Hey Y'all!
We have had another wonderful week here in Elkins West
Virginia! We've had a lot of snow come our way recently which is great! But
also not so great. A good thing about it is that everyone stays home because
they don't want to go out in the weather so it's a lot easier to see and teach
people. A bad thing about it is that everyone stays home and can't come to
church or help us... We had a lot of great lessons this week and were so
excited to have people come to church but then Sunday morning came around and
the snow took its toll. Hopefully next Sunday we'll get a little sunshine to
bring people out! Cross your fingers!
We got a call from our Zone Leaders on Saturday, right after
a big snow, and they told us to not go out unless it was important and to try
and do things where we didn't have to be on the roads. So we went to a couple
appointments we had and then went and shoveled the sidewalks at the church with
the Senior Couple and baked cookies for church the next day. It was a fun day
but I really hope we don't have more of them because it was hard not being able
to do a ton of missionary work and be snowed in.
Last Monday Sister Mikesell and I randomly decided to go on
a hike. We got all bundled up and found a trail that looked promising. We
basically just took a stroll through the West Virginia wilderness and it was
beautiful with all of the snow covering the hills and trees. On our way out
there were deer everywhere. It's nice to just take some time every once in a
while and reflect on all of God's creations. I'm trying to see as much of WV as
I can this next year here.
I hope everyone has a wonderful New Year and has a terrific
2018!!I love you all!
Sister de la Cruz
Pics to come next week
Celebrating New Years with stuff from Sis Mikesell's mom
Hey Ya'll!
This week was full of so many miracles that I can't deny
this is God's work. I'll share just a couple in this email though due to lack
of time. The first one happened while we were on Exchanges with the Sisters in
Bridgeport. We got to join them for a baptism they were having on Saturday and
they were telling us before hand that the guy who was going to get baptized was
extremely nervous because he had a traumatic experience when he was 5 years old
and almost drowned. He is over 50 now and hasn't been in water since. The
Sisters had promised him that if he were to get baptized his fear of water
would be gone and the Clarksburg Elders gave him a blessing right before the
baptism for extra comfort. So when it comes time to do the actual baptism he
walks straight into the water and Elder Wilson baptizes him and afterwards he tells
us that his fear of water is completely gone! He even said he wanted to go for
a swim! I know Heavenly Father helped him get over his fear so that he could
make that next step towards Eternal Life. There isn't a single commandment He
gives us that he won't help us and give us the strength to keep.
Another miracle happened just yesterday while we were
walking around a little town called Coalton. We saw a couple fixing up a car
and went and talked to them for a little bit. Then one of their neighbors came
up and said her pipes were frozen and she needed help unthawing them. We
offered to help and she was so excited she gave Sister Mikesell a hug but then
saw her name tag and yelled "Mormons!" We thought for sure she was
going to yell at us but instead she said "I'm a Mormon!" We were both
thrown a little off and she then asked where we were from and Sister Mikesell
said Idaho and she said, "That's where I'm from too!" She then told
us she hadn't been to church in over 40 years since she moved to West Virginia
with her husband who wasn't a member and that he passed away 2 years ago. We
then went under her house with a blow drier and tried to warm up her pipes. It
didn't seem to be working but her neighbor we had been talking to brought a
heater to help and while he was doing that we talked with Sister Huffman (that
was her name) about her life. The heater only worked for a few minutes before
running out of fuel and so we didn't know what else to do. We invited her to
join us back at church on Sunday and she was so excited to come! The next part
is what I think the real miracle was. So she told us that her water had been
working earlier that day and that it froze right before we got there. It didn't
freeze the week before when the weather was in the negatives, but froze on the
one day that it was actually above freezing outside. So that's when she came
out of her house to find help and ran into us. Then, when we said goodbye and
were walking away from her house she ran outside and yelled to us, "It's fixed!
The water works again!" We all shouted for joy and while Sister Mikesell
and I were walking back to our truck she leans in and whispers to me, "I
think we broke her pipes...." At first I was confused but then thought
about it again. If her pipes hadn't of froze she never would have come out and
talked to us. We never would have talked to her about coming back to church.
Her pipes froze so that we would be put into her path. I know Heavenly Father
is in ever detail of our lives and puts us in situations that lead us where we
need to go. He knew that this was the exact moment in her life where she needed
the missionaries.
We were all very saddened to hear of the passing of
President Monson but know he is enjoying the reunion with his sweet wife. He is
the prophet I have known for most of my life and I'm so thankful for all of his
wise counsel and service to others. I know that we are so privileged to have a
prophet on the earth during these times and know that the next prophet will
bring just as much direction and joy into our lives.
I am so grateful for the opportunities I have to be here in
this beautiful state and know we will see many more miracles in the near
future.
Have a great week everyone! I love you all!
Sister de la Cruz
Pic from our Hike a couple weeks ago in the WV wilderness :)
Frozen River on the drive to Philippi
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