One month anniversary update

Hey, y'all! We made it a month. If the next 17 are this good, we'll be doing mighty fine. And I mean fiiine. My southern accent is way back, thicker than ever in North Carolina. It's a whole different language here. Poor Bill, he's struggling a bit with the African-American lingo. He is also in a bit of a culture shock. He says that's an understatement.

Wednesday we met with a visiting general authority, Elder Craig Christensen, a member of the quorum of the 70 and his wife. It was a spiritual feast. All of the missionaries stood in a circle in the cultural hall, and Elder Christiansen, his wife, and President and Sister Summerhays came around and visited briefly with each of us.

We met in the chapel, and he came down front close to us and taught us about the importance of teaching by the spirit and understanding the gift of the Holy Ghost. He taught us about the different roles of the Holy Ghost and the importance of understanding what role the holy ghost is taking with us. For example, the Holy Ghost can be a teacher, comforter, testifier, and protector. The Holy Ghost functions differently according to the needs of the individual and is an extension of our Father in Heaven. He also emphasized the importance of "a better way" of doing missionary work, utilizing the members of the church instead of just relying upon the missionaries. I bore my testimony about how I came into the church because a couple who were new members of the church invited me into their home to teach me with the help of the missionaries. I shared the unspeakable joy that came into my heart when I heard their message. The spirit was very strong. Elder Christensen turned to President Summerhays and said, "Isn't she assigned to the Quincy area? President, you don't have to worry about Quincy."

Later, I felt prompted to share how sacrifice by missionaries can touch the hearts of investigators. I told of my difficulty with quitting smoking and how the elders' fasting was the thing that gave me the spiritual strength to stop. Afterwards, another elder said he came seeking answers to two problems, one of which was how to help one of is investigators to quit smoking. He expressed gratitude that the Holy Ghost prompts others to give us solutions to our problems.

Elder Zabriskie and I left inspired to work harder and be worthy of having the Holy Ghost with us at all times. On our way home, we stopped at the Fresh Market we mentioned in our last e-mail and gave a Book of Mormon with our testimony in it to the nice African-American man who waited on us at the deli the week before. He happily took the book and said he knew something about Joseph Smith and Brigham Young, and he would read the book. He has a great spirit and we think he will follow through. We're going back to see him Tuesday when we go to district meeting.

We continued our work this week with Arlivia Ray, one the woman we mentioned who is suffering from extreme poverty. We met with her sister who is a well-to-do woman in town. We are exploring several options to help this family, one of which is to build her a new home with Habitat for Humanity. Arlivia is depressed to the point of being numb and needs some professional counseling. Bill gave her a priesthood blessing last week at the home of Arlivia's neighbor, Lillian Hover. This woman is a saint! She has been carry Arlvia's problems for years, trying to help to the best of her ability. She loves the Lord, and testifies of Him frequently. When Bill gave Arlivia the blessing, she wept the entire time. She kept praising God for sending us to help. Yesterday, she said she was feeling left out and could she have a blessing also. She wants to learn more about the church, and we will teach her next Wednesday. This woman is remarkable; the strength of her spirit is amazing.

Yesterday, we went to the small adjoining town of Havana about 25 miles away. We delivered videos, Books of Mormon, and Bibles requested from media referrals in Utah. We also visited an inactive member and her daughter, Sister Hellon and Sister Townsend. We taught them OUR scriptures Moroni 10: 32 and Alma 32. We encouraged them to come to church and to invite the spirit into their homes through prayer and scripture study. The daughter wants to come but her mother is holding back.

We drive many miles, most often going around in circles trying to find these addresses. The GPS loses its brains every 5 minutes. Bill is the navigator; I am the driver. I am working on becoming a more patient driver because we do a lot of do-overs. Yesterday we wound up in Georgia! Finally, we found our referral about 50 feet from the Georgia line, the mission boundary. Some day perhaps she will say she was saved by 50 feet! Her name is Mary Harris. She treated us like her long-lost children, embracing us as she said, "We are all God's children."We are teaching her next Saturday. She stood at the door waving and watched us as we walked hand in hand to the truck. She said, "Look at that! You're such a beautiful couple."She said, "Now, y'all be careful backing out. Be careful going home."

Wow, just wow! So much love for two perfect strangers. These visits bring back many precious memories I had as a child visiting in the black community with my dad as he collected his nickels and dimes from his insurance route.

Before we found Mary we visited with Teresa Brown. She wasn't home when we got there, but arrived as we were leaving. She said she hadn't ordered a Book of Mormon, but her son had been reading one. Maybe someone else delivered it. We visited a bit and she also began to testify of the Savior. She said she wanted to learn all she could about Him, and we made an appointment for next Saturday. These are such valiant souls. She works two jobs even with a diagnosis of lupus. She said she is not claiming it, and believes the Lord is healing her of it. Wow, just wow again. Our hearts are over-flowing with admiration for such courage and faith in the Lord.

Today we taught a new couple that "just showed up" at church last Sunday, Qedrin and John Booth. She was raised in the Church but has been inactive for some time. They are 31 years old and are expecting a baby. John is a Baptist. They came over for lunch today along with Michael Johnson, the Elders Quorum President. They stayed several hours and John said he will work towards baptism into the church. We watched the film on the Joseph Smith story in addition to discussing the need for the restoration of the gospel because of the apostasy. He is very open and we had a great visit. Pres. Johnson is a great teacher and help us greenies a lot. He's quite a talker. Michael is also very funny. He said his dad told him he believed he had been vaccinated with a Victrola needle!

Well, I have had a very bad cold for three days, but somehow, the Lord gave me strength to carry on . Bill is making out our reports for church tomorrow, and we need to prepare our Sunday School lesson. I think we will have at least two people to teach tomorrow.

Thanks to all of you who pray for us. We feel your strength. Thanks for your encouraging words. It helps a lot to hear from you and to feel your support.

Love,
Elder and Sister Z