How Great The Importance...: Week 72

Such a good week!! The best part was Saturday; Sister Brown, McManama, and I got to go out to Amherst to visit for a couple of baptisms!! Dawson got baptized in the morning (we taught him and his mom Sandy, who has been LA since she moved to the area until recently), and Kathryn in the afternoon. There are very few people (besides you of course) that I love as much as the people in these pictures. The sister missionaries sang at Dawson's baptism, and I got to give the talk on baptism at Kathryn's. In between, we ate at Sister Walsh's (the one who fed us on Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve) and visited Bill. :) After Kathryn's baptism all 5 sisters here went out for real Buffalo wings at Duff's. We also got to see Scott (who is doing so well!) at both baptisms. It was a glorious day.

Lots of miracles have been happening in our area as well! We are so busy we hardly know what to do with ourselves! It's a great problem to have as a missionary :) We've been at the sites quite a bit, which is just... awesome :) Oh, we went on a grove tour with Bob Parrot, the caretaker of the Grove. I don't know if you remember me talking about going on one last year, but I remembered a lot more this time, having a little bit of a foundation from last time. I learned a lot of really cool things (which we'll have to talk about at a later date because I haven't had a chance to upload those pictures yet), but the coolest thing really is the Spirit in that place. I know that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ appeared to Joseph Smith in that Grove to open the dispensation of the fulness of times. How lucky are we to know that?! I think in some ways I kinda expected that my mission would be full of big events that would strengthen my testimony of that principle, but really as I think about it, the only way anyone comes to really, truly, deeply know that is through study and prayer. That is how I knew it before my mission, and how I still know it now. :) And I am grateful to know that Heavenly Father loves us enough to restored the truths, ordinances, and authority of Jesus Christ’s Church.

We also have been busy teaching this week. Steve is doing great. We taught Holle once and she cancelled our return appointment, saying to come back in a few weeks, so we will see what happens there… Finally get to see Carol today which is good. We stopped in on Jenny again this week and she was home but her kids were not (they speak better English than her and she wants them around to translate), but she was really touched that we had remembered her and came back as promised. We gave her a Spanish restoration pamphlet and said we’d come back on a weekend. We went to the Allgood home to teach Alissa yesterday and that didn’t work out super well because the landlord came by, but just as she had to leave, Lizz came down and we got to teach her about the Gospel of Jesus Christ (lesson 3). We talked a lot about baptism and she recognized that she has changed a lot for the better since she started coming to church, and said that she wants to be a member! She still has some concerns about promising to keep the commandments and wasn’t ready to set a date, but she is really open and we see the Holy Ghost working on her heart and I think that as she learns more about the commandments that concern will dissolve. We also started teaching Katie (20 y.o.) this week; the elders have been teaching her for a long time and she’s had all the lessons but hasn’t come to church so they are transitioning into us teaching her as well so we can help her get to know women in the ward. I really like her and we set a date yesterday for May 4…which as I’m typing this I just realized in my last Saturday as a missionary, so that would be cool. :) Also, one of the senior site couple elders called us late last night. He was checking out at Sear’s and his cashier said “Are you Mormon? I’d like to learn more about that.” And she lives in Canandaigua! Her name is Jacqueline, and we plan to contact her today so hopefully that goes well. :)

Oh also, we went to the Family History Center yesterday… we had plans to bring someone with us but they had to cancel so we decided to just go anyway to see what resources there were and how we could prepare people to come. So cool! Mom, have you used FamilyTree yet? It is a really awesome website. I had dug out the four-generation chart you printed out for me and was able to fill in enough information for myself to link back to ancestors from the 1500s. There are some pieces that are still missing on my tree that I know we have somewhere… I’d love to get into it more when I get home :)

Speaking of home, that is getting closer :S <-- mixed feelings. Do you have my flight itinerary? Sister Brown says she got hers a long time ago, but I haven't seen it at all and I need to let the mission office know if you haven't heard about that. Anything specific anyone wants from New York? Cool mother's day gift?

Oh, health update (joy). My doctor took me off dexilant because it was kinda working but was giving me headaches. He’s putting me back on ranitidine at a dosage twice as high as last time. I’ve talked to a few other doctors (members) I know about that and they think it’s a good idea so I filled the prescription this week. I’m waiting a couple of days before I start taking it just so I can have a fair comparison between no meds and the ranitidine. By the time we know whether it works, I will be home and we can make further decisions from there.

Well I need to get going I guess, but I love you all a bazillion and I'm so proud of everyone! Hearing from you all after conference was the best! I am trying to get back to every one of you, even if it's just a couple each p-day.

Life is good. I am happy. The gospel is true. “What else matters?”

Be happy, be healthy, be safe, be good. I love you all!

Love,

Sister Schank

2 Timothy 1:7