. I'm not very far, only like 1 Nephi 12, I think. But I am so grateful for the Book of Mormon and that we have it. I know with all my heart that it's true and I love sharing it with the people here in Memphis. I know that we have so many blessings because of the Book of Mormon. A lot of the time, I wish the people I talk to every day would take it a little more seriously, but I know they have their agency. I am so grateful for my testimony of the Book of Mormon.
We made cupcakes for both the branch president and the other family I told you about a couple of weeks ago. When we stopped by the less active family, one of the kids came out and said no one else was home. So we gave them to him and I felt good about it. Right before we gave the branch president's wife theirs, she invited us over for dinner! Somehow we managed to fit it into our crazy schedule and it ended up being a really good thing to build our relationship with them. And they said they loved the cupcakes, so that was really nice too.
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| Me teaching English class. |
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| I love our English class. |
Love you all!
Hermana Keller
