Little Heartbreakers

Another exciting week in Valdosta, GA! There are just so many amazing people in this world, it's wonderful. I am so lucky to work alongside so many of them. Weeks are blurring together now, so it's hard to remember when awesome events happen, but I'll do my best to relay to y'all the exciting bits. (Which is hard because all of missionary work is exciting!) Anywho, we had some great stuff happen this week. Miss B had been MIA for a couple days, but we finally got a hold of her and she was so happy to see us. She'd been having a really hard time, especially facing her addiction, but she's been staying so strong. And she was able to come to a baptism this week. She said she loved it, and really wants to be a member of our church. She's just the best, I love her so much. In my studies, I've been focusing on the Atonement and what that really means for us as individuals. I know that the Atonement of Jesus Christ has worked wonders in my own life, but it's amazing to see the Atonement work in the lives of the people that we teach. So many of them are struggling with things that I cannot even begin to imagine, and no matter what the difficulty is, the Atonement covers it. It's remarkable. The peace and happiness that this gospel brings is like no other drug, entertainment, or pass time. It is perfect.

So, we've been spending quite a lot of time at this one particular apartment complex, because we have quite a few investigators that all live there. Basically, the whole complex knows us. Especially the kids. And oh boy, are they cute. These are the same kids that ran up to me and asked if I could give them hugs because they were "so cold." Stop. Little heartbreakers, every one of them. We have one group of kids that are particularly fond of Sister Waddoups and I. And they are all under the age of 6, just to be clear. But they recognize our car, and every time we drive in, they run up to our car and H usually opens the door for one of us. We've both been asked if we could be their girlfriends, to which we told them that we could not, but we could definitely be their friends. The other day, I taught C and H how to tie their shoes. They are always trying to sneak hugs and grab our hands. They are little buggers, but they are stinkin' adorable. So if you're wondering how the love life is, I have 5 and 6 year old boys blowing kisses to our car a few times a week. Classic.

Let's talk about Miss S. She lives in the same apartments as our admirers live at, and we ran into her one day as we were leaving another appointment. We saw an old woman attempting to get out of her car/bring her groceries in, and we offered to help her. She readily agreed and told us "Follow me inside babehs, and come on in. I know y'all are gonna share the word." We followed her inside and then listened to Miss S testify on every point of essential doctrine that we teach, as well as quote scriptures to back up every point. It was awesome. She's 73, and has major health problems, but amazing faith in her Lord, Jesus Christ. We've met with her a few times now, and she's just lovely.

I would love to give you a quick snapshot of what it looks like when we're walking around the streets of Quitman (a small town to the west of Valdosta). Walking on those old streets of Quitman feels like you're on a movie set. Streets full of the most gorgeous, huge old houses with double doors and porches, and white picket fences, on double-wide streets, lined by trees that could tell some stories, which are dripping in swaying spanish moss. When the sun is filtering through those trees, it is the most beautiful thing. Makes your soul feel light and bright.

Now for an update on E and the crew. Oh goodness. I cannot even express how much I love them. We went over this week to teach them the Word of Wisdom, and they were all sitting around a fire in the back, smoking and drinking, so we thought it best to reschedule the lesson to the next day. However, when we arrived the following day, we walked in to pretty much the same situation. However, we felt like we should still teach them the lesson. So that we did. For those of you that have no idea what I'm talking about, the "Word of Wisdom" is basically a health code that Heavenly Father has asked us to keep in order to keep our bodies happy and healthy. And it is crucial because our bodies and our spirits are intertwined. The physical affects the spiritual. Anywho, we taught the lesson, and although we were afraid that they were going to be pretty upset, they all reacted very positively. A talked about how our bodies are temples, and Heavenly Father wants us to take care of these gifts that He has given us. So the lesson went surprisingly well, and there I was, thinking it couldn't get any better. I was so very wrong. All of a sudden, Miss E whips out her ELECTRIC GUITAR, plugs it into her amp, tells O to "Quick, go grab your drums!" And they start jamming. It was probably the best thing I've ever experienced. This couple, both nearly 80 years old, just killing it. And it was the good stuff too, real bluesy and jazzy and all sorts of fantastic. Everyone in the room was laughing at me because I was smiling so hard and clearly enjoying myself. They thought that it was hoot that this little white girl loved their music so much. But man, if that wasn't just the best thing ever. Afterwards, Miss E just laughed and said, "Bet ya didn't think I could do that, did ya?" She also told us that we were angels without "swings" this week. So you can't get much better than that.

This entire week, I've felt like I was on a spiritual high. I can only describe it as feeling so happy and hopeful that you feel almost outside of yourself, like you're floating. It's like no other feeling. On Friday, we had zone training in Douglas and it was mission changing for me, seriously. I had been feeling pretty disheartened with myself because I knew I could do better, be bolder. And it was all about being bold and exactly what I needed to hear. As a result, over the last few days, there have been so many more people that have decided to be baptized in our zone. We are the Tifton bold lions. We have truth, and we're here to tell everyone we meet about that truth. I mean, I lived with my Heavenly Father 21 years ago, and He knew me and loved me, just as He knows and loves me now. I don't know what you were doing 21 years ago, but I was living with GOD! If that isn't life-changing and perspective-changing, I don't know what is. Every decision I make, every action I take, is dependent upon the knowledge that I have a Heavenly Father who loves me unconditionally. And I am doing whatever I can in this life so that I can live again with Him some day. And it makes me so very happy. I love you all. Remember who you are.

Sister Szilagyi