Lil' Spud Gone East: September 19, 2016 - HOW BIG IS YOUR SMILE?(:

HEY YOO!

So... this week we saw miracle after miracle after miracle.

We have been working this one street like it is the only street in our area (figure of speech we work other places too). It is the one I mentioned we got a bazillion referrals to. WELL last week we were walking to our car and we felt the need to go back and try one of our referrals. We tried them and it was the sweetest mom and daughter in the most humble of circumstances. They didn't have much on their walls, but they did have a picture of Christ taped on their wall. THEY LOVED OUR MESSAGE and felt the spirit so strong as we shared how God reached out to Joseph Smith and called him as a prophet.

We have been teaching them ever since and they are amazing. When the members came over, they realized how much they needed and just INSTANTLY STARTED TO HELP. We couldn't coordinate fast enough the service to bring them in an old couch or to help find some clothes for church on Sunday. COOL. I LOVE MEMBERS. They did it all and we did the bulk of the teaching and together we helped them so much. They were able to come to church this Sunday and feel of the spirit there. More to come on Sister Bryant and Sister Taylor!

Jade and Sister Campbell came to church for the 5th time in a row! We found another long lost member of our congregation this week purely by the spirit because we were striving to be obedient. I am excited to see where that goes. It is so cool to see the progression in Sister Campbell and how much happier she is! She has a brighter light about her and the spirit is strong in her home. It is cool to think that 2 months ago we didn't know she was a member! Anywho, the primary program for all the little kids was yesterday and Jade had her very own part! Sister Campbell's smile was SO BIG. Jade for a long time wouldn't sit in on the lessons and she was scared of taking the sacrament. She is only first grade so we weren't sure how much she understood. Sister Allen was persistent that we taught her about why we take the sacrament. We did and guess what! She understood what it was and took it (: Do we really understand the meaning of sacrament? If we did….I KNOW we would make more sacrifice to be taking it Sunday as we remember Christ and be more excited about doing so!(: HOW BIG IS YOUR SMILE WHEN YOU TAKE THE SACRAMENT? The more understanding we have the bigger it gets. It is for all of God's children. It IS sacred. It is LIFECHANGING. I encourage you to BEcome excited for the Sacrament(:

So, next cool thing. We were asked to teach the primary kiddos about missionary work. We had them line up and knock on the door to be missionaries. They are the simplest teachers! When Jade got to the door….SHE KNEW WHAT MISSIONARIES DID. She said they taught about Christ and then looked at us and said, he loves you. It was a tender moment for me as the spirit taught me that NO effort is wasted. Asking her to pray, sit in, and just simply telling her that Christ loves her has sunk in. Cool that we never told her what we did, we showed her and she totally understood our purpose plainly by example. Kids are so cool.

One more thing, we have taught a small amount to a very interested family that has had an uproar in their lives lately. We were taking with her about opposition the other day, she says to us: "no offense to you, but ever since we have been learning from you and reading the scriptures we have had so many bad things happen to our family!' HA. OPPOSITION IS REAL. She told us that she realized where that bad was coming from. They are so hungry for the gospel I LOVE IT. (did I mention they are on the SAME STREET mentioned earlier? My testimony is growing in the whole stay in an area thing. If we think we can't do missionary work because we have lived in the same neighborhood or apartment for a long time….we are WRONG. God always prepares people to hear about the gospel! (:)

I find joy in knowing that I went from being taught that same lesson in primary to it really becoming my dream! I LOVE MY CALLING.

UPDATE ON MORGANTOWN: Remember how I have changed my attitude? I think it is cool how our faith can work miracles even if we aren't there to teach anymore. I was a small small part of that! This is from Sister Lee!

Definitely the highlight of the week was having a lesson with Sister
Hill, Damion, and our Bishop. Bishop Hoskin told Sister Hill that the
ward loves her and they are willing to make sacrifices to help her and
her family. She got emotional and said that she was so grateful for
the church. She bore her testimony about how the gospel has made her
so happy. She said that she has seen such a huge difference in her
life since she has come to church, read the Book of Mormon, and said
her prayers. She said she believes that this was all meant to be.

As she was bearing her testimony, I looked around the room at my
current circumstances. Here I am, in the middle of nowhere West
Virginia. With a woman whose family is from Blackfoot, Idaho. Who I
found with my companion, Sister Campbell, who is from Blackfoot,
Idaho. Having a lesson with Bishop Hoskin who is also from Blackfoot,
Idaho. The Spirit was so strong and I had a thought come to my mind.
"This is exactly where I needed you to be at this very moment. There
are no coincidences." :)

We had some great lessons with the Hill family this week! Ahh I just
love them. It's hard for me to explain how much they mean to me. They
had their baptismal interviews this week and passed! We are just so
excited for their baptismal day. Keep them in your prayers.

Sister Justina Campbell

West Virginia Charleston Mission