Miracles!!

Hi to all! It has been a fast week for us. First of all, Spring in PA is unlike any spring I have ever known – it was cold and damp every day this week, especially in the mornings. We are talking in the 30’s and 40’s every morning, and then an afternoon temp of 50 if we are lucky! I brought very few winter clothes, but I am making due. Roseann Neff, our RS President, gave me one of her warm jackets and I am sure grateful. Sister Neff reminds me of Val – super loving, interested in everything and everyone, and loves the gospel. She has never been married, and hasn’t given up hope on that score. You would all love her.

We didn’t teach any lessons this week, but we are making big plans. We are beginning to realize that a big part of Missionary work is developing patience. It is hard to drum up investigators and we are on the Lord’s timetable, not our own. We actually had a few good conversations with each of our sons and loved their counsel – pretty great to get sage advice from our children. Tyler is having the same challenges as we are, and that is a unique experience. His life parallels ours in many ways, except he has been a missionary three times longer than we have! So, we have been praying for the Branch and asking all of our family to pray as well. I have always had a testimony about the power of prayer, but today we witnessed a miracle.

We were assigned to speak today in Sacrament Mtg, and as we watched people walk in, there were many we did not recognize. By the time the meeting started, the chapel (not really a chapel) was full. We gave our talks, and after the meeting we started trying to meet people. It turns out that TWO NEW FAMILIES MOVED INTO THE BRANCH THIS WEEK!! This is huge for a congregation of 38 people. One family is from Utah, starting a new job right out of college, and they have 2 children-the other is a couple that might not be permanent, but we are hoping they decide to stay here. Thank you, thank you for your prayers on behalf of the Lock Haven Branch. During the 3rd hour, our Branch President enlisted the efforts of all the Branch in rescuing the 100 members that are less active. We feel so empowered now that the Branch is involved in helping us do this work. It has been a wonderful day, and we are both humbled that the Lord is mindful of this little Branch.

We had a Branch Talent Show on Friday night. There was gymnastics and a family skit (remember Family Camp?), two original songs by Emily Burnworth who has the voice of an angel and is trying to break into musical theatre in NY, a bassoon duet (which you wouldn’t expect to be great, but it was!), a story told by our Branch Presidents’ father that had all 6 of the children entranced. There were displays of knitted baby clothes, a unique genealogy display, beautiful wooden ornaments make by our Branch President, some very good paintings, and probably the most unusual was a display on the Civil War by Brother Yoder who is a newly baptized member and whose wife is getting baptized this Friday. The children sat on the floor at his feet and he gave a very short, but heartfelt presentation as he read a few excerpts from a few of the books he had brought. He is not a public speaker, but a simple man who is passionate about the gospel and the Civil War. It was very short, and ended with him saying how sad he felt that so many people had to die, but each side was fighting for something they believed in. The dessert was made by the President’s son who is a trained chef and it was yummy. Less than 40 people attended, but according to Bro. Yoder, it was one of the best nights of his life. We feel so blessed to be associated with the people here.

Dad and I drove to Bald Eagle State Part (20 miles away) and took a long hike – it was cold, but sunny and a very pretty place. We decided to go back often to see it change into summer, and then fall.

Saturday we did our volunteer work at the Historical Society 5K run. Dad ran and I cooked 100 hotdogs. The sun came out for the runners for about 45 minutes, then it clouded over again. We talked to a few people about the church, and the winner of the men’s division told me that he is an inactive member who used to live in the area. We were happy that we could at least talk to people and explain a little about being a missionary.

Tonight we will go back to church for Young Women in Excellence/New Beginnings – we only have one young woman and a new 12 yr old, so the whole evening will be in honor of these two girls. I think that is wonderful.

The apartment above us is about ready for renters, and it looks like they will be here this week. It was nice not to have footsteps above us and toilets flushing,etc, but maybe they would like to hear about the gospel??

Our love to all, and please continue your prayers for us and the Branch. Have a wonderful week, everyone!!