Teaching Jew, Gentile and Presbyterian

This week was amazing!!!! And it was emotional. Because I'm Sister Grant and I cry a lot. But there was happy and sad tears. And mostly just exhaustion.. and heat stroke. Because it was 104 degrees on Tuesday!! This is August Weather people!!

Highlights of the week:

~We're teaching a Jewish son and father. We met Alex while we were biking and we told him about how the Book of Mormon was a history of the Jews. I'm not wrong hahaha. So he said we could bring him one. The next day on exchanges they met Corey who is his son and has been experimenting with Christianity lately. He's a good kid. He's struggling internally with somethings but I know that the gospel will lift so many of his burdens. It was interesting though because when we taught him on Saturday his mom sat in on the lesson and she teaches at a Hebrew school and we explained that we like to open and close our lessons with a prayer. And she asked if we could not pray in the name of Jesus Christ because they didn't believe that he was their savior and I felt like a deer in the headlights. How do you not do that????? I can't not talk about Jesus!! I love that guy!! So I asked her to say the prayer... It was weird. But Corey came to church on Sunday and loved it!!

~I went on exchanges with Hermana Goettig I got to practice a little bit of my Spanish again! Hermana Goettig has my heart. She is just adorable and understands me on a spiritual level. We had such a good time even though we went park contacting at 3:00 in the afternoon and nearly sweat my pants off. We talked to some really cool people from the Phillipines and found out the lady's dad was a member and because we talked to her she felt like it was a tender mercy from her father. They kept calling us their angels and wanted to take pictures with us. It was cute.

~ We put Olivia on date for baptism!! We had a super good lesson on the Word of Wisdom of all things and then we started talking about how she feels the spirit. We helped her identify some times where she'd felt the Holy Ghost during our lessons or while she was reading scriptures. And we asked what she felt like her next step was and she said she wants to set a date for baptism! So we're stoked.

~We also taught a family. Who has 2 married parents, and 3 kids, and they have stable careers, and a car, and a nice house. Like when does that ever happen?? I was so nervous let me tell you. They are also super active in their church but were so open! We taught them the Plan of Salvation and sometimes people are hesitant about the after life but they said that it could be true and invited us back next week. Their little boys were so cute. They have a 10 year old and 2 twin 5-year-olds. Pray for the Mulock family!

~I got to go to dinner with my favorite people the Hefners!!! He was my ward misison leader when I was in Canoe Creek and they are just the cutest and they had a baby and It was just the best time. They have me a lot of good going home advice and it meant so much to me. I'm eternally blessed for the relationships I've developed with people out here in Florida.

~I went on exchanges with Sister Johnson and we got to help out with a 5K in Sanford. Which we had to wake up at 5 to get there so that sucked... but it was a blast. We were designated to help the runners make the turn so we pretty much just cheered everyone on and like over 500 people saw these too crazy representatives of Jesus Christ hyped up on the spirit making them feel good about running. So I would say that's a win. We also became bffs with our volunteer police friend who was also on the corner named Tio. He kept calling us Utah and Colorado and thought we were just the funniest thing in the world. It was a good day. And then we ate hotdogs at 10 am with half our zone. 

All in all I learned a lot about testifying of Jesus Christ. Most of my interactions have been with people who already have a relationship with Christ and I'd never felt more strange than when I was told I couldn't use his name in my prayer. I'd never experienced that but it helped me put into perspective just how important it is to represent him. There are people in the world who don't understand just how much our savior loves them and wants them to accept his help throughout life and it makes me so sad. I wanted to give them that so badly and understood just a little how it must feel for him too. I'm so etrnally grateful for my savior and all that he does for me daily. I would be a wreck without him and I hope to serve and love him the rest of my life.