It Truly Makes a Difference When the Members Testify

This week has been really wonderful. We have truly seen some miracles in our area. We met with Sister Rodriguez at the beginning of the week. She has truly been prepared for the gospel. We met in a members home and that truly made the difference. The Gray family is wonderful. We had the Waters family there as well. We had a very powerful lesson on the Restoration of the Gospel. She understood it really well. Sister Rodriguez is more of a visual learner so we watched the Restoration video. The spirit was so strong in their home. The members all went around and bore sincere testimony on the reality of Joseph Smith. It was wonderful. It truly makes a difference when the members bare testimony. Sister Rodriguez felt the spirit and we invited her to be baptized on December 4 and she accepted. It was wonderful. She is doing really great. We are really excited to continue to meet with her so often.

We met with our new investigators this week, The McLeod Family. There is a ton of potential there. Brother McLeod is really looking for the truth. At the beginning of the lesson he told us that he was doing it for his wife. They have only been married a month! You can definitely tell that they have only been married a month! We Throughout the lesson we explained how this is a very individual journey that he is on and that he needs to do it for himself. Brother Creger (our exchange) bore a powerful testimony on why he needed to do it for himself and if he does do it for that purpose he will get his answer. Brother Creger was in the same situation. He married a member and started off by doing it for her but he got his answer when he started doing it for himself. The lesson was a very powerful lesson. We started from the very beginning with Jesus Christ and helping him come to the knowledge that Jesus is the Christ. It was hard from me to teach this principle. I had never done it before. I have never taught anybody without a Christian Background before so it was definitely a really neat experience. I was grateful that the Holy Ghost was there to guide my words and thoughts. It was amazing to see the change in him throughout the lesson and how that spirit was softening his heart. He went from saying "Well I believe this...." to asking inspired questions. At the end of the lesson we invited him to pray and he gave his first prayer. It was absolutely wonderful. He is on the path to finding out if all of this is true. We are so excited for him.

We met with Sariah this week. She was really distracted this week so it was a little bit harder to teach her this week. Teaching an 8 year old is a lot of fun. They are so sincere and they know a lot. We taught her about the commandments this week and it was truly wonderful to see how excited she was to continue to keep the commandments. She is really excited about her Baptism. She gave us her invitation and everything. I love being just a part of this experience and letting the ward do the rest. That's how it should be. I know that I am just an instrument and it's more important to get the members involved so they can be truly converted to the gospel.

We had a lesson with a less active member this week, Chad Daughtry. He is really a great guy. He needs to prioritize the more important things in his life but we are helping him out with that. His whole family isn't members and he wants us to come back and teach his family. I am really excited about him. He once had a testimony of the gospel and we hope to rekindle that testimony and fire it up so he can be a great support to his family. We set up another appointment to see him this week

We met with another part member family this week, The Saulman's. There situation is very difficult. Sister Saulman hasn't been to Church for about 22 years. She was a Catholic and then was baptized into the LDS Church and then went back and is now teaching the Youth at the Catholic Church. Her husband has no intention of ever going to Church again because he went 3 times a week when he was younger and that was just too much for him. We found out some concerns that she has. She wants to have an eternal family but she knows her husband won't change and so her attitude is almost "Whats the point?" So we are going to be trying to meet her needs and help her understand the Doctrine of Christ and build her foundation on that. She says she believes that Joseph Smith is a true Prophet and that the Book of Mormon is true but if she believes those things then she would act upon them. So we are going to try and help her out. Her daughter could have a lot of potential. Apparently she reads out of the Book of Mormon regularly so we are going to see if we can start teaching her.

We had a wonderful social activity with the ward on Saturday. The Chilli Cook-off/ Fall Festival. It was amazing how many members were there. There were over 250 people there and they only planned for 100 people. There were a ton of members of other faiths there. The members brought a lot of their friends. IT WAS GREAT. We talked to so many people and had a really great time sharing the gospel. We have a few appointments with some of the people that came. Our investigators were also there. They had a wonderful time there bonding with that ward. I am grateful for the love that our ward has for missionary work. I would say there were probably at least 20 non-members there and there were about 10 less active members. It was a huge success.
We got to carve a pumpkin and a watermelon for the event. It was hilarious. I got made fun of so bad. They were like " Is that a Canadian tradition or something." It was really funny! I get made fun of so much for being Canadian but its just makes me laugh.

Well I hope yall have a great week. I love you so much and I am glad that you had such a great week. I hope that this week brings great joy.

Love Elder Butler

Just Being More Descriptive for President; Hopefully Y'all Don't Mind

So I am constantly trying new things for the email. This week I wrote my LTP and took a part of it so that I am being more descriptive for President. Hopefully you don't mind.

Well this week was a pretty good week. I really have become so grateful for this area. We got to go to leadership training for a day this week which was wonderful. I was really blessed to have gone because I am not in leadership but President asked us to come. The direction that our teaching is moving into is amazing. The Spirit truly is testifying and teaching more and that's the way it should be. That is what are training is really all about. Everything is centered on the Atonement of Christ. Then you have the Principles of the Gospel going around it: Faith in Jesus Christ, Repentance, Baptism (or the Sacrament for us members), Gift of the Holy Ghost and then Enduring to the End. This is the Doctrine of Christ which we have been focusing everything on. (3 Nephi 11, 3 Nephi 27, 2 Nephi 31) I love it here. I wish this experience will never end and so I am trying to make the most of it. I couldn't imagine being anywhere else. Well I will tell you about our investigators and how they are doing.

