01/10/11

Dear Beautiful Family,

It's been another great week. The temperature has dropped and it's been really rainy but "the show must go on." A few days ago Sister Boyd and I were on our bikes headed to an appointment when it started to sprinkle. We stopped to talk to a woman named Sierra and she was on her way to go get lunch with her little boy Ian. She told us she lived in Utah with her husband and that she has a lot of friends who are members.

Around this time it started to pour and she invited us into her home until the rain stopped. We were able to get to know her better and she told us her husband is a member but he hasn't been to church in over a decade. He wasn't on any of our lists so it was a wonderful miracle to have found them. I love "running into people" that way. Just like the lost tribes and how no one knows where they are but our Father in Heaven knows where he led them, it's the same with us. He knows where every broken heart is, every tear that's shed, every pain, every loneliness, every disappointment, every loss...everything. It's been wonderful to be led by His Spirit.

Before Christmas we were able to speak to a lot of people who told us to come see them after the holidays. Sister Boyd, Sister Rae, and I kept a list of all these people and the different ways they said we could contact them (phone or stop by, etc.) Of a list of about twenty people, two people allowed us to set up an appointment to come teach them with a member.

One of them is a man named Billy Walker. We met him one afternoon when he was getting his mail. We had a decent conversation, invited him to learn more and he told us we could contact him after the new year. He told us he is a non-denominational preacher and during our lesson he told us his sermons are put on T.V. (I don't think he's too well known so don't go looking his name up on the Internet...Dad:)

He's very sweet and he has a wonderful conversion story. He's in his 70's and he was born and raised in the Austin area. He had a rough life in the beginning but when he was in his thirty's he decided he needed to take steps to change and he started reading in the Bible for direction from God. As we were listening to him. He said " One day I opened my Bible and came across James, first chapter fifth verse; which reads, If any of you lack wisdom..." I think we all know how this ends. It was a powerful moment. The Lord is preparing people in His own way to receive the blessings of the restored gospel.

The restoration and living prophets was new to Billy as was the book of Mormon, but we shared our testimonies and invited him to read it and to ask Heavenly Father if it's true. He told us to give him a week so our next appointment is this Wednesday. I wish I had time to tell of other experiences but don't. Things are going well.

As always thank you for all that you do.

Love you all,

Sister Green