May 16, 2011

I really do not know what happened this week. We pretty much just got rid of all of the investigators this week. The Flinchums are no longer progressing and Ruby Lutes she is not really progressing at all. We are going to officailly drop them sometime this week. Our amazing Jewell Mink has moved to Paris, kentucky so we need the elders to go find her and baptize her. I miss that girl so much. So yeah. Pretty much we are starting all over this next week which is going to be great. We have started a new approach to missionary work in this area. We have realized that a lot of people do not like us. They do not like to hear the message that we have to share and that when we share, it just goes through one ear to the other. This weekend we are doing something really neat. We have been setting up a music concert for the area. We have a whole bunch of people from the lexington wards coming and doing piano solo's and singing and playing violins. It is going to be a great spirit filled with Jesus Christ. It will be amazing. This week we really have been focusing on getting the word out about this concert. We have not really tracted because we felt as if to do this concert. So, we made a ton of invitations and we went to a ton of apartments and we put them up there. The invitations went away alot faster than we thought. So we made a lot more. Yesterday was amazing. We went up this new area and we tracted with the approach to invite people to this concert. The first person we talked to was a baptist. We said, "Hi, we are missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints," then the lady had a wall. She was not going to listen to us. She said that she was baptist. We then said, "Well, we just were coming around and we were inviting people to come to this music concert that we are putting on." Almost immediatly the wall came back up and she was beaming and then she was really really friendly to us and actually talked to us and not ignored us. Her total persona changed. It was amazing to see that. She said she might come. Then we were going along and we talked to more people that day than we have ever while tracting regularly. WE got to another baptist lady who said that she was very tired and did not want to listen to us preach. We said, "Oh, that is okay. WE were just inviting people to come to this concert." Then she changed as well and we talked of the spirit and how wonderful it was going to be to have the spirit in abundance. WE talked to some who were very excited and asked a whole bunch of questions as to where the church was located. Some did not seem so excited. I am really praying hard that people come to this concert and want to be taught more. I am playing my Praise to the Man song. I am very excited for it. :) It ceases to amaze me that people were so much more responsive to us when we invited them and did not really teach about the restored gospel. We are trying to figure out what kind of approach we still need to do.

So we visited Irene and she is doing so much better. Her strength is returning again. One day she paid particular attention to me and didn't really talk to sister mikami. It was very strange. Well, I kind of found out yesterday as to why she did that. Yesterday I heard news as to what was going to happen to me next transfer. There is a sister that is going home tomorrow, a week before transfers, and we are going to be put into a trio. So sister mikami, myself, and sister nelson are going to be taking care of two areas at once. It is going to be great. It will just be for the week. Then, next week I will be permanently in Corbin. I am going to be transferred to Corbin and be companions with Sister Nelson. I am excited for this. I love sister Nelson. She is in my district so I have already somewhat gotten to know her. It is exciting that sister mikami is still in my district so I will still be able to see her. I am sad to leave beattyville but not at the same time. There was so much drama this week from the members and it is crazy. There are alot of people who do not come to church because they do not like a certain someone and they refuse to forgive which is absolute foolishness. I am ready for a new area. It is kind of funny. Sister Nelson was praying that I would come be here companion. And this area is a WARD. it is going to be so much different. The bishop already knows me. I went on an exchange when sister goodman was my companion and this first appointment that sister klefsky and i went on was dinner at the bishops house. Ever since then the bishop has wanted me to come to Corbin and i have no idea why. But he got his prayer answered. :) this may be my last area which is kind of scary to think about. :) Time is going by fast.

I really have to get going. We have to go 'babysit' irene today because her son is going to the doctors and irene needs someone to be there. There was not really anything else. Although we had a really great stake conference yesterday. :) it is great. I love you all very much. I hope you have a great week. Love amanda