Sariah is doing really well. She is progressing and is so smart. I love learning from an 8 year old Child. They know the simple answers which is all that really matters. Her favorite answer is "Choose the Right" to a lot of the questions we ask. We have started doing as you have asked and taking over a couple while we teach them. It is really exciting teaching with a couple. Darline continues to come to church and keep the commitments we are giving her. John, Darlines husband, is starting to really warm up to us. Every time we go over there our conversations get longer and longer with him. I hope someday we can figure out why he is so against the Church. It would be a miracle for that to happen but we continue to pray for it because we know "miracles have not ceased!" She is preparing to be baptized on November 6. Her family from Utah is coming to the baptism so were really excited about that. She is a wonderful young girl with a very strong testimony. It is really a humbling experience to teach her. We have to teach so simply that it really is helping me out a lot with my teaching skills. Its amazing what the Holy Ghost teaches a small and innocent child. I am grateful to be a part of her conversion.

We got a new investigator this week. His name is Ian McLeod. He just moved from Oregon with his newly wedded wife, Natasha. They are wonderful. Natasha is a member of the Church and has barely just become active. Natasha's family moved from Idaho a while back and stopped going to Church when they moved to Oregon. About 6 months ago Natasha and her mother started attending Church again. She has only been married a month to Ian. He doesn't have a spiritual background at all. He claims himself to be a Christian but doesn't have an understanding of Christ so we get to teach from the very beginning! I am really excited about them. They are wonderful. They came to Church on Sunday and we only met with them once before. Church was a great experience for him because it was the Primary Presentation. The Doctrine of Christ was taught through the mouth of Babes! The spirit was so strong and he felt it. He felt really comfortable being there! I am excited to start teaching him!!

We didn't have a chance to meet with Kelly Miller this week. We showed up for the appointment and waited a half and hour and she didn't show. We were really sad about that. Hopefully everything is going alright with her family. We invited her to invite her family to take the lessons as well and we are hoping that is not the reason why she didn't show up. She has a lot of great potential. She is a very smart individual and really feels different when we teach her. So we will hopefully be able to get up with her this next week.

We met with Sister Rodriguez this week and had a great experience with her. She came to the Church so I could help her out with a form for work or something like that and we gave her a tour of the Church. She felt the Spirit so strong. Taking our investigators for a tour of the Church is a great idea. It brought out her concerns of why she isn't coming to Church and how we can help. It was great. Her family, who is less active, is really holding her back. Its heart breaking to see. They are moving out of the house that she is living in, in the next month so that should help things. Sister Rodriguez truly has a desire to learn and feel the spirit. She is keeping all the commitments we are giving her except Church. We will hopefully resolve that concern by having her in members homes. We are really excited about doing that. We know that there is a power in having investigators in members homes.

We found another part member family that we are going to try and get reactivated and teach the husband. Sister Harmon is a less active member who says she goes to Church in Ashboro sometimes because that's where her family is from. She says that they are always travelling on weekends but they were going to slow down a bit now because of school. Her husband attends a church quite frequently. Its a Baptist Church. When we met with Sister Harmon he wasn't there but we asked if we could come by and share the message of the gospel with him and she said he has a very open mind so were really excited about that. They are a really wonderful family.

We stopped by Collettes yesterday and saw her for the first time in like 2 weeks. We have been trying to get a hold of her but she hasn't ever called us back. She is having a lot of marital problems and they aren't getting better. They are still planning to move to Ohio but are waiting to find a job up there before they go. They are going to live with her father and then eventually move out. I think that they are going to be her for a while though and they really need the gospel in their lives. They were so happy when they were meeting with us and loved Church. We told them that the adversary is working hard on them and that they need help from the Savior. We are going to meet with them in a members home this week which we are really excited about. I can't wait for that lesson.

Well that's kinda whats been happening in our area. We found out on Saturday that we are both staying here another transfer!!! YES!!!!!!!!!!!! I am so excited to be here another transfer with Elder Scott. He is a really great missionary. We have a lot of fun together but we work hard. I am so grateful for the many blessings our Savior has been giving me. I hope that y'all have a great week

Love Elder Butler

That's All The Time I've Got

Well today was a really hectic day and I don't have much tim to write you. I will definately write a really great email on Monday. So much is happening here its wonderful. Know that I am safe and just loving the work. The Lord is truly blessing us so much and I am so grateful for the opportunity to serve out here in this wonderful mission. I am excited to write you about my last couple of weeks on Monday. Ahh chaged my mind I will write you now. I have made a goal to stop procrastinating. Its really tough but I am doing better. I will write you about my past week and then write you about this past week on monday. Things have been pretty crazy without a P-Day this week but have gone by really fast.

Well it looks like we are being kicked out of the Family History Center. Brother Twe is halrious. I love this ward.

Thats all the time ive got

Love Elder Butler