Our neighbor, Dody.

Hey Everyone,

Sorry last weeks email was so lame. We just had a lot going on that P-day. But I have more time today. First off I'm so happy I got so many emails from people last week! I love you all! It is so great to hear from everyone. We are so out of the loop out here we never know whats happening and then sometimes people mention current events at doorsteps and we are like whaaaa? but It's kind of nice to not have to worry about anything except the people and area that I am assigned.

We had to drop a couple of our investigators last week which was sad/relieving at the same time. They just weren't progressing and weren't necessarily investigating the church for the right reasons. We had a lesson with one man we were teaching and he started reading to us a bunch of anti-mormon literature. I wasn't sure how I would react to that but I surprised myself in a good way. We left his house with a good spirit and told him to give us a call if he ever has more questions about the gospel but that we weren't there to debate or offer him proof. It was just cool because as he was reading the stuff I was noticing that a few years ago I think some of the things he said would have really rocked my testimony, but listening to them now I had no problems, because I know what I know to be true and I have a much firmer foundation. I can't believe how much my testimony has grown in the past 4ish years, and prepared me to come here and be a missionary.

I had to teach a lesson by myself kind of as well last week. We called the senior missionary couple who lives in our ward, the Andersen's to come with us to a lesson with a man named Dennis and so that there wouldn't be five of us at the lesson which seemed crowded, we split up and sister Smith and Nuttall went doorknocking, making me in charge of leading the lesson with the Andersen's. They have only been out about a transfer longer than me and they are the apartment coordinators so this was the first lesson they've ever taught too, and they were as nervous as I was. BUT! we prayed for guidance and I knew that with the Spirit and God's help I could run the lesson. It ended up going well. Dennis agreed to read the Book of MOrmon and pray about it, when at first he kept trying to return it to us. LAter on that week Dennis ended up calling to tell us he didn't want to learn anymore which broke my heart, but I know that despite of that the lesson we had with him went well because the spirit was there and was guiding me. Dennis just isn't ready to make those changes in his life yet. The Andersen's are going to keep trying to be his friends though, because they are all big hunter/fisher people so they got along great.

Sister Smith is the sister training leader, like a zone leader/district leader but for sisters kind of. So mostly all she has to do different is go on exchanges with other sisters all the time and go to leadership meetings. BUt since she goes on exchanges so do we. So this last week we went to MSU campus and worked with the sisters there while one sister in that trio came to our area to work with sister Smith. It was really fun to work on campus. It was kind of weird to talk to people that are my same age, because I've gotten used to talking to old people a lot. MSU campus is HUGE and SO PRETTY! There are so many people here! Also they have a chipotle which is awesome. The MSU sisters don't have a car so we took the bus everywhere. It reminded me of freshmen year at BYUH a lot. At one stop I almost got left on the bus because we were sitting apart from each other so we could talk to people about the gospel and I was talking to a man and didn't see the other sisters get off, it was a close call.

We have been trying to meet more Less active members in our ward and have been meeting a lot of great ones. One family is from Sudan in Africa and they are really awesome and the mom and one son came to church Sunday! We also met a few other ladies and agreed to help them with service and stuff which will hopefully lead to them getting back into church as well. We have been dorrknocking into some really great people this week and having a few good lessons so we are hoping that we will get some new awesome investigators since we dropped a few this last week.

5th winter is over and now spring is here again and it's getting a little bit hot with all this humidity, I don't mind that too much because I love heat but there are more mosquitoes here than I've ever experienced in my life! and they love doorsteps which is unfortunate because we also love doorsteps. We got some bugspray but there are so many of them! It's ridiculous. and people answer there doors to us all swatting bugs off our bodies and it's hard to focus on what we are saying. So we need to find a way to get over that.

Two funny things that happend this week:

1. A boy we doorknocked into that said he was interested and we have been trying to get an appointment with texted us to see if we wanted to come over to his house to have beer and pizza with his buddies and watch them play resident evil....what part of us talking to him about Jesus made it seem like we would ever do that I don't know but we declined that invitation. New companionship goal: look uglier.

2. We talked to this couple outside their apartment for a while and left them with a pamphlet on the restoration. They had some friends over later on that night and they were outside drinking/smoking with them for a while. We were like across the parking lot from them talking to a man at his doorstep and I saw a friend of theres walk out into the street and start trying to light some papers on fire with his cigarette lighter. Then I realized it was our pamphlet! But the funny part is this fat guy tried for like five minutes to get it to light and was laughing and looking right at me the whole time, and he knew I was watching him, and he couldn't get it! It was hilarious! he just gave up and set it down and went back to his friends. God protects his pamphlets! also what kind of person can't light paper on fire with a lighter?!? haha

Anyways this week was good and I can't believe how fast time is going! I've been on my mission over a month now! This transfer is almost over and I should hopefully be getting transferred to Australia sometime soon. It's kind of fun because it's motivating me to be the best missionary while I'm here in Michigan because I never know when I'll have to leave. It's a little like "live like you're dying" but it's "live like you'll be transferred to Australia tomorrow". My companions are awesome, and the work is awesome.

Love and Aloha,

Sister Rasmussen