The Chicago temple

Courtney and new companion, Sister Newton

Can't believe another week has already come and gone!  The days are kind of slow, but the weeks are going by so fast!

 

This past week was kind of hard.  We had a lot of miracles last week that didn't end as well as we would have liked.  But hey- that's mission life!  Also, if there is opposition then that means that big miracles are coming!  So I am excited to see what lies in store for Sister Newton and I this week.  But not a lot of cool stuff to report on this week.

 

Tuesday-  Our first district meeting with the new district.  Our new district leader has a lot of high expectations for us this transfer.  And it makes me really excited and motivated to work harder!  So that is good.  I was really worried about getting to district meeting though because get this- the day sister tanner left they changed a lot of the bus routes due to construction!  Haha OF COURSE.  There is a saying here, "There are 2 seasons in Wisconsin- winter, and construction."  And it is so true!  The freezing cold winter makes the roads so bad and then they spend all summer fixing all of them just so they can get ruined all over again in the winter.  So it has been an adventure trying to figure out the busses, but Heavenly Father has definitely blessed me to be able to navigate my way around Milwaukee.  That night we had a lesson with a less active that we have been working with for a really long time that really hasn't progressed at all.  It ended up being a really intense lesson and after a lot of hard work, we committed her to read the Book of Mormon everyday for at least 10 minutes and see the difference that it makes in her life.  I have so much faith that if she puts forth the effort, it will change her life!  I just hope that she puts forth the effort.  So I am excited and nervous to follow up with that this coming week.

 

Wednesday-  We had our first lesson with Matt!  He was the guy that we met a few weeks ago at the gas station that came up to us and said, "why have no missionaries knocked on my door yet??"  It was an awesome lesson!  He is so cool!  He is an Elder in his Lutheran church, but he admits that he doesn't believe in everything that the Lutheran church teaches.  The spirit was so strong during the lesson.  Seriously- all he needs is to read the Book of Mormon and I KNOW that he will know this church is true.  But he is super hesitant to read it so we have been working on that.  Then later that day... WE GOT TO GO TO THE TEMPLE!  It was an amazing experience.  I really have come to love the temple so much and I miss it terribly.  The temple is such an amazing place.  It was such a blessing to get to go as a missionary.  The Spirit that is felt in the temple, specifically the celestial room, is undeniable!  I love it.  I didn't want to leave!  When I was in the temple, I knew that Heavenly Father was so proud of me for how hard I am working.  The Chicago Temple is absolutely stunning!  It was so fun to get to go because mom was there not too long ago, and it made me feel close to her!  Haha so that was cool.  I love the temple.  Don't take having so many temples so close for granted.  Go as often as you can!

 

Thursday-  Maybe I should just come right out and say that Thursdays are always a weekly planning day so they are usually pretty slow and not a lot goes on.  So not a lot of excited news for Thursday.  But we did get to go to the Boston's for dinner!  They are so great!!  That is where we are going to skype you guys this next weekend!  I can't wait!

 

Friday-  We did a lot of street contacting and finding.  We are trying really hard to find new people to teach and to enhance our teaching pool.  We met a lot of cool people, but nothing really to report on.  Then we went to Sarah's for dinner and she is doing as amazing as ever!  Her testimony is continuing to grow every single day!  I am so happy for her.  Her life really has changed.

 

Saturday  we spent all day visiting different less-actives.  Some of them are really coming along, but some really haven't been progressing too much.  We have really been pushing the Book of Mormon.  Preach My Gospel says that the Book of Mormon together with the spirit is the most powerful tool for conversion.  I really have a testimony that it is.  So we have been pushing that a lot lately.  I have faith that miracles will come from that.  Then later that night we got to meet a new senior couple that just moved into our apartment complex, the Lenhard's!!!  They are so cool and I love them so much.  They seriously are already like grandparents to Sister Newton and I.  They actually won't be serving in our ward, they will be serving in the Inner City Branch, but they are still so close!  So I am so stoked to have them here. 

 

Overall, this week was a lot of work.  We have walked 76.01 miles since the start of the transfer!  haha so we are tired all the time but we have met a lot of cool people and are so excited for what lies ahead of us.

 

Hope you all have a great week and I am literally counting down the seconds until I get to talk to you on Sunday.  LOVE YOU ALL!!!!

 

Sister King