March 14, 2016

March 14, 2016:

When you think of river people, what comes to mind? Banjos, lack of shirts, broken grammar, maybe a pitbull or two? In my first day here in Woodstock we took a long country route through the valley's hills until it dropped into a down slope under a long bridge. The address we were seeking from the GPS was absolutely bogus, so we decided to turn around at the end of the road. No trespassing signs bordered the spotted trees that kept our car in a  narrow path, making it impossible to turn around until we reached the bottom. Low and behold, a large shack lay in wait for us at the bottom under the bridge and aside the slow river, three pitbulls chilling on the door step and a shirtless teenager staring at as with a vacuum in his hands like a club. Great. What a wonderful place to turn around. Yet E Abraham led the example by rolling down his window and hollering out to ask him for directions. The pits came down with him and, after we reassured him we weren't the cops, he started talking to us about his religious background and feelings. I made quick work of the dogs with my animal compassion skills, and together we taught Mark about God's plan for each of His children. Mark reassured us that his parents would run us out if they saw us down here, but he would love to walk through the hills to have discussions with us. We'll be seeing him this week again. :)

Elder Abraham and Elder Vander Veur have been teaching the Dennison family the past month or so. The two boys, 12 and 8, are basically our little brothers and love learning about the Book of Mormon and how there's an actual Prophet living on the Earth. Their mom is always busy with work and caring for the kids as a single mom, but sat in with us and their grandpa while we read a chapter from the Book of Mormon. IT's amazing how a simple stack of papers with organized ink on it can be the transmitter for life-changing direction and revelation from God. In a simple 30 minute reading she was committed to finding the truthfulness of what we teach and wants to fill the void of love she feels in her heart. Their Grandpa has a similar situation, though he has the difficulty of understanding why he needs to come to Church. John 6 is where it's at. Still, his wife seems to be the largest difficulty, as she takes everything we say to her pastor to "prove" it wrong. He hasn't been able to accomplish that ;). Persistence and patience are the two edged coin of success. Woodstock is full of adventures on the horizon and I cannot wait to feel and see what the Lord has in store for me!

xoxo

Elder Burgess