Feb. 16, 2009

Alrighty P-day is almost over we've had a long day so this letter may be a little short. It's 4 here and P-day ends at 5 when we get dinner, and I'm in desperate need of a haircut. So we had to go shopping today and Brother Gladden was kind enough to give us a ride but he couldn't go until 12. That took a few hours because we had to ship some stuff with him too. All this was fine and we weren't too pressed for time. We came into the office to do our e-mails at 2 and Elder Hansen just barely finished!!!! Ugh. Oh well I still love the guy.
Anyhow the temple was great. We get to go 4 times a year no more then that, depending on our ride situation sometimes less. Most of the areas here have at least a part time car like our area. However, we're limited on our monthly miles so if we used to car to drive out to Franklin, where the temple is, the round trip would probably use up the miles for 2 weeks where we'd have to walk or ride our bikes. So if you can get a ride to the temple on your assigned day, then you can go. The temple is super small. It's smaller then our stake center. They don't have a laundromat in the temple so you need to provide your own clothes, so we borrowed some of the members' clothes. It was a great experience as usual.
Lola got sick so we couldn't teach her this week but that's okay. Then Chad called a few hours ago and canceled our appointment tonight because the heating unit in his house went out last night around midnight, so he and his wife and 2 small children are staying at the in-laws' place until they can get it fixed. We did, however, teach a lesson yesterday to a very, very large black man named Jerome, who told us that he's been "lookin' fer da truf fer a bery wong time." He's really funny and very Southern. However after we taught the lesson he accepted the commitments to read and pray, and we also committed him to be baptized when he comes to know that its true. He's very accepting. We found him off a member referral in a neighboring area! He heard the gospel from them. He asked them how they could be so happy in trying times like these, and they told him about the gospel. He wanted to know more so they called us and sent us over there! Because they opened their mouths this man is going to get baptized and become a candidate for salvation in the celestial kingdom! Maybe I'm jumping the gun a little bit but the Lord has prepared this man to be taught. If those people would have brushed off his comment or told him some other reason for being happy because they wanted to avoid a sensitive subject then this man would probably have to wait several more years before he heard the message of Christ's restored gospel!! Member work is the way to go. It's much much more effective.
I got a call from Ed last week on Tuesday saying that he spoke with the Stake and they told him he'd have to wait 5 months and then they'd consider him for re-admission into the church. After that Vicki wanted to wait for him. When I got that phone call it saddened my heart. However we were able to get back over there and teach them some more and Vicki decided that she still wanted to get baptized now. So now she's set for this Saturday! They finally realized that Vicki will be so much more of a support for Ed once she can obtain the gift of the Holy Ghost, and she'll be happier herself! I'm really excited for them. Now we just need to find some baptismal clothes because we don't have any in Hendersonville!!
President Hutchings is still thinking about shutting down the area and I can understand why. I think shutting the area down from missionaries will do a lot to get the members to realized that they need to at least help the work out. Unfortunately I'm afraid if they close the area that the investigators we have won't be visited by the members and they'll fall back into searching mode or 'Church shopping' as most of them call it down here. Then they'll miss out on an opportunity to partake of the blessings of the gospel now and have to wait for it to come to them later. I'm torn, but I'm still pretty sure that they'll keep Hendersonville open for at least one more transfer.
Which leads me to the GPS. Thank you very much. We did get the GPS this week and it works wonderfully. Everything is going well here. I'm very happy and working very hard and wouldn't have it any other way. I've learned some southern cooking techniques, and the two that work in every case are add more butter and throw in a piece of bacon. Whenever you're cooking anything from green beans to fried chicken they throw in a piece of bacon to add to the flavor and the grease. The butter works the same way.
Love you all and I love hearing from you.