It's official. I have fallen in love
with Alabama. I love it here and I don't ever want to leave. I love the people
and the way they can talk forever. They are so nice and you can strike up
conversation with almost anyone. The homes of Alabama are so pretty with their
sloping green lawns and abundant green trees. I even enjoy the weather here
{it's not as bad as I thought it was going to be}.
We visited the Chappel's again on
Thursday. Sister Chappel loves to hear her own voice and sometimes I feel like
she's the missionary because it feels like she is teaching the lesson. But I
honestly don't mind it. I love to listen to Sister Chappel talk because
she can say the best things. We're trying to help her husband overcome smoking
so he can be baptized. Thursday's lesson was focused on receiving the gift of
the Holy Ghost. Sister Chappel would make comments on what we were talking
about {sometimes turning them into long tangents} and I love some of the things
she said. I pointed them out to Brother Chappel, hoping his wife's testimony
will help him realize the importance of the gift of the Holy Ghost. Sister
Thorup and I know he will be baptized soon because he does have that desire and
he knows the gospel is true. He's been coming to church with his wife ever
since she was baptized 11 years ago. As soon as he turns to the Lord to help him
get rid of the things in his life that shouldn't be there, all will be well.
As
we were driving away from the Chappels', we can see downtown Birmingham. With
the sky turned red from the setting sun and the city's twinkling lights below
and the Spirit still with me from the Chappels' lesson, I fell in love with
Birmingham. I'm so happy this is where the Lord sent me.
Friday was such a great district
meeting. Elder West {our district leader} read us a letter that his dad had
written and it really helped me as we're struggling with our investigators. I
realized that I need to have patience and respect for others' agency.
"When people focus on the light,
the darkness fades away." All we can and should do is focus on what
people, our investigators, are doing right and what we can do to bring more
light into their lives.
"Some people will need time; time
to accept what they hear and time to change themselves."
"You aren't going to see baptisms
everyday, but you will see miracles."
I had a really touching experience
in church yesterday that made me really miss my home ward. In Relief Society,
at the end of the lesson, the teacher had her twin daughters and her son sing a
song about the strength the youth need today and they were holding hands and it
was so precious. It reminded me of our youth and how amazing they are and that
they really do need to be strong to stand in today's world. I know it can be hard but we all need to hold fast to what we know to be true. We must rely on the Lord to help us through this life if we want to truly be happy.
