I was kissed by a Jewish man

Thought that headline might catch some attention. Don't worry too much... it wasn't my fault. On Friday we had

exchanges and we met an awesome Jewish man. He talked to us for quite a while and he side-hugged Sister Carlin and kissed her on the temple. (For those of you who don't know, as missionaries we have quite a few

rules... hugs from guys and kisses are definitely
prohibited.) She turned beet red. I was cracking up. Then he turned to me and I was done for. He did the same thing to me as he said, "Aw, you're feeling left out." Anyways, that's one of the interesting stories from this week. Never thought that would happen. Missions are definitely unique little experiences for many reasons.

ALSO, one night we decided to go stop by a member's home. It was probably seven something, so it was pretty dark. We were parked in the front of their house for a little bit because we ended up making a few calls. As we were about to get out we noticed a man and his son walking their dog. Not thinking anything of it we cheerfully said, "HELLO! HOW ARE YOU?" and he nicely replied and went on his way. We went up to the door and eventually some kids answered as they were on the phone saying. "Oh, it's the Sister missionaries." Turns out the kid called his neighbors because a suspicious car was parked in front of their house. I guess that puts some sense behind a man and his son walking their dog in the pitch dark night. Apparently there have been burglaries around the neighborhood and we were unknowingly putting everyone on edge. That kid was quite prepared though. We must have terrified them when we knocked.

Sister Hopkins and I have been given a Tender Mercy from the Lord and we didn't have to speak at the funeral. It's definitely a blessing because we hadn't even prepared yet and the funeral would have been today. The woman decided to do the service elsewhere.

Strong woman story. There is an elderly woman in our ward who is a rock. She married and had 4 children. Her husband had Huntington's disease and passed away. Her oldest daughter died from Leukemia at 21. Her older son passed away from Huntington's and now she is taking care of her other son who has Huntington's as well. She fulfills all of her callings in the church and still is always smiling and is as positive as it gets. It is incredible! What she says to that is, "Ya know, God has given me many challenges, but I have always had the Gospel to

hold on to and that's what keeps me going." I know it's true.

Another angry woman sternly rejected us the other day. After she pointed out her no soliciting sign she somewhat yelled, "I AM A BIBLE BELIEVING CHRISTIAN! HAVE A GOOD DAY!" *slam* I didn't even have time to say "Well that's awesome! So are we!" Hmm. At least she wished us a good day. :)

So on exchanges an amazing thing happened. We went to go meet a lady who called the Bishop of their ward asking for the missionaries to come over. It was probably one of the most spiritual experiences ever. The woman had obviously been through a rough life and later as we spoke with her she broke down in tears and told us that she had struggled with heavy drug addictions, been to rehab, had eating disorders, and attempted suicide twice. She told us that the ONLY thing that was able to keep her sober was when her LDS friend invited her to church. She had been taking lessons prior, but moved. Her friend who has also lived a rough life informed us about his time spent in jail. These people wanted to be clean. And as we sat with them you could just feel how much God loved them and how Christ loved them. And it's in moments like that when all the mistakes they made don't even matter because you know Christ has suffered for ALL of them and wants nothing more than to help them. You could see the hope that was in their eyes as they felt the Spirit. That beats everything. I hope I can see where they are lead to afterwards. Witnessing that was definitely a miracle!

Well, the work has still been rough. Rejections and cancelled appointments, but different miracles have definitely come forth from it. As we work hard, God will bless us... even if it's in ways we don't really expect or don't make sense. 

"Miracles: An important element in the work of Jesus Christ... Christianity is founded on the greatest of all miracles, the resurrection of our Lord. If that be admitted, other miracles ceases to be improbable... Miracles were and are a response to faith, and its best encouragement. They were never wrought without prayer, felt need, and faith... Miracles are a part of the gospel of Jesus Christ. If miracles ceases it is because faith has ceased."

That is from the Bible Dictionary. Miracles still happen and they are in response to our faith in Christ. That's what we have been working on. It's pretty awesome actually.

Soooo..... I can't think of too much else. Apparently this past September was the wettest, but this October is the driest so far... who knows. And ummm, I got lucky and we went to Jack in the Box the day they started to make their pumpkin shakes... another Tender Mercy. ;) Haha! And we have the chili cook-off AND Fiddler on the Roof this week! Should be good! Welp, that's all I got.

Love you all!

Love,

Sister Pearson :)