Small successes.....

Well we had a family come to church on Sunday! They are the Stiths. Great
family. A mom and 3 girls all over 11! So they are mostly all going to be in YW
which is really needed right now. Poor YW class with only 3 YW in there. They
plan on staying the whole 3 hours next week. She gave up extra work time to come
so she is really seeing the blessings in sacrifice.

We have also been recieving a lot of referrals lately. Mostly from the Church
HQ but referrals none the less. Lots of work to do. It did slow down for a few
days here and there, but luckily, we have been faithful and the Good Lord is
definitely providing! We have members who are actively working with non-members
to invite into their home, so within the month we should see some super solid
people come forth!
Our main girl Cassie is staying in VA for good, so we are working forward with
her for the baptism. She is not set for a date because she has some things to
take care of first and she really needs to be reading and praying daily. She
wants to be baptized within the month so she can have some of her school friends
there, but she needs to step up her game. we told her that too and she
understood, so it is up to her now. But her mother is a member who would come to
church except for work. So not too bad of a support at home. She did get to go
to the Spanish ward's baptism last night at 8:30 which was a really good
service. So she got to witness it and reconfirmed her decision to be baptized.
It is almost surreal how the end is near. It is not something to really push
off anymore. I do not think about it often really, but it is odd to think that
in 7 weeks, it will be over. I hope my efforts have been accepted by the Lord.
He definitely has had a struggle with me at times. I feel like I have done my
best throughout most of my mission and that is just about all I can ask for.
Thanks to all y'all for supporting me throughout this time in my life. It is a
blessing to have so many great people, especially among those I hardly know.
love,
Elder Malone

Letter Home 8/12/09

Well...not a letter in a while because most of our people have been disappearing! Or at least are not keeping commitments and not calling us back. So instead of chasing them down and trying to knock some sense into them like we use to do, we just move onward!

We did have an experience with a part-member family who we are teaching. They have been taught by missionaries for a little while now but never make those steps so they stop meeting with them. Well the first couple of appointments went really well. But when they all committed to come to church and our rides came by to find no one home, we got a little perturbed. So we went by and they all individually swore up and down and side to side that they did not say they would come to church. So they were all conspiring together! Well, we rebuked the mother hardcore to get some sense into her, plus it fed my pride a little bit. :) We told her that she needed to come and let the Spirit work on her. So she stated that she had things planned to do... we asked if they were more important than church or the Lord. She said, of course not! nothing is more important than the Lord. So we boldly said, Then why are you making them that way? And left silence while she ate from the ice cream cone filled with guilt. Chocolate chip kind too. She agreed to let us come back and we told them all, if they miss one commitment they are dropped! No time to play around, they have had too many witnesses now, it's all on the them.

Well on a good note, Tonya and her family will be at church this Sunday! She finally found the exact location of the building, because last sunday she got lost and did not bring her cell phone with her. So this sunday is the day! They keep all of their commitments and definitely are making a point to have family scripture study. So they are doing well.

We were told just yesterday that the first book Pocahontas ever read was the Bible, specifically in John were it talked about confessing with your mouth and you are saved! She liked it so much she made her own version of the Bible to share with her Native friends and highlighted that scripture in there. Betcha y'all never heard that before!

Also, they may move our apartment in a couple months. We are currently at the very bottom of a 10 mile up and down area. Mostly up hill, so 45 mins later we arrive at the top, which is difficult sometimes on bike. So they will move us to a more central location. We are picking out places to go, and we may have found a winner.

All in all, just working and striving to finish with a bang. But I think the only bang I may make is just a little hooray from my companion!
love,
Elder Malone