Sister Dakota Bartsch: "Ain't nothin better happen to that turd but innair, who else would I raise hick at??"

The rain!

This week felt like 4 years. The sky was overcast and thundery most of the week, we even got caught in a really bad storm while on campus and were drenched by the time we got to the car. When the rain is bad enough, it looks white, and I miss snow :)

We did LOTS of service this week. Nailed down vinyl hardwood floor in Miss Kaye's trailer (not the best technique, even I know that), worked at the thrift store, volunteered at Bishop'e Storehouse, and joined the Lamar county cleanup day. Dede spent most of the week with us, bless her, and she already sent my mother most of the pictures I'm going to send y'all. I love getting out and serving, it's nice to make an impact, meet new people, and wear pants! The zone got all mixed up this transfer, so it was nice to see everyone a couple times, make sure they're all alive.

nailin dem floors

Before we nailed the floor for Kaye, we had a nice lesson! Her commitment was to find a favourite scripture and share it with US. She used the pamphlets we'd given her and chose some in 3 Nephi 27. She said that when she read them she felt peace and comfort and love. Earlier that week she had studied about prophets and had a better understanding of their role to teach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I just love her. She is marking her scriptures, finding answers to her prayers, and truly trying to improve herself. We woke her up Sunday morning for church, she said she wanted to come, but we think something fell through with her boyfriend giving her a ride. Her phone is off right now, but we are going by tonight to make sure all is well! I just love her. Her progression no longer surprises me! I know she can do this, I can see it! She is getting there one day at a time and I am guiding her and cheering her on as best I can.

We found two new investigators this week!! That is a big deal for this area. One of them was in Sumrall, our small town that I have been dying to work. And the other was on Sunflower Avenue :) Her name is Jennifer and she seems perfect. We had prayed really hard about where to tract (the same way we prayed in Bossier to find Yolanda on Nattin Street, if you remember), and both felt the need to tract Sunflower! Jennifer let us right in, we taught her a really basic first discussion, and she told us that something has been bugging her to find a church home for her family. SPIRIT. She accepted a Book of Mormon and we will be seeing her again this week! I really struggle with tracting, it is not my favourite thing to do by far, but it is all worth it when we find such wonderful people who let us share our message. There's nothing better! I love when we let the Spirit guide us. There is no way we would be able to find people like Jennifer without help, there are far too many doors!

This week was a good one. I had lots of pondering moments. I was living a part of one of my favourite talks by Barry Willardson called Strangers and Pilgrims on Earth. He said:
"I remember looking up into the night sky as we drove on and seeing it filled with stars. ... As I gazed upon the night sky, I had this overwhelming impression that God was in His heaven and was in control. I commented on this to my companion, wondering how anyone could look up into the night sky and not feel the same thing."
There were moments this week where I felt very aware of God, and His plan for me and all of His children. Just driving home at night I thought about how short this life is. How there is so much more to our existence than what we think, and so much more going on than what we see! We have a loving Father in Heaven, a blessed Saviour Jesus Christ, and so much divine potential. I think I shared Hebrews 11 with yall already, but I still love it so much. The whole chapter is beautiful, but verses 13-16, 25-26, and 38-40 bring tears to my eyes. God loves every last one of you, as a missionary I think my heart has grown to be able to feel a little bit of His love for everyone. It's real, I promise.

The things you feel are as real as the things you see. The Spirit is real because it is discernible.

I love yall. Have a blessed week!

Sister Bartsch

P.s. a quick explanation about the subject line: This is a Classic Kaye. She is talking about her boyfriend Tony. And raising hick is kind of like raising Cain, which is like doing mean things, like you know, Cain in the Bible! Raising hick is less violent, I think.