Stuck in the Mud

YAY!! I am staying here in Mackay! I love the beginning of a new transfer because it gives me a renewed energy boost to work even harder! :) I am worried about Sister Kennedy though. Its hard for me to give someone else the desire I have to share the gospel. Some days I feel like I am dragging her out the door but all is well, I know the work will pick up and there is always something we can learn from each other and even though the hard times aren't very fun, that's when I seem to learn/grow the most. Any who, I can't wait to see how this transfer turns out and I know the hitting point for Sister Kennedy is coming (I feel like she has already it but its all good, I guess I just need to be patient and keep loving her.) But Hey! The work is picking up! We have plans to set dates with 3 of our investigators and with all the changes in our wards. New bishops, new ward mission leaders, I have a feeling some new doors are going to open. Change is hard... because we've built trust with these people but at the same time it is good because they may have new ideas and different ways to get the work moving! So bittersweet all together hehe :)

Overall good week. (Every week on a mission seems to always turn out good!) The Ippolitos came to the ward activity and they brought friends! Jimmy was extremely sick so we came over to visit him. He goofed off and what not but Evelyn asked us to say a prayer for him. As we bowed our heads and I started to pray, the spirit took over. Probably one of the strongest prayers I have had on my mission. The Spirit led my words and touched their hearts. The spirit was so strong none of us could deny it. When we said amen, Jimmy was quiet (he is never quiet!) and Evelyn was in tears. They felt it. We all felt it. :) I am so grateful for prayer and that we got to be instruments in the Lord's hands to help the Ippolitos feel how much Heavenly Father loves them. They can't deny it, none of us can.

Also this week we literally got stuck in the mud... both spiritually and so did our car. haha After meeting with the bishop, it was raining, snow melting, we drove to turn around and bam... got stuck. The more we tried to move, the deeper we got, kinda embarrassing. But hey! It turned out to be super great because a totally inactive family helped pull us out who before that, avoided us at all costs. Anyway, because we got stuck we had to figure out how to get ourselves out right, well luckily for our car an inactive family came to the rescue but as for us spiritually, only the Savior could pull us out. I felt like the more I tried to help or figure something out, the deeper Sister Kennedy and I got. Our unity was completely off and I learned this week that often times I rely way too much on myself. I don't go to Him as often as I should. I shouldn't just go to Him when I need help but also when everything is going okay, I need to show thanks, appreciation, love, ask for His direction... I need to be humble enough to change... so I can let Him come closer to me. I think part of the reason why we felt stuck is because we both had to humble ourselves. We needed to let down our pride and stop focusing on ourselves or each other and instead focus on the work! Focus on our investigators! When I stopped focusing on dragging Sister Kennedy out the door (and how frustrated that makes me ~ changing frustration into love) and she stopped focusing on how she doesn't want to be here, the spirit came back. We were able to talk things out, humble ourselves, and get back to work, the right way! (Which I think helped Sister Kennedy to stop thinking about home. Cool how work does that :)) I am grateful for how He helped us break things down so we could build them back up in His way. Turning our will into His and instead of asking for our circumstances to change, asking for the strength to change our circumstance (if that makes sense? :)) You know, sometimes I need to get stuck in the mud before I let Him come help me out... and sometimes I need to get stuck before I commit to change... ya know what I'm saying? Geeze... I just wish I didn't get stuck so often! Haha :) Trying to word that together all cute and totally didn't work hahah conclusion... I hate getting stuck in the mud but I know there's only one person who can pull me out and that is the Savior. (Pretend that was all worded cute haha)

Have a great week everyone! 

2 Timothy 2:19 "Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his..."

Love,

Sister Coats

Stuck in the Mud

Rose!