February 10, 2014

Dear family,

 

It's been a jam-packed week with our Sister's training, exchanges, and Mission Leadership Council. But, even with us being gone so much, we have managed to have a pretty successful week in our area!

 

 We picked up three new investigators on Saturday. Kassahun and his family are originally from Ethiopia and they are devout Seventh day Adventist. We tracted into Kassahun about a week and a half ago and he invited us back for this last Saturday. We think his intent may have been to teach us about their beliefs, but whatever the intent, it got us a return appointment! So, we showed up on Saturday and a younger lady opened the door and immediately welcomed us in, even though she had no idea who we were. It was crazy! We walked into their living room to find literally fifteen people sitting around staring at us. I have never felt so out of place! Haha, I think because it was their Sabbath day, all the family was spending the day together. Whatever the reason, it was slightly intimidating. It was a crazy environment with so many people and kids running around, but we managed to teach them the Restoration. During the lesson, some of them lost interest and left the room, but three of them were very interested in what we had to say. Kassahun's daughter, Miraf, was especially intrigued. She knows her Bible very well and wanted to make sure the things we taught matched up with the Bible perfectly. It was an intense lesson and they expressed many concerns...their biggest concern being the fact that Peter, James, and John appeared to Joseph Smith and gave him the Priesthood. (They say God doesn't work through dead people). BUT, they want us to come back next Saturday on their Sabbath! After our lesson with them we talked to an elder I used to serve around that used to be Seventh day Adventist. He said the biggest factor in his conversion was the testimony he gained of the Book of Mormon. So, next time we hope to really focus on the Book of Mormon...hopefully they will give it a chance! :)

 

 I forgot to tell you guys about a cool experience we had last week! We have been teaching a lot of less-active members, but not many of them had been coming to church. Because of that, our weekly goal was to do everything we could to get less-active members to church. We tried to involve visiting teachers and other members in helping these less-active members feel comfortable coming, and we focused our lessons towards the commitment of coming to church. Not everything went totally as planned...but we did all we could. We got to church on Sunday, and watched as six of our less-active members walked in the chapel. It was one of the most rewarding experiences on my mission so far. It's so cool how Heavenly Father blesses us for our faith. Even though some of our plans fell through, He recognized our faith as we set that goal and did all we could to achieve it. I am so grateful for the experiences when I can really see the hand of the Lord in this work. I know that he always blesses us for our efforts. Not always in ways we see or understand, but he always blesses us.

 

I hope you know how much I love and appreciate you guys. I am so blessed to have such supportive and loving family and friends. Your support truly has given me so much strength. Have a Happy Valentine's day and know that Sister Denney in Pennsylvania loves you!!!

 

Love,

 

Sister Denney