I DIDN'T KNOW I WAS PREGNANT

One of my favorite tv shows back home is "I didn't know I was pregnant." If you don't believe me, check my blog: crookedbrooke.blogspot.com and look for the blog post about Nemo the Fish. Anyways, I found out on Saturday that I'm having a baby on Tuesday and it's a girl!-- but, more about that later.

 

 This week has been a very long week. It hasn't been a bad week, just jam packed.

 

On Tuesday we were in Barbourville and saw Sherry and she was having some pretty bad seizures that were lasting an hour or so long. Whenever we come in and she's having a seizure we start reading the Book of Mormon and she comes out of it. It's really neat. So, we came over and she had a friend there who we hadn't met and she wasn't talking much to us when we tried to introduce ourselves. She was pretty stand-off-ish. We didn't know how comfortable she'd be having us read the Book of Mormon in there, but we knew that Sherry needed it so we started reading to her. We gave her friend, Carla, a book to follow along with us out of politeness. After we finished Sherry had stopped having her seizure. Carla kept thumbing through the book so we asked her if she had any questions and she held up the Book of Mormon and said, "Yeah. Where can I get one of these?" Awesome! "You can just keep that one." "Thanks." Then Sherry bore her testimony to Carla all about the Book and what the gospel teaches us that she loves. The questions that she's had all her life and never found answers to in any other church. It was really cool. Sadly, Sherry STILL hasn't come to church because every Sunday she seems to have crazy/bad seizures, but we're working on it. She also has very bad depression but I think that's one of the reasons that I'm in Corbin because she and I will talk about the things we go through and have gone through with depression. Sister Ralph just sits there not knowing what to say but I think she's here for a reason, too. She has people in her family that have depression and she's commented on how much she is learning and being able to understand them and love them more because of what she sees with Sherry.

On Wednesday we were in the Library preparing for a fireside we were putting on on Sunday. While we were there we started talking to Bro Noe. He was in the middle of telling us his conversion story when a fight broke out in the library. I think I mentioned a girl and her boyfriend a couple weeks ago. We saw them in the emergency room. She's on drugs real bad and he's abusive to her. Anyways, she was in the library when he ran in and hit her to the ground and took her cell phone and she was crying and asking him to stop. And all of the men in the library jumped up and told him to get out of there and they called the cops and it was pretty intense for a library. I hope she doesn't go back to him. I hope we run into her again soon without a bunch of people around so that we can talk to her and share the gospel with her.

We met a guy this week who had been given a pass along card a year ago and found it and wanted the Finding Faith in Christ DVD. We delivered it to him and he was pretty cool. He had some attention problems because he had overdosed a couple years ago on cocaine and had some brain damage because of it. But he was very sincere and wanting to make things right with God. He lives with his uncle out in the country. His uncle has the BEST mullet I've ever seen. We invited him to sit in on the lesson with us and he said, "No. I don't believe in Mormon. I like to drink beer. I'm a Baptist all the way." So, we taught Tony the Plan of Salvation and he paid really close attention to everything we said and at the end told us we "did a really good job" and that he wants to go to the "top place" and then he said, "You two have perfect teeth. Both of you. They're great." Haha. We taught him again on Friday and he told us that he was getting baptized at his uncle's church on Sunday even though he didn't like the church all that much. We told him about authority and the restoration and he said he'd get baptized anyways because it couldn't hurt and then we could keep talking next week. Sister Ralph told me as soon as we got out of his house that he would get anti'd at his baptism and she was right. He just barely called and told me that he can't do our church thing because he has to stay with the church that he was raised and baptized in. Bummer.

At District Meeting this last Thursday Sister Ralph and I were asked to do the training and we did it on opening our mouths and talking to everyone and then asking for referrals from everyone. It was fun. When we were preparing it in our companion study we found some really great rebuking scriptures that talk about how we are not just asked but COMMANDED to open our mouths. And I'm not just talking about misisonaries. We had fun making everyone read them in their best rebuking voices possible.

Friday was Sherry's birthday and none of her siblings or kids did anything for her so we went over and spent the evening with her. She says that she can feel heaven when we're there.

Saturday was crazy and wonderful. We got up and went over to Willard's and buttoned his top button and put his tie on him (a red one that I bought for him because red is my, his wife's and his favorite color) and made sure he looked good and then left him there to wait for his ride and then went home to wait for our ride. We were picked up by the Hollins and we drove with them to Richmond where the four of us hitched a ride with Brother Brown (our high council rep) up to Louisville to go to the temple.

Brother Brown is the king of one-liners. My favorite is how he talks about the temple as the place where the almost dead do work for the dead. His wife died a couple years ago and he misses her terribly. He goes to the temple every week and fulfills his calling but he wants to just go back and be with her again. He always has candy and food in his pockets and reminds me of a skinny, hill-billy Father Christmas. He pretends to be mean, especially to me, but he really loves me and pretends to be mean to show his love for me.

 We got to the temple and Sister Ralph and I did an endowment session and it was such a blessing. I've been praying for this chance for a while now knowing that usually you can only go to the temple as a misisonary a year or so after you've been out on your mission. As I was in the Celestial room I watched as one spouse would wait for the other to come into the room and they would hold hands and sit together. I kept thinking about Mary watching Willard as he has joined the church and is waiting for her work to be done and how wonderful it will be for them to be reunited and be able to enter the Celestial Kingdom together. I'm so glad that in a year I'll be able to meet up with Willard and Sister Ralph again and go through an endowment session with them. 

After the session we went to the baptismal font where Willard was sitting and watching the baptisms (he didn't get baptized because of how hard it is with him being crippled). But he loved it. He can't wait to get the names ready of his family members. It was such a special day. 

As we waited outside of the temple and took pictures with Willard, President Woodbury called me. I knew it was transfer call day and I had expected to be transferred. But, when President calls you know someone is training. Logically it would be Sister Ralph. But, it's me. I'm training this next transfer. This means that I'll be in Corbin for at least another three months which is wonderful. I don't want to leave this place, the promised land. But I'll miss Sister Ralph and I am extremely nervous about training. I've had trouble sleeping and focusing the last couple days. I still feel so new out here in the field. I don't know how good of a job I'll do, but I want this Sister's mission to start off in a different way than mine did. I just hope I'm up to the task. President told me he knows I'm young out here, but that he has full confidence in me and that my Zone Leaders have full confidence in me. Bishop Barton gave me a blessing yesterday because I've been pretty stressed. I love the priesthood. I always immediately feel comforted when their hands are placed on my head. I think I'll be ok. I hope I'll be ok. PLEASE pray for me and for my new companion. In mission lingo I'm becoming a mommy and Sister Gossett is becoming a grandma. Hence the fact that I didn't know I was pregnant. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE pray for me and for my greenie.

Also, don't worry, Kubo sent me a neon traffic vest for me to give to my greenie when she backs me in the car. It's going to be awesome and I hope she doesn't find out for a while that she isn't supposed to wear it.

Word of the Week: Roaschineers. I've asked and asked how to spell it but no one knows how to spell it. It's just slang. It means corn on the cob. Don't ask me why. I've almost figured out that it means "roasting ears" but none of them can confirm it. They just ask if I wants a roaschineer.

Extra Blessings: Lindsey and the boys. Thanks for the pictures and especially the diaper! I died laughing!

I love you all. The Church is TRUE! Share it!

 

Love Yuns,

Sis Nelson