Dear Family,
We had a really cool week. Man, I don't even know what to say.
People are always talking about tornados here. I have never been in one
so I don't really know what to expect exactly. People here have real
storm cellars, just like in the Wizard of Oz.
Do they have one in that movie? I thought they did. Anyway, we get a
lot of storms here. Yesterday we were on a tornado watch all day. I
really love rain though, so I'm pretty okay with it. Also yesterday, my
companion and I got to speak in Glenwood branch.
It was a really good experience. I love the people in that branch.
One of our investigators actually drove us all the way there! I know a
lot more of the people's names now, and I feel a lot more at home.
Missionary work is really picking up in Glenwood.
When we got home last night, we went in to talk to Brother and Sister
Griffin (which we do pretty frequently). We talked about our day and
our cool stories while they fed us dinner. It was so much fun. We got
talking about Brother Griffin's experiences
with the apostles. He has met almost all of them, and a lot of them
have stayed in his home! He has been a bishop, stake president, area
70, mission president, and temple sealer! So when I get married, I am
going to go out to the Memphis temple so he can
seal me to my husband! How cool would that be. :) He told us this
really funny story about Elder Haight. Once he was having a meeting
with some of the apostles in the Joseph Smith Building in SL. As they
got out, they looked down from one of the upper
floors to the lobby on the first floor. There were a lot of people
looking up at the apostles. Elder Haight was holding on to
Brother Griffin's arm as they were about to go down the stairs. As soon
as he saw all the people, he straightened up, took his
hand from Bro. Griffin's arm, and said, "Well I better do this on my
own with all these people watching!" It was too funny.
On Saturday, something amazing happened. A woman from the ward
called us in a panic-needing help moving from her 1 bedroom apartment to
a 2 bedroom apartment. We'll call her Angela. Angela had just found
out she could get the place, and needed to be
completely moved in by Monday because she wanted her 6 year old
grandson Dennis to live with her in order to get him out of a foster
home. The social worker people are coming to inspect her home on Monday
to see if it is a good environment to put Dennis.
He is not happy in his foster home and wants to live with his grandma
Angela-since his mom is recovering from addiction and cannot have
custody of him at this time. I hope this is making sense, it's kind of a
confusing story. We worked very hard all afternoon
cleaning her kitchen and unpacking as much as we could. Angela's
husband is a non member, and both of them were grateful for our
help. Now here's where it gets crazy. The next appointment we had was
with Joy. We got to her house and told her about the
experience we had just had. We ended up finding out that Joy had been
Dennis's foster mother a few years ago- and that her friend Jamie
who she had introduced to us and who we are now teaching, is the social
worker who will be inspecting Angela's home. As
we talked to Jamie, she told us that she had not previously been
inclined to let Dennis live with Angela because of past experiences with
her. But when we told her of Angela's desire to give Dennis a home
where he is loved and can learn the ways of God, Jamie
said she would now look at the situation completely differently. Point
of the story: The Lord's hand was in this miracle. We had been in the
right place at the right time in order to meet Joy and Jamie, and also
to help Angela. Through our promptings of
the spirit, we helped them in ways that built trust. Because of this,
we have changed Dennis's life, Joy's life, Jamie's life, and our own.
It is a witness to me that God loves His children-that he prompts people
to do small acts of kindness and service
that end up blessing individuals in miraculous ways.
Sorry if that was really confusing. If so, just skip to the point
of the story and know that that is what I want to convey. Well, time is
short. Thank you for your prayers, letters, packages, and love. I
couldn't do it without you. Every person can
make a huge difference! So go out and help somebody because it could
mean a whole lot to them.
Love you all,
Sister Annalisa Wilde
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