Keep Up, Sister Mitchell, Keep Up

The great news is that our investigators are progressing towards their baptismal date of November 12th. We were traveling to another stake today but were happy to hear Catherine and Justin were at church and introduced to a new family. She texted me and said it was a beautiful day at church and she enjoyed the hugs. The Patriarch and his wife spoke, and his remarks on Patriarchal Blessings really resonated with Justin who wants to get one. Elder Nelson assures him that he can after he is baptized. We are praying for him tonight as he is at a Halloween Party with his friends...his old friends with old habits. Also, along investigator lines, Lorena is a non member who took our Workshop this past week. At one point she read from the D&C and then during the break asked for a copy of the book. When Sister P got her a BoM, she said, she preferred the Doctrine and Covenants because she liked how they write. She also asked it was possible to visit our church as she likes the feeling at the ERC....she likes how the people are treated and looked after. She said it is different here. So....we are skipping a Sunday of travel and are going to take her to the ward she would be attending were she a member of the church.
We have started our ward/branch visits to the Powder Springs Stake and will be on the road six of the next seven Sundays. The big plus this time is that the Stake Employment Specialist is the former Stake President who we are accompanying on these visits. We love having the priesthood smooth our way and give us counsel. We also have a two day Career Workshop we will be teaching in the Fayetteville Stake a week from Tuesday, and then another in the PS Stake the first week in December. We four missionaries in the office are also putting our heads together to see what we can do further to help our non professional candidates get jobs. The interviews are not coming, so we had a brainstorming session a week ago, have been pondering, and now will come together again to see what we can come up with. We are considering a mini job fair....
It is interesting that my two most discouraged candidates both have Masters Degrees in English....but no hard skills. They are both working to remedy that with a series of computer classes.
Halloween in tomorrow night and I am thinking of all my favorite little ghosties and goblins who will be trick-or-treating tomorrow night back in Washington, Oregon. and Utah. I love and miss them all.

Bits and Pieces

One of our candidates learned about the principle of fasting, and applied it for the first time in her life as she is discouraged about not being able to find work. She has a Masters Degree and is a fledgling author. She fasted a week ago Saturday, and last week we found her a part-time job that just happened to come across my desk. She is one of the three ladies who has accepted an invitation from us to attend Gladys Knight's Fireside next month.
On our way to the temple Friday at 4:00 -- we were going as an office -- Sister P hit the curb of a tight round about and knew instantly there was a problem. Two men came running as they heard a loud noise, which we didn't hear, and knew someone was in trouble. Toung changed the tire, which had a 2x4 inch hole in it, and then Rick, who was riding a bike, led us to the Chevron he has been frequenting for 32 years. We were on a side road, so were very grateful these two knights in shining armor were there to help. Rick thought we were nuns!
I received a letter this week from Adomas Riauka, my 80 something second cousin of sorts in Lithuania. Tomorrow I will scan the letter at work and send it to my computer so google can translate it for me. He sent me a picture of him and his son at the grave of his dear Janine, along with a small wooden ornament -- a shirt with Lietuva written on it (Lithuania). Chad said he would go with me to visit him after my mission. Sigita, a professional genealogist in Lithuania found the marriage record of my maternal great grandparents, so now sealings can take place. It has been a long search over many years, and I am most grateful.
The weather is turning rainy so now instead of walking each evening, we are going to the exercise room where I am using the recumbent bike and Sister P is using the treadmill.
Today, one of our candidates overslept and missed attending church with us, which she very much enjoys and feels she needs. Every Sunday for the last four weeks a challenge has presented itself resulting in her not coming....we discussed how Satan operates like this. She gave her copy of the Book of Mormon to her son, so she has requested another for her. She has been listening to the "Woman at the Well" CD and feels a great uplift from the messages.
One candidate I am working with called me during church and left a voice mail saying there was an article in the Atlanta Journal Constitution on Mormons that she thought I might be interested in! She has taken an interest in the I'm A Mormon ads....now if she will take an interested in becoming one herself.
Last night at Dr. Basra's invitation we attended the G6 Summit, a concert of ancient Sikh music performed by musicians from six countries. One goal of the Sikh religion is to promote brotherhood and peace throughout the world. Very simply stated, I could see where my Sikh friends could be transported (their words) by the music and lyrics, but since the words were Punjabi, I could only sense devotion. I thought of the significance of the Lord's design for the gospel's going forth to every people in their native tongue.
It is going to be difficult for me to return to the Tri-Cities and see nothing but white faced people after coming to love and appreciate the goodness of my special friends who come from many different cultures and persuasions.

