June 8, 2015

This week is gonna be so awesome! We have our baptisms this Saturday! We're kind of panicking a bit because we have to set everything up, but it's difficult because 2 8-year-olds are also getting baptized that day so we have to coordinate with their parents, except they're all less active and never really answer the door when we knock (ever) so hopefully we can figure all this out. I know we will. I'm not too worried. We're a tad disappointed though because the 2 people we have set for baptism (Jesus and Jose) have a 9 year old brother who used to be super obnoxious and wouldn't sit in for lessons or anything but we were praying that his behavior would change and it totally did and he would participate in lessons and was calm and knew all the answers and then he asked to be baptized with his brothers! So we had him set for about a week but then his mom told him he wasn't ready. Their parents are always telling them it's their choice and they're not going to force them to get baptized and they can be baptized whenever they're ready, except then the parents keep telling them they can't get baptized yet because they know they're not ready. But we managed to get Jose and Jesus ready in their parents eyes and it's just so exciting.

The worst part of the week was probably on Tuesday when I was playing the piano before bed and then my neck itched and I itched it and then I felt like I should go see what it was so I went to the mirror and there was a tick on me! I got it off and threw it on the counter and started panicking and running around and yelling at Sister Brunner to come kill it but she was already in bed and wouldn't come out. So I crushed it with a hairbrush and flushed it down the toilet. Ugh finding a tick on me was one of my worst fears when people told me that was a problem out here. So naturally it happened to me.

Another one of my worst fears is singing. I won't even sing in a choir. But then at district meeting last Thursday, someone gave a training on getting out of your comfort zone and sooooo she decided it would be a good idea if everyone got up one by one and sang a verse of their favorite hymn in front of everyone. I won't even sing in a choir, do you think I can get up and sing by myself, without accompaniment? So yeah, that was awful. I went in the bathroom and had a panic attack after. I don't see how making someone do that is supposed to help with anything. 

We keep finding wolf spiders everywhere. I don't like it. 

Oh and on Saturday, we had to drive back to our house in McCool and pack up some stuff because McCool was flooding and half the town was already evacuated, so that was exciting. It never got to our house cuz it's on the outskirts of town, but we got to go help fill sandbags, so that was cool. And there was a tornado watch, but it never turned into anything.

​I feel like this picture kind of defines Nebraska. Corn hanging in their front yard.

And our branch started doing this Missionary 21 day promise and it's really awesome! I attached a file so yall could see what I'm talking about.

And here's a quote in honor of L. Tom Perry that I really like (and not just because it talks about storms): "We can't predict all the struggles and storms in life, not even the ones just around the corner, but as persons of faith and hope, we know beyond a shadow of any doubt that the gospel of Jesus Christ is true and the best is yet to come.

~Sister Temp

Ward Member Missionary 21 Day Promise

Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Twelve, and Elder Robert E. Wells of the First Quorum of the Seventy issued a special promise to all members of the church. Their instructions were to create a list of your non-member and less-active friends and include the list in your morning and evening prayers. As you do this for 21 consecutive days, without missing a single prayer, the Lord promises that at least one of the names on your list, or perhaps someone else will accept an invitation to hear the missionary lessons by the end of the 21 day period. We challenge you to give Heavenly Father’s promise a try, for he has declared: “I the Lord, am bound when you do what I say, but when ye do not what I say, you have no promise.” (D&C 82:10)

Day	AM Prayer	PM Prayer	Suggested Scripture of the day
1			1 Nephi 3: 7
2			1 Nephi 11: 1-6
3			2 Nephi 2: 24-29
4			2 Nephi 31: 10-15
5			2 Nephi 32: 7-9
6			2 Nephi 33: 4,12
7			Enos 1: 1-8
8			Alma 5: 13-16
9			Alma 17: 2-4
10			Alma 34: 18-24
11			Alma 37: 37-40 43-45
12			Helaman 3: 27-30, 35
13			3 Nephi 12: 2-16
14			3 Nephi 13: 7-15
15			3 Nephi 17: 18-25
16			Moroni 6: 1-6
17			Moroni 7: 6-9
18			Moroni 7: 15-19, 26
19			Moroni 7: 44-48
20			Moroni 10: 3-5
21			3 Nephi 18: 18-23

List  of nonmember or less active individuals

Videos to include into family night during the 21 days – The program works best if you start on Monday. (In the video section of LDS.ORG, go to the section titled “Hastening The Work.”)

·         President Thomas S. Monson (under special broadcast)

·         Because I Have Been Given Much

·         Priesthood Duty – Preaching The Gospel

·         I’ll Go Where You Want Me to Go

To show the Lord Jesus Christ that you have great faith in Him, you may also want to do the following:

·         Take a few days to become spiritually ready

·         Within the first five days, fast as a family

·         Read from the Book of Mormon every day

“And now, I, Moroni, would speak somewhat concerning these things; I would show unto the world that faith is things which are hoped for and not seen; wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith.”  ~Ether 12:6