COVENANTS ARM US WITH POWER!!

Hey crazy bunch!!

This week was kinda not too eventful! But it was great! First things first!! I HATE BUGS!! As you all may or may not have noticed... Especially this week... So!! Let me tell you my stories! So ya know that cockroach we found in our cupboard? Well... We were laying on the floor during nightly planning and out of the corner of my eye I saw this thing crawling on the wall... Well my buggy senses were tingling so I looked over and it was huge!!!!! Well... My huge.. Haha. But Sister Seely got the fly swatter and obliterate that sucker! I am very grateful for her.. Haha. I was a wreck.. Then!! My other bug story... So!! We were just getting ready to leave so I went into my bathroom to brush my teeth and I opened my little toothbrush thing and saw a little black thing wiggling around in there!! So naturally, I screamed and chucked it.. I have terrible aim because my toothbrush landed on the potty scrubber!! And my case thing went behind the potty. I was so upset. STINKIN EARWIGS! But then Sister Seely was, once again, the hero and squished the earwig before it got away! Haha. I thought I had packed 2 toothbrushes but I didn't... So! I used a new attachment thing Sister Seely had for her electric one for a couple days. Thank goodness for that. Haha. Too many bug adventures... HAH!! 

This was interesting. So Tom. We have met with him a couple times and he asked us an interesting question.. So I was baring my testimony. Then he just sits there for a second and is like "Ok!! Way out from left field! Is it ever acceptable in any part of life to use psychedelics?" We looked at each other and I nodded at Sister Seely for her to take a whack at it! So she just said "uh.. You mean drugs" hahah!! Then he started talking about mushrooms and how they were used in ancient times... He felt like God put it down here for our use.. We were like uhh. Anything that alters our state of mind and everything is not okay to use for recreation... !!!  Then Paul! He said a similar thing about beer and how it's Gods gift to us.. Not quite..  these are the types of questions we get when we meet people everyday! 

I went on exchanges with Sister Cowden! We killed it here in Corning!  it was super fun! We still have like the same thoughts and we kill it when we teach it's so great!! Pictures to come!! 

But yeah!! Now for the 'gators! (investigators) Ron came to church!!!!! Woooooo!!!!! He said he really enjoyed it!! And the day before we had a lesson with him and he really learned a lot. He prayed at the end and said he was really grateful to be learning all this and that he hopes to continue to learn! He is just coming right along!! August 14th here we come!!! Woo! So excited for him! 

Then we went to see MaryAnn! They are just so funny. Her husband, Gene is a riot! He slams the door in our face all the time but always on a joking way! Which is much appreciated! Haha. But she is also coming along! She still hasn't been to church... Gene's health is super bad as is hers. So it makes it really hard.. But Brother Lequia came with us to give her a blessing and that was great. The spirit is always strong with blessings involved. Super cool!! 

Then me and Sister Cowden went to Barbara's.... GAHH!!! I dunno what to do with her... She just refuses to pray...we had a super spiritual lesson with her and testified to her but yeah... Obviously nothing stuck... She called us a couple days ago because she just likes to chat. We asked her if she prayed and she hadn't... She always says that she wants to be where God wants her to be but she just doesn't know where He wants her.... It is THE most frustrating thing I have ever encountered... I just love her so much and want her to find answers but she won't put forth the effort... ☹️ we did take her off date this week... 

So Carlos!! We didn't see him this week cuz he is super busy with his landscaping business stuff... So. Just pray for him. Mostly Ron and MaryAnn! 

Well. This week I had a really cool experience. So we met this guy named Ernie. He had so many questions about God and where He was and how He is able to be everywhere at once and if He is a man or what. So we taught him that we can talk to God and He will answer us through His spirit. He was just amazed. He had never heard of that concept before. He wondered how the All-Powerful God had time to hear him. We told him we didn't know how it works but we know it does. Then we sang A Child's Prayer to him and he loved it and "felt warm" inside. We told him that it was the Spirit of God. He didn't know if he believed it. But then I felt prompted to tell him that he is a son of God. And that God is his Heavenly Father. He was like "really..?" And I think it really touched his heart. It touched mine too! 

Testifying to him of his divinity helped me to remember my own. The Spirit hit me like a brick and brought tears to my eyes. It really felt like Heavenly Father just gave me a big hug. I really felt His love for me and all of His children. If there's one thing that I have found that brings the spirit the most powerfully, it would be telling someone that they are a child of God and He loves them infinitely. Especially when they don't know if they believe in God or not. After that, they will. If not right then, the Spirit will work on them and they will feel that they are a child of God. I think that might be the most important thing we can learn because everything builds off of our belief In our own divine potential. 

If we believe we are children of God we act differently towards others and when no one else is around. For me, knowing my potential makes me want to use the Atonement more because that's how I will reach my full potential is through our Savior. We all have the potential to be as He is - Perfect. It's quite a long shot, at least for me. But it's comforting to know that we get points for trying. Anyway. I just wanted to share that because it's powerful. We all need to constantly keep in mind that we are sons and daughters of the Almighty God. And that the All-Powerful Being, who controls the universe and all things that are in it, is our Father. Like Father, Like Children. We just have to work for it. Thank goodness we have our Savior who is like our Father already. 

Another insane experience was with Brother Mackintosh. He is one of the most in-tune people I've ever met.. Man. So he has a goal for himself to visit one less active a week. Not to mention his 6 kids, 2 of them have autism, his full time job, his wife, his calling as the young men's president, and everything else that life seems to chuck at him. Which is amazing in and of itself but then you throw in his effectiveness with this goal. 

Each one that he has reached out to has been coming to church every week since... We call it the Mackintosh Magic. HAH! I was so blessed to witness him in action. Haha. So this lady Reba is an ex-member. And like 3 people other than me and Sister Seely have had her name come to mind as they have prayed about who to visit. So obviously Heavenly Father has something cookin'. But Bro. Mackintosh decided to set up an appointment with her, her grandson, Wesley and Reba's husband. So we got it set up everybody was good to go. We met up to touch base so we could be on the same page. It was an AMAZING and POWERFUL plan. So we get there and Reba sees us and looks kinda annoyed. So we go in the house while Reba hides in the little art trailer thing she has. her husband tries to get her out but she wasn't 'feelin' a lesson.  So Bro. Mackintosh asks if he can go talk to her. This man is so bold... It blows my mind.. He ends up talking to her and telling her that the Lord needs her back to church and he felt prompted by Him to come share that message with her. She was very blunt and said she made the decision to leave long ago and is not at all interested. So they ended up laughing together at the end and she gave him a couple onions and some other random vegetable that I have never heard of.. Then we thought we would just teach Wesley because he is less active so we figured WHY NOT!! Bro. Mackintosh basically committed him to "come to Sacrament meeting every week for the rest of your life, bar sickness."  And WESLEY SAID YES!!!! Mind blown. He is such a bold and powerful teacher. 

Thought of the day!!! 1 Nephi 14:14 "And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld the power of the Lamb of God, that it descended upon the saints of the church of the Lamb, and upon the covenant people of the Lord, who were scattered upon all the face of the earth; and they were armed with righteousness and with the power of God in great glory." 

Covenants arm us with power! I'm so grateful to Heavenly Father for blessing us with the opportunity to make covenants!! 

Love you guys! Your always in my prayers!! 

Sister Hood