It has been a very pleasant week in the Ohio. The temperatures are lower and you can smell fall in the air. The leaves here start to turn when we have a few mornings in a row in the low 60’s. They don’t need a frost to start turning like they do at home. We were driving to work and noticed several trees; half of one side was turning yellow and the other side was solid green. Interesting for sure.
We had an incredible thunder and lighting storm last week. It sounded just like someone was out side your front door banging on a piece of sheet metal as hard as they could several times in a row. The booms when the lighting would hit just shook our apartment. This lasted from early evening throughout the night. Heavy rain followed by the buckets full. Pretty exciting.
Yesterday our investigator, David, was baptized. We had such a good turnout of ward members supporting him. He gave such a sincere and sweet testimony of Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon afterwards. Our good Bishop told David he now had another family, a ward family. You could see how pleased David was.
The sister missionaries tracted David out and started teaching him. After he attended church a couple times, they found out his house was in a different ward boundary, so they turned him over to the Elders.
Elders Swensen and Allred did most of his teaching and used members and us too to get him involved in the ward.
Something new I learned this week (from a talk at the baptism) I would like to share with you. The speaker read from Ephesians 1:13-14 where Peter is telling the saints the Lord has bought them. We belong to him and can return to him if we keep the commandments and serve others. The “earnest money” Christ put down on us is the gift of the Holy Ghost he has given each of us at baptism. The speaker likened the earnest money to “earnest money” you put down on a house when you are interested in buying one. He completes the purchase when we return, cleansed, to live with him forever. To think we have such a loving older brother who keeps his word; it gives one hope to keep trying and never give up.
We have been watching our little investigator family struggling for some time now. They are a golden couple and love everything they learn. The commandments are no problem. Their struggle has been with Eugene’s mother and her “new husband” that moved in and set up their tent in their back yard — literally. The mom was evicted out of her home and didn’t know where to go so they moved in with Eugene and Trisia. They couldn’t move into their house because Eugene’s two sisters were already living with them. It is a long story! Let’s just say Eugene has a heart of gold and family and friends flock to him for stability.
Once the parents set up camp in the backyard things started getting complicated. Every day the mom and “her husband” would search the Internet looking for anti-Mormon information to read to them. So here is Eugene and Trisia holding FHE with the missionaries and us and being taught the gospel and the mom throws garbage on them right after we leave. Well it all came to a head the other night when they were very unkind to Trisia’s 6 yr. old son and Trisia kicked them out of the house. Eugene came home and was thrilled. After a few days of living in a campground the mom went back to Trisia and said she couldn’t live in a campground and they really didn’t mean what they said. She just wanted Trisia to teach her little boy to stay out of their way and give them space. Trisia with all her 4 foot 10 inches stood up to her mother-in-law and said, “No!” Like Grammpa Alma used to say, “You made your bed, you sleep in it!”
As Trisia was telling me about it a thought came to me that this had been a real blessing in disguise. Because the parents opposed them like they did, it caused Eugene and Trisia to realize that they wanted a better way of life for their family and the gospel of Jesus Christ was the way. Amazing how Heavenly Father can turn a sticky situation into a positive learning experience for good!
Keep Trisia and Eugene in your prayers. You would like this couple. I feel like I have another son and daughter.
We send our love and keep you all in our prayers and hearts.
Mom & Dad
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