Hey friends!
This has been a pretty awesome week! We've been getting out into new areas of our ward, and it's been doing wonders for the work! We still are getting some of it figured out, but it's okay because we're getting there, and that's all that God asks of us.
We got to go out to our new investigators, Donna and Terry, this week. They're really awesome! I could talk to them for hours, but I shan't. I've got too much work to do! But hey, it's okay. I'm just happy they like us, and when we asked them to come to church, they said they would without any hesitation. Unfortunately, they didn't this week, but I'd be surprised if they didn't come soon.
We had Zone Conference this week, and it was long! Five hours! But honestly I didn't realize it was until I looked at the time afterwards. Gotta love the spirit! President gave an awesome training on repentance. He said that everything we need to repent of will fall into one of six categories: disobedience, fears, unbridled passions, pride, bad attitude, and laziness. So, now we all have to figure out what exactly we need to sacrifice in our life to come closer to Christ. I wrote down one thing for each category, and decided what to give up. I'd challenge all of you to do that in your life as well! It'll definitely bring you closer to Christ!
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Later that night, Sister Griffiths and I went around downtown Knoxville looking for a building. It was late, so we couldn't see much, but from the distant streetlights we could see a tall black
metal fence around it, the kind a gargoyle would sit on top of. We parked our car, unsure if we had the right address. However, something inside of us kept pushing us forward as we exited our car. Maybe the spirit, maybe stupidity. We followed a cobblestone trail that was buried in the overgrown grass up the steps of the porch, as we heard the sharp creaking of the porch swing as it rocked back and forth in the breeze of that chill November night. There were lights shining from the windows. We could tell someone was in there. "Should we go inside?" Sister Griffiths asked as she tried to peek through the foggy windows. I grabbed hold of the doorknob and breathed out a quiet, "Yeah." My heart raced as I slowly turned it. Eyes widening, "Oh hey, we're here!" Good ol' institute building! I hadn't been in one of those for over a year! I just feel so at home when I see that carpet that's in every LDS building. We were trying to find a referral there, but he wasn't there that day, so we'll try again in a few weeks. But I must say, it is quite the party there. The Coburns, a senior couple that I just love, were there, and we got some lasagna since we just happened to drop in at the perfect time. Good times.
We also got to go out to see a member I mentioned a while back: Emma, who's deaf. She's really sweet. We just write notes to her, which makes things kinda interesting, but hey, you have the whole conversation recorded. Haha! She said something though that really hit me. She started crying and said, "You know, people ask me if I could hear just one more thing, what I'd want it to be, and I really just want to hear one more sermon about Christ. I don't want to read it. I want to hear it." It really got me, and you know, I can't blame her. Just think about the difference hearing a conference talk makes compared to reading it. Hearing all of their emotions and the passion they have for it. It's incredible. As ridiculous as it seems, after we left, I caught myself thinking, "Maybe we could do this for her, or that or something." But I can't. Obviously there's no way I can make her hear a sermon like she wants again. It just makes me grateful for the resurrection. She will hear again some day. It'll be a while, but she will, and it's incredible because I can only imagine that the first words she'll hear again are those of her Savior.
Sincerely,
Sister Shelton
The last time I got to see Sister Parry out here in the TKM. She's headed home this week to do incredible things with the things she's learned out here on her mission. Good luck, Parry!
P.S. Transfers are this week, and Sister Griffiths and I are staying right where we are, because we're stubborn.
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