Howdy y'all!
It still doesn't sound natural to say y'all, but I am working on it. Several times in my lessons yesterday at Church I had to remember that y'all is the "appropriate" form of you and I had to force my self to say it. It's coming along though. Anyway, onto other things...
We had a good week this past week ending with an amazing Sunday. Our investigators we've been teaching from the time we got here finally got engaged and are planning on getting married! We were so excited when we found out. AND, they came to Church yesterday! We were really afraid that she wouldn't come, but she did along with her son and his friend. It was so good seeing them there. They told us that they have seen a change in their lives since we started teaching them--they have been happier, their house feels like "home", etc. It is great when people can actually point out how the gospel has already blessed them. The gospel really does bless families. It is clear to see the difference between families who truly strive to live the gospel everyday in their homes and those who do not. Mom and Dad, thank you so much for teaching us the gospel at home! It has been one of the greatest blessings to me in my life.
Another investigator set his own baptismal date. We were really happy because we had set one with him that we picked out, but he didn't know if he would be ready for it. When we taught him on Friday he told us he had picked a day himself. Because he set that date himself, I'm confident he'll keep it. It isn't quite as soon as we would like, but it is very reasonable for him. His girlfriend, who is a member, was surprised when he told her it would be that soon.
This week we decided to do a little tracting. The second man we talked to told us that because he loves us he just wanted to let us know that we are going to hell. We tried to talk with him a little bit, but he just wasn't going to let go of the subtle craftiness of men that he has been blinded with long enough to listen. As we were walking on to the next house we were trying to fingure out how telling someone they are on the path to hell is love. I still don't get it and never will. If we look at Christ, the perfect example of love, he never told anyone they were going to hell even if they were guilty of serious sins (like the woman taken in adultery). True love, or charity, is kind and sees people for who they have a potential to become. Charity never condemns anyone, no matter what they are doing. One day that man will figure it out.
Other than that, it's missionary work as usual here. The weather has been ridiculous. It was pretty cool last week and then all of a sudden it got really warm and in the 70s. I hope this isn't a prediction of things to come. I don't know if I'm ready for really hot temperatures and high humidity.
I hope all is going well for you as you all have started back to "normal life" after the holidays. I love you! Love, Joanna