Loosen Your Bow

Hey everyone!

So I'll just get right to the point by saying this was the longest and shortest week ever. Almost every chat we took in the Teaching Center was with an anti-Mormon. One girl came on pretending she wanted to learn more, but then by the end she was basically like, "I love you guys, but you believe in the wrong Jesus." She intermixed a lot of her comments with "love you". Haha. It wasn't the worst chat I've ever had, but when you've only chatted with antis, it makes you sad. No one wanted to learn about the glorious gospel! But, there is an upside to this week. We had so many miracles that mostly happened this weekend. One of them was that I ran into my bishop, Bishop Rowlan. Haha, it was a miracle! I don't run into everyone I know all the time. I'll include a picture!

The other miracles include finding 3 new investigators. One was a girl calling in for a Book of Mormon. I got talking with her and she said that she was interested because her pastor started talking about Mormons in her church. Well, I don't know how much truth is being spoken there but I hope she continues to learn from the right source. We found two new investigators from chat too! They both wanted to meet with the missionaries. So we'll see where that goes.

Another miracle! We were walking the square, about to go to our zone dinner in 15 minutes when we received a 999 text message. A 999 text means that a guest has been waiting to take a tour for 5 minutes and that someone needs to take it ASAP. Sister Tekurio and I looked at each other and decided to do it. The woman we took on the tour was awesome. She isn't sure if there is a God, but she has a brother who joined the church 20 years ago and is currently serving as a bishop. She isn't very familiar with our basic beliefs but she was willing to stay in touch to learn more. So we got her email and will be in contact that way. Even though we were late for the zone dinner, it was so worth it! I will keep you all updated!

You know that family of nine I talked about a couple of weeks ago from the Dominican Republic of Congo? So it's actually a family of 7 (parents included). They were able to get local missionaries and have the discussions. They know the church is true and are progressing towards baptism. We are so so happy for them! YAY!

 Today we deep cleaned our apartment for 4.5 hours! Every 6 months (right before conference) we deep clean and it can be pretty gross (what with all of the grease and grime in the oven). But I really am thankful for the nice housing we have here. I remember Brooks' conditions when he was serving in the Philippines. Sponge showers (is that what he called them?) and doing laundry by hand. I am beyond spoiled here with a nice shower, a laundry room, and plenty of food. I know I have more than I need.

This afternoon we are planning to go with our roommates to Chinatown, Deseret Industries, and In-and-Out. Yay! Fries and a milkshakes! Don't worry mom, I don't always eat like this. Then hopefully we'll be able to rest a little bit in our nice, clean apartment.

I'm going to end with a short story about Joseph Smith. The more I learn about him the more and more I love him. I found this story from a talk by James E. Faust called, The Magnificent Vision Near Palmyra. 

"William M. Allred, one of his [Joseph's] followers, stated that some straightlaced people had problems with the Prophet Joseph playing ball with the boys. Said Allred, referring to the Prophet:

"He then related a story of a certain prophet who was sitting under the shade of a tree amusing himself in some way, when a hunter came along with his bow and arrow, and reproved him. The prophet asked him if he kept his bow strung up all the time. The hunter answered that he did not. The prophet asked why, and he said it would lose its elasticity if he did. The prophet said it was just so with his mind, he did not want it strung up all the time." (Juvenile Instructor, 1 Aug. 1892, p. 472.)

Moral of the story: don't keep your bow strung up all the time or it will lose it's elasticity. :)

I love and miss you all!

Love,

Sister Butler