March 17, 2014

It may be hard to believe, especially coming from me, but we have had a great week here this week. We had a fantastic week! Many of our less actives that we work with were out of town or unavailable to meet this week but we were still able to meet with a ton of people. Plus, we had a day that was really warm right before the latest storm and that was pretty great! Riding around on the bike in short sleeves... ah, its been too long. But anyway.... so Ryan just returned from spring break. We haven’t heard anything from him yet.... so, sorry there is no update there. Mindy - also out of town. But, notwithstanding, we went over and did a bunch of yard work for her and we met her neighbor, Lisa. We got to know her a bit and we helped her with a couple things. We will probably see her again someday. When we were leaving Lisa was talking about how she was going to go over and introduce herself to Mindy so that will be cool. And that was on a warmer day so it was great to be outside.

Cool story- Marie was also out of town, in the best way possible. She went and visited Sister White, her member friend in N. Carolina. We got a text from Sister White yesterday telling us how Marie had joined her family in family scripture study. Boom! Marie loved it apparently and Sister White says that Marie expects us to give her a Book of Mormon. Sweet miracle!! So we are hoping to set up an appointment this week to see Marie.

This coming week we will meet with the Beck’s again. We had the set appointment so we did not see them this week but we are going over soon. The Barry’s were also out of town, in Iceland. But they want us to come over this week to show us all the pictures they took on their vacation! That will be sweet!

So, as you can see there are a lot of people not here that we normally work with. The list goes on and on... haha And all the mids were on spring break so we didn’t have institute or fhe. Therefore, we were forced to really find a lot more things to do and visit with different people than we normally struggle to see… and we were able to see them! It was like a miracle week! We had a lot of good visits.

It was fortunate that we had some extra time this week because we had a new member move into our ward, Sister Baker. We went over and had a great visit with her. She is an art teacher and, let me tell ya, she loves art. haha She is all about art! It’s pretty cool how much she loves it. She does all kinds of different stuff. She has just barely got into sculpting and she is pretty much pro. She has a sculpted head sitting on her desk, which is as impressive as it was eerie. She also carves pumpkins... but on a whole other level than our family does... haha She said that she is on instagram. Have Jordan look for a Nancy Baker and pumpkin carving stuff.... she had some sweet work! Anyway, we had a great visit with her and heard all about different art stuff... she is speaking at a national art convention and she is pretty stoked about that. I wasn’t really sure what she was talking about when she was talking about her art stuff but it sounds legit. Jenna would have loved to meet her and see her stuff. It was pretty cool. I am pretty sure most people feel like I did talking to Sister Baker when they talk with me about tennis. haha Well... not as much anymore... now its more like when we are playing Book of Mormon baseball. I love that game. haha I guess that’s what happens when your entire life is filled with the Book of Mormon. Not complaining about that side effect...

Ok, I can’t wait any longer.... can you believe that general conference is in like two weeks!?!?!?! What’s up!? I cannot wait! I’ve been reviewing some of the talks from last session. Elder Maynes is still my favorite. Hands down. Ah! So yeah, let the countdown begin!

Oh, ok... so here is a highlight for you. Remember how I said that there was nine instances in the Book of Mormnon where we see the phrase "the strength of the Lord"? Right, well, I stand corrected. I found another one! 3 Ne chapters 3-4. It’s like I found another testimony in the Book of Mormon that the Lord will strengthen those who run to him! Can’t have enough of those! I mean... there are a lot more but I like the phrase so it is especially cool. Each reference always seems to teach a different spin too... I love studying them and the associated patterns and the different things the authors point out. This one was cool because it really talked a lot about the preparation before hand. The Nephites prepared early for this battle by following the counsel from their prophet leaders Lachoneus and Gidgiddoni. So that was one. Then, when the robbers come to attack, the Nephites see their terrifying army and fall to the ground praying to God that he would deliver them. The robbers saw this and were shouted for joy because they supposed that the Nephites were sore afraid. But in this the robbers were disappointed. The Nephites were not afraid of the robbers, they just knew where their true strength lied...layed... lays…was. Anyway... so they turned to the Lord. Then, it says that they were prepared to meet the robbers and in the strength of the Lord they did receive them. I love that. The world really does see people turning to God and view it as weakness. But not so! haha The Nephites had prepared diligently and done everything the Lord’s way. They operated on the strength of the Lord and thus they were strengthened and delivered!! I love these references. "In the strength of the Lord" is probably one of my favorite themes of the Book of Mormon to study. Each story is a powerful testimony to me that if we operate under the direction of the Lord, then he will supplement our strength with his and we will win. To know it in theory is one thing, to know it in practice is another... I pray often that my faith will increase and that I may rely on the Savior in more than I do. Also, another thing I love about this theme is looking back on times on my life and recognizing when I have been able to go forth in the strength of the Lord, and when he has enabled and delivered me. And I love that these stories are in the Book of Mormon because at anytime I can refer to them, read them, and draw strength from the testimonies of these people. Heads up... I have another theme counting thing in progress that I am stoked about too… I just love the Book of Mormon! hahah

Oh, one more quick miracle! We visited Sister Kinsella this week and read the Book of Mormon with her. We read in Alma two about the Nephites vs. the Amlicites. Sis Kinsella hates war chapters. haha But in this visit we talked with her about how they relate to us and at the end her entire perception of the had changed. That was sweet!

Anyway... shout out to Great Grandma Erickson! I hope that you are doing great! 

I will let you know next week if I get transferred or not. We will see. This week is going to be sweet. Like I was saying before we have a ton of great stuff kind of lined up already... I just hope it all goes through.  That will give me plenty of things to write about next week.

Anyway, have a great week. 

I love you guys!

Elder Hinkle