TERESA - Hello! Hello!
My goodness! It is sure winter over here! haha But not to worry, it hasn't been too bad I guess :) It is snowing A LOT! But believe it or not, it's actually been really good for the work! People are a lot happier and more willing to speak with you. Which is strange to me because you'd think with the "blizzard" outside, people would be more eager to be inside instead of standing in the cold talking to missionaries, haha. But they aren't! It's brilliant! We've had another amazing week out here and we feel so very blessed!
Aileen's baptism has been pushed back a week due to weather conditions. But it is definitely still on! I am on top of the world just thinking about it! She is amazing and I am so happy for her decision :) She is one of the most lovely people I have ever met!! I know I was meant to stay here in Dundee for this long just to see her baptism. There is a whole big story with this that is the most heart felt experience I have had so far on my mission!! (I am going to write a hand-written letter about it to you, mom and dad!) I know I am here still because of Aileen! And after the experience I had with her I know that this work is so much bigger than me. When President told me that there were still things that I needed to accomplish here I didn't see what that could've been until now. This is why. And I am just praying that my Heavenly Father wants me here for another moves because there is sooo much I want to accomplish here still! I hope that's what I need to do, but if He wants me to go I will know that it is right because I may not know everything, but He does. I trust Him!! :)
For Church this Sunday we only had a Sacrament/Testimony meeting and then a Munch & Mingle afterwards. But it was really good! Yvonne Cavin was there and I about died I was so happy! She NEVER comes and she was there! Her husband was so thrilled, he was way cheery, you could see the difference in his face :)
OK, so let me tell you one experience that happened to us this week. It all started on Wednesday. We had just gotten out of an amazing discussion with a less-active who's trying to turn her life around. Michelle is making excellent progress! She's also the kind of person that you just love being around, because she's just so fun! OK, but anyway, we got out of that teach and it was 4:00. (Keep in mind; it's already way dark at 4 in the afternoon in the winter!) And we wanted to make some Fall soup. We had gotten all the ingredients except forgot to get the tortellini. So we decided to go to Tesco and get some and then come back and make it. So we made sure we were talking to people as we were going. After a whole lot of "no thank you's" we then stopped this one man coming out of Tesco. His name was Derek and he was in his 50's. We stood and talked with him and he was totally listening! We asked what it would mean to have a book that provided all the answers to life. And he thought for a moment and then said sincerely, "Peace. It would bring me peace." You should've seen our faces! I was in utter shock, this was the kind of response that every missionary dreams and wishes for! He went on to say that he was raised roman catholic but didn't think it had the answers. He then said that he wanted to regain faith and that maybe our church was what he was looking for. And that we found him at the right time! My oh my! We were so happy!
He then gave us his address and Sister Daines wrote it down and then I wrote down his phone number. He said his last name was Smith and commented that it was the most boring name ever, haha. We were going to see him the next night, Thursday.
Thursday. Now, from this point on I’m going to put down what my companion wrote because she can do this experience a lot more justice than me!! It is pretty long but it was an amazing experience! And really special to each of us:
"We came back to the flat for dinner, and while walking home, I began to get a really bad headache. We came in, and I just lay down on my bed it was so bad. I figured it I rested a bit, it would lessen or go away. After a bit, it was still bad, and was actually getting worse. Sister Kullick tried to help me by giving me a head and back massage. That didn’t do anything either. I had taken 4 ibuprofen, and that didn’t touch it. I was getting frustrated, because we were needing to leave soon to go and see Derek and Heather, the man we met last night. I had the thought come to mind that this was an attack from Satan, to make it so we couldn’t go and see Derek. I had been praying in my heart that it would leave, but when this thought came, my prayers increased. I had received some very specific revelation this morning while studying (for Derek), and I knew that it was inspired, and that we absolutely needed to see him tonight. I sat up on the edge of my bed, and said that it might help if I tried to eat something. Sister Kullick was very kind, and heated some soup for me. I tried eating a bit, but it just made me nauseated and I began to cry because I was so frustrated. I told Sister Kullick a bit of how I was feeling, and she made a statement, that it was an attack from Satan. I was grateful that she was in tune with the spirit to understand. In my silent prayer a few minutes before, I told Heavenly Father that I had faith in the power of the priesthood, but that wasn’t available right now. I then said that the next thing I could do was pray, and so I had been pouring out my heart to Heavenly Father. When Sister Kullick made her statement, she asked if we should say a prayer, I said yes. We knelt right there in the bedroom, and she asked if she could say it. I agreed. She said a very touching prayer, and prayed that all that I was experiencing would leave immediately. As she prayed, I had tears streaming down my face, and I felt the spirit. We both hugged following the prayer, and I told her thank you. I told her that I was grateful for her desire to do what is right, and that I wouldn’t want to be serving with anyone else right now. I meant that. My headache didn’t leave right at that moment, but I felt that it was now my responsibility to act in faith, and put my trust in God. I stood up and the first 2 things that I saw were pictures of Jesus Christ and Joseph Smith. I felt the spirit very powerfully in my heart, and I knew that all would be made right. I did not feel alone. We quickly gathered up our things, prayed and walked out the door.
