Vision + Effort Will Win the Prize

Whattup y'all :) 

So to update you all, I am still with Elder Brinkerhoff and we are taking over the Cheney 2nd Ward as well as still handling the YSA Ward. This past couple of weeks has been super interesting, hahah. We had a lot going on. To start off, John got the priesthood on Sunday :) He was finally off of work. He asked Elder Brinkerhoff to ordain him. That was an awesome experience. He has had a few struggles with the word of wisdom but we went over it and something clicked, so he has been clean ever since. It is always the coffee, man, I swear - no one can live without it. 

Bryan is also doing good. He is so solid. He asked us for a missionary daily planner to plan out his days and be more organized. It was awesome. 

This week was slow for finding new investigators. We didn't have a ton of time to look for them because we have to spend some time in the 2nd Ward. The 2nd Ward is a pretty slow area. I am not sure why it is still open. Elder Brinkerhoff and I are trying to get it going. We found one new investigator last week and found none this week. BUTTTT, we are now teaching three less-active families from the 2nd Ward, so at least that is something. To be honest I am just still trying to figure out what exactly to do in the 2nd Ward. 

I would like to talk about how awesome the YSA Ward is for a second, I have made so many good friends with these kids. Man, I have been in this ward forever! 6 months! One of the members asked me on Sunday if I was ever going to leave, haha. I would be okay if I didn't. There are so many good people here, I really love them. However, Cheney itself is a janky little place in which I would never reside. 

Update on current investigators: they are all in YSA because the 2nd Ward is dead. 

Cierra is still on date for September 23rd and we are meeting with her tomorrow, we didn't meet with her last week because of a death in the family. 

Krissy the wiccan is doing well, she is still on date for November 1st and we are going to have a lesson in a member's house next week with her. :) 

That is about it. I was focused on vision this week. It seems that anything I have ever been good at, I always have had a vision for it - an idea of where I am going and how to get there. Visions brings motivation and success in the work you endeavor in. "Vision coupled with effort will win the prize" -Thomas S. Monson.

I love you all, especially you, momma :)

- E. Rapier

Don't know what's happening here, but the face of shame is priceless!

YSA Ward activity

Short Note

Killer week. We had a lot going on this week. Last week we participated in a water balloon fight. Due to technicalities in the rules, it was not disobedient for us to do so. So we did and it was awesome. 

We taught a girl named Cierra this last week. She agreed to a baptismal date. We found her as a potential in the area book. After that one lesson she had something come up for our next lesson and hasn't responded to any of our communications since. So that is something. 

We are taking over the Cheney 2nd ward and I am stressed out about that because I have no idea what I am doing, hahah. Oh well. 

We also put Krissy, a different investigator, on date this week. That was awesome.

Sorry this is rambly. I delayed writing this email until I was almost out of time. OOPs. Sorry mom.

John and Bryan are good :)

Still alive and kicking!

I BAPTIZED A PROFESSIONAL KAYAKER!

Whattup y'all :) 

We had a week full of miracles! To lead off, we had a baptism on Saturday for John :). He is so solid. He asked me to baptize him, I was pretty nervous but it was such a neat experience. When he came out of the water he started crying. We went into the back to change and he just kept crying. He is a professional recreational guide and he loves kayaking. He said that he had never felt a better feeling from water than in the font. It was incredible to hear his testimony. His anti-mormon parents were at the baptism, and he bore the strongest testimony I have heard in a while. It truly was a precious experience. Heavenly father is way too good to us. We had his confirmation yesterday and he got up to bear his testimony and he started quoting a general conference talk. He is a 1-day convert and already studying conference talks... wait, what? SO COOL!

We also have been working with Carly, a returning less-active and we had the chance to go with her and Bryan to the temple this week :) She moves to California tomorrow morning. It was so cool. We have been working with her since I have been here. When we started, she was no where near temple worthy. Now she is worthy in every way. I love the atonement. :) I have a huge testimony of people changing.

Our teaching pool has been on the lower end of things, and this last week we set a goal to find two new investigators. By yesterday we had only found one. We were fasting and tired and very cranky as we went out to work yesterday. I spent the day feeling rather useless, like I should have planned differently, and that I wasn't being very effective. As were were walking on the street we met Alexa. She was sitting on her porch. Turns out she met with missionaries and was almost baptized over a year ago. She wants to meet with us and get baptized, so there's that. The Lord can bring forth his work if we are willing to do our best. I know that because Elder Brinkerhoff and I were out walking miles on empty stomachs, feeling discouraged, and the Lord was able to bring forth his work - regardless of the state of his servants. We also found another new investigator going through a divorce. So we ended up finding two new investigators in about 2 hours. True miracles that I attribute to the power of fasting.

I have been working on my humility a lot lately. I can hear my family laugh out loud as they read this... I have a lot to work on. I know that humility is key to improvement and success. I have been trying to learn more from Elder Brinkerhoff even though I am "The Trainer." It is a tough pill to swallow, and a lot of the time I am not very good at it. But, as I just proved with the example above, the Lord can always work with our best efforts :) 

I love you all, have a great week :) 

-E.Rapier 

Elder Rapier with John 

Elders Rapier and Brinkerhoff at John's baptism