Miracles

"I can't believe I bowled!"

Finally a dog in her life!

A wise man once said that "the Midwest is flat and the wind whips like no other." He was correct. I don't actually know that a wise man once said that, but it is a true statement nonetheless. I say "ow" a lot when walking to from our car to the house. The sun can be shining and it can be colder than a walk in freezer outside. Sometimes I miss San Diego and Hawaii and the locals here just chuckle with sympathy. But hey, we are doing the Lord's work and frostbitten fingertips thaw nicely!

This past week we found two new people to teach, Gary and Hazel. Gary even came to church yesterday and really enjoyed it! He is an older guy who lives in a nursing home, and is a friend of a less active member who lives there. Gary wears a coonskin cap anytime he is not lounging in his room watching movies on AMC. He's pretty much awesome and we're excited to help him progress in the gospel. 

Last week we had a rad zone preparation day. We went bowling. If you know me, you know I'm not the greatest fan of bowling. I just feel the athlete's foot coming on as I wear old shoes that hundreds of others have sweat in as they walk the 15 feet to the lane, chuck a ball, and walk back. Also, the natural grease that coats your fingers as your stick em in holes that little kids and old men have used after sneezing and eating nachos, is not the most pleasant feeling. Regardless, I was determined to overcome my aversion to the plentiful germs that infest the sport of bowling. I relay this message because I'm pretty sure I bowled my best score ever. A solid 152! I was saying I was happy to break a 100 and when I was knockin them pins down I just thought, "my dad would be so proud!" Super cheesy and somewhat prideful but I wanted to share my amazing bowling experience! The power to overcome dislike and being not a fan of something is real! Now, I'm not gonna say I love bowling, but putting up a 152 makes coping with the germs, weird feeling toes, and sticky fingers a lot easier. I could draw a gospel parallel to this subject, but it doesn't seem terribly appropriate.

Instead I will write to you all of something great I learned this past week. So last week we ended up with a big zero in the investigator pool. Cashena dropped us and thus went her daughter. It was hard but I learned that we did our job. The Lord put us in her path as she was taking out her trash. He had prepared her with thoughts about being baptized for two weeks prior to us meeting her! She was totally prepared. He put us in her path and we opened our mouths. God had done His part and we His servants did our part, she exercised agency to not accept the message of the restored gospel. Although it is sad to see her make that choice, it is extremely gratifying to know that the Lord is able to use us as His tool, and that He trusts us with those people who He has prepared. 

Our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are so incredibly invested in our lives. But in the end we must exercise our agency to make the correct decisions. There are powers seen and unseen working on our minds and hearts, preparing us for what is ahead. We must yield to the Lord, for He knows best, and is completely, entirely, totally invested in our lives. For He said "This is my WORK and my glory- to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man." 

I hope that lesson from the learnings of Sister Skaggs is more uplifting and enlightening than a bowling analogy would have been. Love you all and I thank you for your support and kind words. 

Love y'all,

Sister Skaggs