One Eternal Round

Hello Everyone!

This week has been interesting for sure.  Every week feels like a month with the mount of people I met and all of the events.  Just goes to show, that there is plenty of time in a day to accomplish many things.  I just need my planner, some water and some sugar to get through it :)

The headstone for grandfather of Joseph Smith

We have been doing a lot of service this week.  It is good PR in the Community and also gives us a break from finding investigators all day.  This week we helped out a local thrift shop  and organized clothes.  We helped teach English at the ESL class and that was really fun.  Many professors at Clarkson are not from the US, so their wives need help learning English and the culture.  They are the coolest ladies.  They used to live in Italy, France, Vietnam, and Japan and their accents are hilarious.  I also repeatedly told them that they shouldn't generalize the US by their experience in Potsdam, because the North country is not like anywhere else in the US.  Funny group of people up here.  They laughed and agreed!  We also helped out at the local library again and made some posters for upcoming community events.  It felt good to bring out my artistic side again.  We also tried to help with some yard work and building fences/playground equipment with some investigators, but that didn't quite work out so well.  Service can soften hears, but it's also just another powerful way to share the Gospel.  If you can't use words, then use actions... because they speak louder than words.

The most exciting things this week was going up to Ogdensburg for District Meeting and spending time with the Knights.  The coolest senior couple in the world!  They ended their mission and we had a going away party... super sad that I only got a few weeks with them.  But, as tradition, when it gets close to the end of the transfers, we take District photos, so we used their house on the St. Lawrence Seaway and got some great views of Canada.

Bro and Sis Knight and Sister Geary with Kylie 

Teaching wise, we are always in the finding mode.  I have taught the restoration lesson more in the last 5 months of my mission than in the first 12 months combined.  We didn't tract or OYM as much.  I finally taught my first official college student on a  college campus!  Mission bucket list - Check!  She is awesome, but unfortunately she is leaving next week to go home to Jamaica for the summer.  But, she promised us that she would read the Book of Mormon on her way to NYC on the bus, and check out the local ward in Jamaica!  Seed planted!  We also found this retired Army guy who used to work with Elders years ago, but is now open to learning more.  We also found a family and the kids like talking about God and we tracted into the cleaning lady of the Relief Society President!  She has lots of questions about religion.  She doesn't understand the Resurrection.  She thinks coming back to life will make us zombies.. ha ha the lack of spiritual preparation astounds me sometimes.  Ha Ha.  I just try to not laugh about it.

My District

Anita, Al, Gary, they are all hanging in there!  Still progressing and still trying to fix their lives so they can get baptized.  Probably will take a few more months to years, but it will eventually happen.

Fun story, so its amazing to see how the Lord has His own timing.  A young teenager I taught in Utica got baptized this week.  So cool!  And also Will, from back in Elmira, was able to baptize his daughter and family with the help of the Elders.  Tears of joy! :)  Weird to think that just a few months ago, he sat alone in his house with no purpose in life.  Now he loves the Church and is a support to his family that lives on the other side of the City!

So, sometimes we just have to be patient and do what we can! :)

I have been learning a lot about the apostasy the last few weeks, and seeing how people lose their faith in God because they don't have the understanding of the doctrines of the gospel, prophets, dispensations and apostasy.  It is important to have a knowledge that there is a true and living Church on the earth that is under the direction of the true and living God!  But still learning myself. :)

Have a good week everyone!  Last full week before the transfer and we have a trip to Syracuse this week.  That will keep things fun and exciting!

The Church is true.
Sister Kylie Williams