Elder Samuel Ward: Missouri Independence Mission: Templeton, Templeton, TEMPLE.TON! 🐖 #CharlottesWeb- Week 34

What up family!

This week was a pretty awesome week!!

We had dinner at the Offields again last Monday which was super awesome as always.... they are just a super awesome family! We have been teaching their son Mason the lessons, and he got Baptized yesterday! He is way cool, his dad baptized him, and it was actually a very spiritual program.

Well I think I my have mentioned someone named Elizabeth last week? She is a self referral. She googled "Free Christian Books" and WHAM BAM! We show up on her doorstep the next day!! Haha. Well we have taught her the 1st two lessons now and she is doing awesome. She is pretty shy and doesn't talk much, but I can tell she is really liking what we are teaching her. She was definitely going to come to church this week but said she was going to have to move to Oklahoma with her grandparents for a month until she can get on her feet. Again. So that was sad, so we were going to see if we could get permission to give her Skype Lessons online until she gets back. BUT we LITERALLY JUST GOT A TEXT that she thinks she's not going to move anymore, so hooray!!!! So hopefully we can get over there today or tomorrow and see what's up!

We also had an appointment with our new investigator Judy. We showed up, and she had a ton of intravenous Lines in. It was a little creepy. But she let us in. We didn't feel like it was a good setting to teach the restoration in because of all the meds going through her, and there was a ton going on, so we showed a Mormon Message to her and had a prayer. Well, we got a text the next day, basically a really nice way of dropping us. It goes "blah blah blah...The Prayer was nice...See you in Paradise" so at least she doesn't think we are evil! But we will call her again in the next couple days and have a little chat.

So, besides all that. This week was super hectic, with Elizabeth moving to Oklahoma..then not, and Judy. Then Karrin forgot about our lesson with her so that didn't happen, etc. BUT!! Elder Parker and I had a ton of miles left over so we decided to go out way to the middle of nowhere (in our middle of nowhere area) to a place called Hardin...Pop. 159. There are a couple members that live there that we have never met. We decided to knock on their doors. and the Members don't live there anymore so we got them off the Ward roster. Then we went tracting in the Farm land! All the houses are like 2 miles apart. So we drove forever and just knocked on random farm houses. We got 3 new investigators!! They are pretty nice! One is like 75 yrs. Old. Has some Mormon cousins and wants to learn more! The other one is a younger guy living with a friend, knows nothing about Jesus, and wants to learn more!! SO YAY!!! We are totally pumped!!

Not much else happened. Training is going way super awesome. I absolutely love it and am so honored to be trusted to do it! Elder Parker is super cool and a great missionary!!

#Spirit: well this week was good! We had a zone action plan to find new investigators by improving our faith. We were all asked to come up with our own plans as a companionship to do it. Well, Elder Parker and I decided that since faith is 'Hope for things which are not seen,' we decided that we are going to hope that the people that we can't see behind their doors will become new investigators! We prayed for the gift of discernment and increased hope and positivity. And it definitely worked! We got some more really awesome investigators such as Bernita and Marcus. They want to learn more and seem prepared! I know that the Lord definitely provides. Everything is founded on

faith. That's how Christ healed people and how we repent, etc. Faith allows us to draw closer to God and perform his Miracles. I Know this work is true and is HIS work. Miracles happen!

I love you all so much! Thanks for everything you do!

~Elder Samuel LaVar Ward