"Well shoot! You're a cute Christian woman, can I take you on a date!"

Hi everyone!!

 

Oh my goodness do I have stories to tell this week! To use one of the Elders in my Zone's phrase.. "Georgia is TRAY-CRAY" aka CRAZY CRAZY CRAZY!

First to explain the title of the email. Yesterday we were walking Marietta trying to find people to talk to and we found 3 men standing outside a barber shop, which the Elders sometimes go to. So we went to go talk to them and the first thing one of them says is "Can y'all tell me the chances of me finding a NICE Christian woman.. I want to marry one of them ya know.." We laughed and then before we could say anything he stops us and goes "Well Shoot! You're a cute Christian woman, can I take you on a date?!" then we really lost it laughing and gave the generic response.. "Sorry, none of us are available right now." to which he quickly responded "Y'all are worth it, I'd wait!" HAHA What a funny man! His boss told us we could come back to their Barber Shop any time to find people to teach, that he loves hearing about our message and would love us to teach him while others were in his shop so he could hear to. :) So who knows, maybe we'll take him up on it sometime!

 

I reached a whole new meaning of tired this week. I poured a bowl cereal.. then turned on the faucet to get the Milk.. Thankfully I pulled the bowl away before I wasted the cereal. All I could do was sit on the floor and laugh. I promise I'm not losing it all the time.. haha

 

I saw a sign with a picture of a gun and it said "Forget the dog; Beware of owner!" Good thing the people liked us :)

"Weirdest thing I've eatten so far.. Horse meat.. I'll just let y'all ponder that one."

I think Wayne will appreciate this.. We went to a home for dinner and as the Mom gave me a hug I look up and see.. a LEG LAMP! Just like the one from A Christmas Story, only this one was only about 2.5 ft tall. No, it wasn't a joke. It was... well.. an AWARD! :) Just kidding, but seriously it was decoration. Sorry Wayne, I tried to get a picture of it but couldn't figure out how..

 

Despite how unbelievably crazy this week has been we have been so blessed. I love being in a companionship with Sister Blaylock and Sister Young. I learn so much from them everyday and we are working hard to do our best and to be following the will of the Lord as closely as we can. While having loads of fun along the way. :) Sometimes we make people have big smiles on the street when they see us becuase we are laughing and smiling, because hey.. LIFE IS GOOD!  Heavenly Father has put a lot of trust in our companionship, which is so humbling. And I feel so blessed!

 

We had a wonderful lesson with Rebecca this week, she is the one who asked the bishop what she had to do to be baptized. We taught her the first lesson and she has accepted the invitation to be baptized! She is going to do her best to be ready for baptism on April 20th, so we are starting to meet with her more regularly. She seemed to eat up and love all of the doctrines we taught her, specifically eternal families. Isn't it great to know that through the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ we can be together forever with our families!? :) Cute story: She mentioned that her oldest son saw the youth passing the sacrament and said "Mom, I need a suit coat. I need to look like all the boys here and be ready for church." We told her it wasn't required for them to wear one, but when we saw them Easter Sunday her two boys had suit coats on!  It was so sweet to see them, even as young as they are, wanting to look their best for the Lord. :)

 

The Portuguese Elders met a woman, D'lan and her roommate Regina, on Tuesday when they offered to bless her home along with herself and families. They called us and said they set up an appointment for us to teach her the next day. So we did and it was so awesome and powerful! D'lan brought up baptism on her own when we talked about the things the Savior did in His life which specifically influence us or mean a lot to us. She talked about how it means so much that He humbled Himself to be baptized. She then said how she has been baptized before but she feels like she needs to do it again when she understands the reasons better and for herself. As we were about to conclude the lesson we invited her to be baptized to which she responded gladly "Yes! Yes! Please!" :) It is such a blessing to have met her. We have a couple teaching appointments set up with her this week and I am very excited to go back and see her.

 

We had many other miracles shown to us this week and I can't express how blessed I feel to have met these people. Nor can I explain how humbling it is to know that the God is trusting us with His ever so loved children. We taught Vivian again, she is reading the Book of Mormon and has so many questions for us but assured us at the end of the visit, " Y'all should know I want to be baptized, I just want to make sure I've done my research." As missionaries we focus a lot on baptism because it is the means in which we can fulfill our specific call. It is the gate, the begining of a lifetime of giving heed to the Saviors call to "Follow Thou Me" and "Go and do thou likewise." However, we find joy in "inviting others to come unto Christ" in whichever capacity it may mean for that individual. Some of my favorite memories written in my journal are of taking to people on the street for just a few moments and hearing them say '"I know the Lord watches out for me." or "Y'all just helped me to feel the 'Man Upstairs' love for me." That's what this is all about, and I couldn't be happier than to be apart of it.

 

I love you all so much! I hope you had a great Easter and remembered the real reason for the season. Angels said "Why seek ye the living amongst the dead? He is not here; but is risen." I know that this Gospel is true and because He is risen He can lead and direct it through a prophet as He wants the work done. I know 4 sessions of conference may seem like a lot, but try to watch one more than you used to. If you only watched one, watch two. If you haven't watched any, I encourage you to check out lds.org on Saturday and Sunday to listen to the Lords Prophet and Apostles for the entire earth, not just members of the church. Take a question, I promise you it will be answered.

 

I love you! Please don't worry about me, but letters are ALWAYS welcomed :)

 

Love,

Sister Hamilton

 

P.S. The pictures are from this week, our Easter festivities!