Happy Fall

This week was pretty great! It is always a challenge, however, to put all my thoughts into one email that sum up the week. I'll do my best!

I wanted to share an amazing experience that one of my companions had. I asked for her permission to share with all of you because it's pretty personal--it is a miracle story. When she was 16 she had serious internal bleeding that she had to have surgery to fix. While the doctors were operating they saw that her appendix didn't look normal, so they took it out. Later it was sent to a lab and they found it had a tumor in it. So the question was did any of the cancer cells stay in her body from her appendix? A whole team of doctors came together to discuss if they should do another surgery just in case. The consensus was that there was nothing scientific to say that there were still cancer cells left. One of the doctors was a Christian and he felt strongly about her case. He felt they needed to do a surgery to make sure there was nothing left. My companion also had a strong prompting that she should go through with the surgery. This surgery was a BIG DEAL, it would include cutting off two arteries that once connected to the appendix and cutting out a lot of small intestines. So after the surgery the doctor sent her intestines to a lab and ran everything under a microscope (sorry if this is getting gory). They found several cancer cells that would have led to terminal cancer. I tried to explain this as simply as possible, but there is a bit more to the story. It was a huge miracle! The doctor was so amazing for listening to the Spirit even though there wasn't any scientific evidence. That's the way the Spirit works. He prompts us to do something and if we have the faith to do it miracles follow.

This past week and a half I've been calling an investigator I found from an online Bible request. She is so open and so believing! She has learned about the Restoration and has already started reading The Book of Mormon. She is a little shy so she's objected to meeting with her local missionaries, BUT I asked if they could just call her and she said that that would be okay! I called the FL Fort Lauderdale Mission office today and gave specific instructions for her referral. I'm so excited! I had my third call with her a couple days ago, and after asking her to pray after each lesson, she's said no. But she said yes on the third call! It is the best thing to hear an investigator pray! I taught her how to pray in the name of Jesus Christ and she did! One of the best moments. 

Something the whole mission is excited for right now is Halloween! Temple Square is only ever closed a couple days of the year, and it's only for a few hours when it is. I think the other days are Christmas morning and Thanksgiving evening. In fact, I remember when I was coming back to Temple Square from a Thanksgiving dinner and there was this little girl crying because the Visitor's Centers were closed. Temple Square is missed even for just a few hours! We ended up letting her in to walk through. :) So Temple Square will be closed 5pm till the end of the night on Halloween, and we will be having a mission dinner and watching a movie--The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe! You should have seen everyone's faces when President announced it in Relief Society this morning. He said to his fellow mission president counselors, "President Mulford, President Bateman, I think my popularity just went up." Haha! Last year we went through the Temple as a mission, which was one of the COOLEST experiences EVER, but it will be closed this Monday. :( It will still be awesome though!

The Church is true. The gospel is the only true source of happiness. The restored gospel is precious enough that lives have been given for it. For example, the pioneers trekking across the plains to build up a Temple and to practice Christ's restored teachings in peace. All of the devoted leaders of the Church. All of the thousands of missionaries who have served and are currently serving. The restored gospel really is the most important thing to me--and my family! Let's go and share it with everyone!

xoxoxo,

Sister Butler

Line of the week:

Reading off a text message of buildings that will be closed on Temple Square for the day:

Me: The Tabernacle will be closed from 5:30-7:30pm for the Mormon tab choir nacle rehearsal. 

----5 seconds later---

Did I just say Mormon tab choir nacle rehearsal?