Week of Miracles

Familia, friends, hello from chilly Greenwood! This week has been a week of miracles although I don't have much time but I'll try to tell you about all of them.
A pretty huge miracle happened this week. Sister Billock loves knocking, which is pretty much my least favorite thing to do...so I'm learning to like it, because we've done a lot this week. Sister Billock felt prompted to go to a certain apartment complex not on our schedule and to knock there. We had knocked all of them accept for one. A man opened the door without a shirt (everyone does that here! I don't understand. Put on a shirt hairy men!) and he was very nice. We started talking to him about the Book of Mormon and how it provides guidance to our lives. We gave it to him and we heard a voice from inside say "Can I get one of those?" A young woman, probably about 23 came to the door. I reached into my bag to grab one and what? there were none to be found! I always carry one with me so I'm confused. We say that we can get one from the car and she walks with us. She talks about baptism right off the bat and said that she would like to be baptized and I'm just like....what?! Are we being filmed right now?! Is this some kind of joke? We didn't invite her right then to be baptized but we did acknowledge it's importance. We talked to her more and I read her the promise in the front of the Book of Mormon. She started crying...no sobbing is more like it. She said that she's just been searching for answers and she felt like we were an answer to her prayer. I started rubbing her back and she falls into my arms and hugs me tight. We sat that way for a while, hugging and her just shaking as she cried. I testified to her that Heavenly Father loves her and that we were there as an answer to her prayer. She pulled away after a few more minutes, apologizing for her tears, but happy, oh so happy! I invited her to be baptized and before I was even done she was shaking her head yes. I know that that was a miracle, and I know that Sister Billock and I were meant to find her. Sister Billock through her love of knocking and me because I know how to be compassionate. If my anxiety and depression have taught me anything it's how to "mourn with those who mourn, and comfort those who stand in need of comfort." Sister Billock can't handle tears and doesn't know how to deal with them, but I do, and I know that I was able to be a comfort to her at that time. We haven't been able to get in contact with Shardell since, but I know that something great will come from this.

We met a very interesting man named Alvin this week. The experience might have been so interesting because I'm pretty sure that he was drunk through out this entire encounter. He's an older gentleman, and he started talking about the bible and how it is the word of God..the only word from God. We testified of the Book of Mormon and of its truthfulness. We tried to offer him a copy but he said that he couldn't read...but I was like...how do you read the Bible then? I didn't say that out loud, but I think he was confused because he was just a tad bit tipsy. He invited us in for some walnuts, because apparently he had walnuts to spare. He got them from a bucket outside of his house (because there is no way I was going inside of his house) and started filling up a bag. He started talking about his life and how at one point he was almost a famous country singer. I was just like...oh really...huh, sure. I thought it was just him being funny...and old...and drunk, but he was serious! He pulled out an old boom box and put in a CD, and sure enough, it was him singing an old country tune. I told him that I loved country music, and in his excitement, he gave Sister Billock and I a CD of him and his band singing. So even though I can't listen to it, I got a CD from Alvin, the Walnut giving, almost famous, drunk country singer. Does anyone know how to crack walnuts? To crack the pecans we've got we usually just throw them on the floor.

Ooh! Then there was the miracle of the iHop. Sister Billock likes to eat out...a lot which is seriously draining my bank account (and she doesn't share food...something about a bad experience with a past companion, which is why my bank account is so low right now mom, that and I bought two cute adorable shirts at Belk because I am shrinking and my clothes are not and I had nothing Christmasy for the ward christmas party). So we were going to iHop instead of packing a lunch which makes zero sense to me but whatever, and we ran into this lady walking out of iHop. She said that the line was much too long to stay and that she'd be going somewhere else. I asked her where, and we started talking. She saw our name tags, and she exclaimed loudly in excitement "Y'all are mormons!" She said that she loves mormons and that she has a really good friend who's mormon. Her name is Linda by the way, and she's an older lady, probably in her 60's. We kept talking and long story short we ended up in Waffle House, eating lunch with a Holiness and teaching her about what we believe. She said that she's not interested, but we got her information and she lives in our area! We're going to keep nourishing that seed and hopefully bring her to baptism. The whole experience was just sureal. Oh...Greenwood...they are so backwards. They have smoking in their restaurants. Smoking!!! I mean...what century are we living in! Everyone knows that Tobacco and nicotine are bad for ya...so why is it in the restaurant where the tired mormon girls are trying to eat and unload?! Ugh the people are weird here, they don't believe in sidewalks or streetlights either. It's a miracle we haven't hit something at night because it is pitch black at about 9. But that was a pretty cool miracle huh?

The Christmas Devotional was beautiful! I don't know if you got to see it but it almost made me cry. I was just like...that's my home. That's where I used to sit and that's where I used to walk by. That's my temple. I don't know guys, the holidays are weird, and it's hard feeling like I'm alone here because Sister Billock isn't really compassionate...at all. I'm not saying I cry all the time, but when I try to confide in her about how I'm feeling she just kind of brushes it off and basically says to deal with it. Don't get me wrong, she's amazing and a great missionary, I just feel alone a lot of the time. But I am never alone. I am a baptized member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and as such I am entitled to having the Comforter, the Holy Ghost with me always. I can call down angels to bear me up. But most importantly I can talk to Heavenly Father, and with him on my side I am never alone. I know that the true meaning of Christmas is to celebrate our Savior and Redeemers birth. I know that because of Him, we are never truly alone and because of him we can return to live in our permanent home, our Heavenly Home, where we can live without sadness or grief or separation from our families ever again. I am so grateful for my Savior, and I am excited for this opportunity to celebrate his birth in the mission field.

TLLY and in case you forgot I do to!

Love, Sister Jones