We arrived at the address Derek had given to us, #38 Ravenscraig Road. Sister Kullick offered the prayer before we went up to the door. I don’t remember what was said, but both of us felt the spirit very strong again. We went up to the door and chapped it, a moment later, a woman came to the door, we asked for Derek, and then a man came to the door. It was not Derek. We asked if he stayed here, or anywhere near, and neither of them had a clue. Sister Kullick then bore her testimony, and we just got rejected. IN both of our minds, we thought that maybe we had just been directed to this door to share our message with them. The answer to that was no. We chapped the door next to it, and another lady answered. She mentioned that she had seen us earlier, and said that we shouldn’t go to the door we had just chapped. She said they were junkies. She told us as many people as she could remember on this road, but could not come up with a Derek and Heather. She was very helpful, but was not interested in our message either. We both felt a need to continue chapping and try and find Derek. So this is what we continued to do. People were very nice, but nobody wanted to listen to our message. WE were practically running from house to house. WE both knew we hadn’t been directed here for no reason. WE went to a house up around the corner, chapped, but nobody came to the door. We chapped again, and a younger woman came to the door. She said that a Derek and Heather stayed just around the corner, two doors in. She didn’t know their surname, but knew that a Derek and Heather definitely stayed there. She wasn’t interested in our message either. We ran back around the corner (even to the point that we were jumping over the big piles of snow), and chapped the door. There was a light on inside, and so we were very excited. Nobody answered. We chapped several times, but still nothing. I wrote a note, and put it through the letterbox. Sister Kullick chapped again, but still no answer. We chapped the doors on both sides of it (which was # 28) and both people said that a Derek and Heather stayed there, but not with the surname of Smith, but of Gordon. This now made us wonder if we had really been given a fake address and name. We chapped another door, and this woman didn’t have any idea. We were going to the house next door when she came back out, and asked us to come back. She said that she thought Derek and Heather stayed down at the end of the road. She even came out and pointed to the house we should try. This got us excited again. So we hurried down to that door, chapped, and man came to the door, but it was not Derek, nor did he have any idea who Derek was. At this point Sister Kullick asked if we should go by and see Stacey, another investigator. I agreed. She said that we go one direction, and I told her that the woman who we had chapped first (after #38) kept coming to mind, and maybe it was her that we were really meant to see. She wasn’t sure about it, but we both agreed to try her again. As we headed back that way (the opposite of where was suggested a bit earlier), we passed by #28 again. We both glanced just passing by, and guess who we saw! It was Derek! HE was out brushing off his car. Sister Kullick and I just looked in disbelief, and then said his name in unison. He looked at us, and pulled out his earphones, we told him we had been by earlier, and he said that he thought he’d missed us. We asked if he still had time to see us, and he did. His wife wasn’t in, so w e could only go in the door and set up a return appointment. But we found Derek! I can’t believe that both of us wrote down the wrong address and phone number that never happens. As we had been chapping the doors, I had the thought that this was an experience to test our faith. I also felt that we were guided by the spirit through the entire experience. I don’t think it was coincidence that we both wrote down wrong information. Derek had been home late from work, and had we not been so thorough in trying to find him, we would not have bumped into him later (by about 40 minutes to an hour later). As we spoke to him while setting up a return appointment, he said that he hadn’t had a chance to read anything from the Book of Mormon, but was planning on sitting down and reading it tonight. He said that he had been studying to be a Priest when he was younger, and had read through the entire Bible. His life had gone the other direction though, and he wants to find his faith, and find answers to his questions. He also asked what it would take to become a member, and when the soonest he could be baptized. We told him, and then said the 26th of December! We also invited him to church on Sunday, and he said he’d come. As we left, I was so lifted by the spirit. He is looking forward to seeing us on Thursday. As we walked down the road to Stacey’s, Sister Kullick asked if I still felt we should go by that woman. I said no, that the thought had come, just to get us back in that direction to find Derek. I told Sister Kullick that my headache was completely gone, and that it had left as soon as we said the prayer to go and chap #38. I know with all of my heart that we were guided by the spirit of the Lord, and that everything that has taken place was such a miracle. My heart is filled with gratitude for all that we are experiencing. I am so grateful to be a missionary. I know that I am in the right place, doing the right things.
I know that we were meant to meet this man, and am looking forward to what he will find as he searches the Book of Mormon, and listens to the message that we share."
This was an incredible occurrence! It may not seem so big to anybody else but that is OK. I know that every little thought that came into our minds was Heavenly Father directing us and I know that all these things happened for a reason! If we hadn't kept looking then we would've never seen Derek ever again. I know that to be true! The only word I can use of describing how I felt during the whole thing would be invincible! Haha I know we were guided and that if you do what's right then it doesn't matter if its the Spirit or you, you'll get there eventually :)
I love you all!
Sister Teresa Kullick
P.S. Please who ever is reading our blogs, send pictures!
