Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Sept 16- Take Me Out to the Ball Game!

Hey Family!!

SO we had an amazing week! Full of fun and laughter if I can say the least!

Our mission and the missions around us were invited to the Nationals baseball Game to kick of the National Day of Service!! It was AMAZING!! We had such a fun time! We left here around 4 and didn't get home till about 1!! My body started to shut down around 10 haha It was so funny how loopy all of us got once we were out later than we are normally. Funny thing is that I would normally be starting my night at that time back home! ha Funny how things flip. Didn't think that would happen.... Surprise. It Did. We took lots of pictures, sang, and danced (respectfully as missionaries would), but it was funny, I literally couldn't control it. I had to dance even if it was just the bob of my head, it is embedded inside of me hahaha But it was so much fun!! I ate some dip-in-dots, and basically saw the whole Herndon ward! They were there and I got to say hi! That was cool! Seriously a blast!! It's been a long while since I had that much fun, with THAT many people! So great!

We also had an AMAZING lesson with a woman named Gina! Sister Olson and I had knocked on her door a couple weeks ago and had a return apointment for the next day, and when we went to go to her appointment Sister Olson's tire went flat (we rode bikes that day) and we missed her by 5 minutes. There was a note on the door saying that she had waited but that she had to get back to work and the kids and she wished us a wonderful mission. So we hadn't gone back until sunday afternoon. We knocked on her door and apologized for not making it to the last appointment and asked if she had a few minutes to talk now? And she said yes and let us inside! We sat down at her kitchen table and she talked about how she was born and raised in Arizona and how she had a friend that was Mormon growing up! (go member work!). She told us how she was catholic but was still searching. She told her reason why she believed, and then asked each of us. And each of us bore a similar testimony about the Book of Mormon, and how we read it and prayed and know it to be more scripture from Our Loving Heavenly Father! And then she asked us some more questions, but the most amazing one was she asked where Joseph Smith got his authority or how he could be a prophet. And so I told her about Joseph Smith searching for Gods church when he was 14, we read together the Scripture that touched him so deeply to pray and ask (John 1:5) and then recited to her the first vision. (I have to give a a little side note, there had been some quite country music going on in the background while we were talking that wasn't disruptive or distracting.... but still on. which normally we would ask them to turn it off at the beginning of the lesson, but had neglected to do so.) So as I was telling the first vision, the music, which was quite and unnoticeable until that moment seemed to be almost screaming in my head. I prayed with all my heart as I was focusing and trying to bear my soul to Gina and it was as if Heavenly Father turned it off himself, the spirit pushed through and was FILLING the room that nothing else existed. After Sister Olson asked her how she felt. And she said "amazing, Sister stones you almost brought me to tears. You believe this so much it would make anyone want to believe it." Sister Olson testified that it was the spirit that she was feeling, teaching her of truth. That this was true. And then I shared with her what had happened. I said, "Gina, we as missionaries don't listen to music like this right now." and her mouth dropped and her eyes filled with tears as she said, "Sister Stones, there was no music as you were telling me that story." I started to cry as I testified that God knows her heart that she is searching for truth, that it was no coincidence that we knocked on her door when we had, and that he loves her so much." By that time we were all crying, and I invited her to be baptized. She said that she would read the Book of Mormon and pray about it, but if she knows than yes. aaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh IT WAS SO COOL!!!!! The Church is true!!!

And then we ran to the Church and Steven got his baptismal interview and is getting baptized on FRIDAY!!! SO cool!!! Seriously though it was an amazing week! I am so thankful for the spirit and for the peace I feel from it being a missionary! I love this gospel and I love my Heavenly Father!! I love you all and hope you have an amazing week!!
Love ya,
Sister Stones
 
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"The Nationals Baseball game!!! SO MUCH FUN!! I love these missionaries!! They are so great! The game was so awesome and the Nationals WON!"

Dropbox pictures: https://www.dropbox.com/home/Nationals%20Base%20ball%20game!#!/home/Nationals%20Base%20ball%20game

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