So I realize I haven't told y'all too much about Vermont! So:
-Everyone uses the side doors. If you go to someones front door, it will freak them out more than if you go to their back door.
-There are Jamaicans everywhere!! I have no idea what it is, but for some reason Vermont is the gathering place of Jamaicans. We teach a lot of them and they're all somehow related to each other. For example: we teach this guy named Garth. A few weeks ago, we met this girl Oneicka and she told us she's related to Garth! We started teaching her. Then a little bit after that, we met this girl Shamoy who lives in the same trailer park as Garth and one night we went over there and Oneicka was there and was like "Shamoy is my sister! This is our dad!" It blew my mind.
- We do a lot of service here! Thursdays we volunteer at a thrift shop and then later at a food cupboard (literally my favorite place ever, it's awesome!), Fridays we volunteer at the Library! (okay the Manchester Library is so beautiful I'm obsessed), and on Saturdays we volunteer at Resale, it's part of Habitat for Humanities (a program that helps build houses for people) that sells used furniture. We also talked to this lady about helping with 'neighbor to neighbor' where we'd visit a lot of lonely people in the community, and we've talked to a nursing home about doing volunteer work there too! We can do up to 10 hours of service a week so we're trying to figure everything out, but it's awesome! Definitely something I want to continue throughout my life. Volunteering is one of my favorite parts about being a missionary. Helping the community is an incredible feeling!
Those are a few of the main things, but I'm sure I'll come up with more later.
This week was awesome! So we have an investigator named Kathy. I've never met her because she moved to Florida to help her mom with some family stuff but since I've been here, we've been doing lessons over the phone with her. Well a few weeks ago, we called and her mom answered and we asked if we could read a chapter from the BOM with her (Wendy) and in the middle of it, she stopped us and told us she was crying. Fast forward to Friday night, Kathy has quit smoking and coffee for almost a month, Wendy and Kathy are progressing SO well and committed to a baptism date of April 1st!! We found out that they're planning on staying in Florida and not moving back up here which we thought they were going to. So they've been meeting with the Elders in Florida and went to church yesterday! I am sooo proud of the progress they have both made! I haven't met either of them but from doing phone lessons, my love for them has grown so much. They have the strongest desires to follow God's plan!
We also met with Brittni
she's my miracle story. The one that we knocked on her door the same day that she told her mom she needed help. She's a Less Active that we visited with Sister Martin this week. We watched the Restoration video with her and her kids. Bailey is 16 and her best friend from Logan just moved up here to live with them for a while. Her friend, Kylie was baptized when she was younger but doesn't remember much. They both felt the Spirit so strong during the movie and said they'd pray to know if Joseph Smith was a prophet. We asked them how that knowledge would help them and they gave sincere answers of how it would help them be on the right path and lead and guide them in their lives. I LOVE TEACHING TEENAGERS. It's amazing because this is such a crucial time in their lives where they really need the gospel and it will help them towards an amazing future. I'm super excited to help them come back to church.
Also we met with my main man Ed this week! Ed is super cool. He's been closed off to God for years now but Sister Folkman and DeGoyler OYM'd him a while ago and Sister Folkman and I started teaching him. He always said there was something different about us. He has questions about EVERYTHING because he's such a deep thinker. It's awesome. He says he's not sure if baptism will happen or if he'll choose to go down this path, but since meeting with us, his life has gotten better and that he likes what he's learning. My favorite thing is when we teach someone something and they say "that makes sense" because yes it does! The gospel. just. makes. sense. Also last night, we were reading from the Book of Mormon and Wendy said "this is weird. But I feel like I've heard this before. It's familiar" I'm like "IT'S BECAUSE YOUR SPIRIT KNOWS THIS. YOU KNEW THIS BEFORE YOU CAME TO THIS LIFE" YOU GUYS THE GOSPEL IS INCREDIBLE.
One of the best parts about being a teacher is when you see your student have the lightbulb go off for them, the moment when an idea makes sense to them and they understand something! Well, the best part about being a missionary is similar. When they get the confirmation that this is good, this is true, this is familiar. It's incredible.
One last thing! There's a Less Active that sisters have been meeting with consistantly for YEARS and she hasn't come to church. I've only met her once since being here because Sister Folkman wanted to give her a break to see if she would notice the difference between when the sisters are there or not. Well, yesterday, that Less Active came to church for the first time in YEARS. Our branch president said that's the first time that he's ever seen her at church. That was a really cool experience. AND we found out that this Less Active is our investigator, Ed's aunt! They were both at church yesterday. We set up a time to go see this LA and Ed said he wants to come to that lesson with her. IT'S AMAZING HOW GOD HAS A PLAN AND PUTS PEOPLE IN EACH OTHERS LIVES AT A SPECIFIC TIME FOR A SPECIFIC REASON. GOD IS GOOD.
Funniest story of the week:
Sister Jones at District Meeting: "Sister Rodriguez! We got the cops called on us this week! And I was like 'I feel like a Manchester sister!'" hahahah isn't that cute? I LOVE SISTER JONES. It was really funny. We have a reputation here. ha, I really do love Vermont though. It is beautiful! The weather is about as bipolar as Utah's but we're surviving.
Also the scriptures are truly amazing. I read Alma 26 last week and truly felt like that was my experience in Manchester. Ether 12:27 has made a huge difference in my life.
Love you all! Have a great week, xoxo
1. I was terrible at taking pictures this week but here's a selfie with the Valentine Sister Campbell gave me. I think it's pretty funny the rest are just random VT pictures :)
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