Sister Hannah Walker!!

Hello, hello hello :) This week has been just fantastic :)  It was filled with lots of teaching (FINALLY!) We've been finding a lot of new people lately and have gone back to continue teaching them. :)  One family in particular stands out.  We found them while trying to find a former investigator that the Elders were teaching a couple years ago.  We show up at the house and ask for a Pennyeda.  Haha the woman at the door takes one look at us and says "I have no clue who you're looking for because we da Smiths, and that's Amanda..." and she continues naming all the neighbors around her.  Haha most of the time down here in the south, it's harder to get people to close their mouth than to open it.  You can say just about anything and usually, they'll launch off into some life story.  It was no different with Miss Reissa.  After the first 15 minutes of standing there at her door, we learned all about her 2 grandkids that she has custody of, and all her health problems and the fact that she'll have custody of her 9 months old grandson soon. After hearing so much about her grandkids, we told her we'd have to come back to meet them, so we did.  Hahaha man they are the most energetic 6 and 7 year olds I have ever seen...in a long time at least.  They have drawn us enough pictures to make a book and one of the first things I remember them saying to me was that they loved us.  I could feel that special spirit that kids bring.  They say the darndest things!  Like when we went over the third time, they were looking through my purse (they're also quite nosy.  We clean out our purses before we go now) and found my scriptures.  They pulled them out and Alexis (the 7 year old) started flipping to random verses in the Bible and told us to shh while she read them.  Here are a few that she read:  Acts 2:17, 41  "And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams." and Luke 1:37 "For with God nothing shall be impossible." haha We all listened and I was stunned.  It was awesome.  Then her brother Caden found Sis Anderson's Book of Mormon in her purse.  I gave them each a little sticky tab to put on their favorite page in the scriptures and after Sis Anderson told him he could have that book, he opened up to Mosiah chapter 3 and put his bookmark there.  He looked up at me and asked me to read the part in vs 18 where it says "men drink damnation to their own souls except they humble themselves and become as little children, and believe that salvation was, and is, and is to come, in and through the atoning blood of Christ, the Lord Omnipotent."  Holy powerful!  Their grandma continued to ask questions about our Book of Mormon as well as how we use the Bible.  Overall, they're such a cute family and we love going over there.  We made the kids little notebooks with Jesus on the cover and the temple on the back for them to draw and write in.  OH! we also made them each a name tag like ours so they quit stealing ours ;) haha they're adorable!  When they tried praying for the first time, Caden got on his knees and put his head on his hands on the couch right next to me. He said, "Sister Walker and Sister Anderson, thank you for coming over and for bringing us stuff"...haha he's a cutie :)

We've also been working with a less active named Ciria.  She. Is.  Amazing.  We stopped by her house on a rainy day and she helped us make a big lunch.  Afterwards, we watched the Restoration with her and discussed Joseph Smith.  She didn't know he was martyred.  But we spent a long time talking and him and studying his history.  I just want to take a sec to let y'all know that I know for a fact that Joseph Smith was a prophet.  You gotta wonder why he had so much persecution against him....SO MUCH!!  It's because Satan knew that he was a prophet too.  And he wanted to destroy him.  Plus, how else could he have translated the plates!?  Only through the power of God.  I've written down every person mentioned in the Book of Mormon and I still can't keep them straight!  Too many! Anyway...Joseph Smith was and is a prophet of God :) The more study we did with Ciria the more I could feel her testimony growing and her conversion deepening.  She started saying "I need to teach this to my kids.  They need to know this.  I am hindering them by keeping them from church."  Man.  She is so in tune :) Let's just hope her husband's heart is softened to let her come to church...He's kinda scary... :P

A couple more things....the General Woman's conference was amazing :) I encourage y'all to go and read the messages if you didn't get a chance to listen to them.  And I really really want everyone to go on to lds.org and watch the new mormon message.  it's amazing.  Truly inspiring and I got so many chills every time I watched it this week...(which was 3).  You truly never know how much good you do.  

Awesome quote by Elder Holland:  "Every person in every era has had to walk by faith into what has always been some uncertainty.  This is the plan. Just be faithful.  God is in charge.  He knows your need and he knows your name."  ....amazing :)

haha now for your enjoyment:  Letters to God from children :)

Dear God,
Church is alright but you could sure use better music  I hope this does not hurt your feelings.  Can you write some new songs?
Your Friend
Barry

Dear God,
I have got to know something.  What is it like in heaven?  I know it's nice but what kind of nice?  What happens when it rains?
Marty

Why can't you even keep it from raining on Saturday all the time?
Rose

haha I love these :) We got a book of them from a member...awesome :) Well, I hope you remember that "life is a bowl of cherries.."  haha :)

Love life!

Love,
Your favorite Sister :)