So…BEST THING EVER! I got to go to the temple today!!!!! We don’t usually get to go to the temple unless it is our birthday or we are going home, but yesterday President Wakolo texted us and invited us to the temple! I was so excited! It really was such an incredible day. The Memphis, Tennessee temple is smaller in size, but it sure is such a beautiful and amazing place filled with majestic beauty and power. I feel so honored to have been given this special opportunity.
This week has been crazy...as always. Today I have to write this email in the giant 12 passenger transfer van and I don't want to get carsick so I will need to share just a few awesome highlights!
First of all, I AM IN SHERWOOD STILL!!!!!!! YAY! I get to stay in he NLR ward through Christmas.
On Monday I had the opportunity to go to Conway with the office elders and the Jacksonville sisters to keep the car ride white handbook approved. It was so great to be with the sisters for a short amount of time and get to know them. They were so cute!
On Tuesday we had a lesson with Lavetta. During our last appointment with Lavetta, Sister Wright had invited her to pray to Heavenly Father to find guidance and to know if his is the right path to go on, then to write down the impression that she received. Well, Lavetta did it! She said that she had been praying about everything and reading the Book of Mormon and she had the impression to stay still. So she took that to mean that she needed to stay still in the church she is going to. Noooooooo!!! We seriously thought that she was dropping us! But then she went on to say that she wasn't sure if it meant something else, like stay still and continue on this path of learning! She then decided it was the second option. She begged us to keep teaching her! We were so happy!!!
On Wednesday we had our ZONE CONFERENCE!!! It was so amazing. I just felt so spiritually uplifted and pumped to just BAPTIZE!!! President Wakolo talked about how our Heavenly Father has high expectations for us. Sister Wakolo taught us as well and posed the question: are we praying with our lips or with our hearts? It was cool for me to think about my prayers and assess if I am really praying for my investigators with my heart.
On Thursday, we had Hermana Olsen with us while her companion went to Memphis for a doctor’s appointment. It was so great to have her with us! Sorry, we forgot to get a picture with her…Bummer!! We attempted to visit a former investigator, Mary. When we knocked on the door, we found out that Mary didn't live there, but we did meet Tara! She has lived at that address for about a month and she was looking for a church to go to! She was so nice and she was so happy to talk to us. It was so great to meet someone who wanted to really learn more! We also went to Cyrstal's (yes that is how it is spelled) house and cleaned her house. Cyrstal's husband is actually a mall santa and he will be working this season in Alaska. I share this because when we were cleaning their house we found a patch that said IBRBS, which for all of you non-mall Santa aficionados, that stands for the “International Brotherhood of Real Bearded Santas”. I had no idea that such an organization exists!!! Cyrstal has been a member for about 8 months and she is just amazing.
On Friday we had the Ward Round Up dinner, which was so much fun! Brother Sanders from the ward is part of a square dancing group called the “Maverick Mixers” and they came and did a square dancing performance for all of us!
Sorry this email kind of stinks. I have a tendency to get really carsick in the car and since I only have time to really write my emails while riding to and from the Memphis temple, I will need to keep my letters short this week. Before I go, I just want to share some thoughts on an awesome talk that I read this week called “Converted to His gospel through His church” by Elder Donald Hallstrom (April 2012). Elder Hallstrom taught, " the purpose of the church is to help us live the gospel!" I love that! I just love that! Sometimes I meet people that get offended by things that happened when they went to church, but the important thing is to remember that the gospel is what is important! Sorry, next week I'll write something a lot better, but for now, I would invite y'all to read that talk. It is awesome!!!!
I love you all so much! I am so excited for Thanksgiving! May we all remember that there is so much to be grateful for!!
Love,
Sister Esplin
Memphis, Tennessee Temple
Heading to Memphis to go to the temple!!!
Packing up Sister Christman
Goodbye to Elder Boggess, Elder Smith, & Sister Forsyth
Teaching with sweet Sister Jackson
All the Sisters in the North Little Rock Zone Conference
Ward Round Up Dinner
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