Dear Everyone!

it's so green, i love it! we were waiting to pull up this driveway
cause we were talking on the phone, and needed to hang up!! haha :)
isn't she cute?
also, look at all that CORN!!!
corn corn corn....all that grows here is corn!!!

Dear Everyone,

Another week, and such great weather! It was rainy, every single day!  It was crazy, but a really nice break from the usual heat around this  time of year. There were even a few days without any humidity!  Unfortunately, because of the rain, they cancelled the firework show in our town, but that's ok, since we probably wouldn't have seen it  anyway! I know last week was a great week, so I guess I could have seen it coming, but I felt like the adversary was really working on us this week! And on the people we are working with, unfortunately :(  

Our week started out with three of our investigators calling on Monday to tell us that they were moving out of our area. That same week! So, it's been a real bummer because they were all really making good  progress, and a lot of members were excited about them. It's kinda like you have to relive the blow of them leaving every time someone asks you how they are doing, and we have to tell them that they moved! But, other than that, and thousands of bug bites, and an allergic  reaction, and a broken car, and pouring rain, and a lot of other  things I may have been bummed out about-things are still really good  here. Like, amazing actually! So I'll tell you all about those things  :)  

So we met this family, and they are AWESOME! It was actually a miracle  the way we met them. So, we had the name and address of someone the missionaries used to teach, but when we knocked on the door, turns out they don't live there anymore. So we explained to the woman we met who we were and that we help people grow in their relationship with  God, and she told us she was really sick but that we could come back later. So a month later, we finally got to knock on her door again and meet her! She let us right in, and come to find out: she has seen the Hill Cumorah Pageant multiple times! Her brother lives with her too, and they are SUPER open to learning more about everything, because  they have some really good friends who are members and they have never been pushy or anything with them, but they have always shared it with them. They invited us to their family barbecue to meet their mom too, 'cause she loves the missionaries apparently. It was great! And such a  tender mercy, because we never would have found them except for that random name and address! We will see where they go this week, and if they remembered to read and pray about the Book of Mormon.  

We talked to a lot of people this week, and I realized something. I am so thankful that the message I am sharing as a missionary speaks for itself. It's so funny how people often are closed off to hearing what we have to say, simply because they felt that religion was pushed on them in the past, or they think we are trying to convince them of  something. It's really the best thing ever to know that I literally  don't have to say anything in order for them to know if the Book of  Mormon is true. All that's required is for them to actually read it,  and pray. It says a lot that people think they can find answers from  men, or from people. If I had a nickel for every time I have heard,  'I'll ask my pastor what he thinks...' I would be rich! But I just wish more people understood they should be asking God! If we believe  in an omnipotent God, why would we not go to Him with our questions?

Ok, so Virginia! She quit tea this week, just as an experiment to see if she could understand why it was a commandment from God. As of  Sunday, she hadn't had any all week, which is awesome! She really  wants to understand, but reading is hard for her, so it's been a  challenge to help her realize that all her answers to questions come as she reads the Book of Mormon! But she is slowly getting there :)  

We also made a lot of progress with a few of our members who haven't  attended in a while. Sister Parmley told us she had been praying on  her knees, and reading everyday like we had asked her to. It was the  best moment when she told us that she actually had a desire to read  this scriptures, for the first time ever! The Spirit was so strong,  and she could tell that she was doing what God wanted her to be doing! We had a similar experience with Brother Hunt. He is an incredible man with a lot of hard things in his life. We see him every Sunday night,  and we never know if we will actually get to talk to him long or if he can't talk. We always pray with him, and usually ask him to pray, but he refuses. Well, this week, he sat down and talked with us, and listened what we had to share about the Atonement, and about how all  God asks from us is progress, not perfection! He knows so much about the scriptures, it's amazing to hear him talk. And yet, he still struggles with the small things, like prayer and reading the  scriptures! But last night, before we even asked, he offered to pray, and he said the most sincere, heartfelt prayer I have heard in a  long time. We could all feel the Spirit, and it was incredible to hear  the change that has come over him in just a few weeks. We really  wanted him to know that there is hope for him, no matter what he thinks might be keeping him from feeling forgiven. But in his prayer, it seemed like he understood, and believed that was true. It was a  great moment! I just love getting to see people change, and for the better. It's  such a blessing in my life.

Someone told me that my mission isn't a sacrifice, like most people see it as. Rather, my mission is an offering, to Heavenly Father. I thank Him every single day for the blessing it has been in my life to be in His service, and be touched by the people I have seen change, because of Jesus Christ. Every moment has been a blessing from Heavenly Father. It was never a sacrifice on my part.  

Love you all!

Sister Penrod