Family!
Mom, I'll start off by answering some of your questions. The humidity is bad some days, and not so bad others. There will be days when we start sweating within 30 seconds of walking outside. It gets to the point where you just don't care that you're drenched in sweat, and you just deal with it :) I've often walked into a member's home, and my back is completely soaked. Haha, I'm investing in some body spray. I have not had to give a talk yet! I was expecting to my first day in the ward, but they just made a little announcement over the pulpit that we had a new missionary. That was fine with me! I have to say, the ward really has been so welcoming, and they are starting to feel like my own ward family. They feed us often so we don't have to do much cooking for ourselves. Knocking my first door...I don't have much of a memory of it, but I think my companion did most of the talking. This is generally how the conversation goes at the door step:
"Hi, we are missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ....yada yada "
"I'm actually Catholic"
We then continue to talk about how we have a common belief in Jesus Christ, and how we have been given the Book of Mormon, which is just another testament of Him and in no way takes away from the Bible. Unfortunately, most people don't really listen to what we say because they already know they're not going to change. Talk about frustrating! Sometimes I wish I was more like the prophets in the Book of Mormon and could just flat out call these people to repentance, but somehow I don't think that would go over very well. Anyway, we just try to keep the faith that there are those that are prepared; it's just a matter of finding them. Speaking of finding, we did find a couple new investigators this past week! Noreen is an older woman who we found tracting, and we had a great conversation with her and her husband about the purpose of life and why we go through trials. She wants to know how to develop better relationships with her daughters, and we were able to testify that the gospel blesses families. We have another appointment with her on Friday so I hope that works out! There is another guy named Ed we found while street contacting, and after our first lesson he's started reading the Book of Mormon. He's been a little skeptical of the Book of Mormon, and he feels like our religion is more for younger people. Haha, my companion and I laughed about that one. We'll definitely be taking an older member with us to our next lesson!
For bigger news, we're expanding our area! We are taking an town called Sewickley that was in the Elders' area, but they've been nice enough to give it to us. It is a more upscale area and is primarily untouched by missionaries. It also is much farther away, so we are working on getting bus passes this week! I'm really excited...the work has been pretty slow in the area we have now, and we feel that there is a lot of potential in Sewickley. Working in a richer area will bring with it new challenges, but it will be a nice contrast from what we're used to. Haha, by the way, I just found out we have Steelers players in our ward! Chris Hoke, who recently retired, is the second counselor in the Bishopric! What the heck! I guess there's another man in training right now, but I'm not sure who he is.
Let's see, Oh! We had a great lesson with Barbara on Saturday! We watched the Restoration and Elder Holland's "Safety for the Soul" Mormon message. She really enjoyed it, and she feels like she knows a lot more about who Joseph Smith was. I think we underestimated her testimony that Joseph Smith was a prophet. She expressed that she accepts him as a prophet, but she has just wanted to know more about him. Her faith has been such an example to us, and I cannot wait for her baptism!!! She'll have her baptismal interview this coming Saturday, and her baptism will be on July 27th. I have grown to love her so much! She is a spunky old woman and is not afraid to say what she's thinking. I'll definitely have to send a picture of her! Well, I love you guys and love hearing from you! Joseph's email was just too much...I love him. And, Rachel's letter made me smile. Thanks for the love and support!
Love,
Sister Denney
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