Ethiopian Festival

A week ago Saturday we attended an Ethiopian Festival on our way back from President and Sister Satterfield's. Sister Peterson is working with Abby Makonnen who is wearing the white dress, and I am working with her husband, David. David is a Quality Assurance Engineer who for the last four years has been working at a warehouse. Several Fridays ago he showed up for work and his key card would not work. Welcome to the new pink slip! I met him several hours later when he came to the Employment Center to start the job search process all over again. The Ethiopian Community built a church several years ago, but with the downturn in the economy and many of them losing their jobs, they are having trouble paying the mortgage, so they hold fund raisers like this to help out. The next day they were holding a talent show, but the proceeds were ear-marked for Ethiopia to help the people there. David and I had a nice gospel discussion...he is an orthodox Christian.

These Ethiopian ladies are carding wool the old fashioned way. Notice neither of them are wearing glasses!

President and Sister Satterfield

Saturday before last President and Sister Satterfield took several hours out of their busy mission life to host a bar-b-que for the senior couples in our mission, plus Sister Peterson and I who are the only single sisters serving here. President and Sister S. have only nine short months remaining before they return home to Pocatello, Idaho and to five children, all of whom live within a few blocks of them. It has been a privilege to be at several zone conferences and see first hand the absolute love and devotion this wonderful couple has to those young missionaries in their charge. They lose sleep over them much as they would their own children.


Part of the festivities that afternoon included being part of a golf cart caravan (three) riding for an hour and a half the paths of Peachtree City. The city was designed by three Delta Air Line pilots and it is beautiful. The paths are wide enough for two golf carts to pass each other. You need a map to navigate the paths. Everyone drives golf carts to work, shopping, church, etc. If you drive by the highschool you will see golf carts, not cars filling the parking lots as kids do not need a license to drive a golf card so long as they stay on the paths. Pictured with is are Elder and Sister Gibson who are assigned to our Employment Center with us. They are delightful! Sister S. told us to wear jackets on the trail as it gets cool whizzing along....so I minded, but took off my jacket later on as the weather was especially nice. The paths were virtually deserted as there was an Air Show being held that afternoon, so you know where all the Delta people were!

Our Dr. Tejpal Singh Basra

Dr. Basra invited us one last time to a Sikh service as he will most likely leave this week for his new job in Virginia. He specifically wanted the picture taken so that the G6 poster in the background, advertising an International Music Night, could be seen We aim to please. Also that evening we met the lovely and gracious Prabhjot Kaur, a retired principal from Punjab who is here visiting her son and his family, welcoming her first grandson/grandchild. She taught English most of her career and sent her children to Christian Schools. Her husband is a Civil Engineer, her son is a physician and her daughter-in-law is a computer engineer. In the course of our conversation I mentioned that we were missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and asked if she knew any LDS people. She said there was a church down from her home and they went there every Christmas. She has written articles on women in Sikh religion, so I think I must send her Daughters In My Kingdom. I think she'd appreciate it, don't you? The Sikhs are kind loving people who feel it is their mission to establish the brotherhood of man. They would all make equally lovely Mormons, and Dr. Basra would make a very effective missionary!

A Day In The Life...

Career Workshop Day - our seventh, so you think we would be prepared for anything, right? A. did not return today for the last day, as I predicted, as this kind intelligent gentleman was frustrated by the slow pace of our class since we had sweet R, who has a learning disability. M has serious issues that are being addressed through counseling and medication. He was a star athlete in high school, went to several years of college, served a mission, but something happened there that caused him to "trip out". President Allen does not know what happened, but he had to come home, despite the Mission President's best efforts working with him. M never spoke one word, drifted out of class for most of the day, but while in class would start giggling at nothing. Elder Gibson took him next door to Family Services for a short meeting before returning w/a referral form for the Bishop so they can work with him. During lunch I met D, a tall black man who has a heart of gold and who is looking for work. He was thrilled to finally have an email account,(which we had just set up) be registered on our website, have hope renewed, be invited and accept an invitation by another candidate in the office to accept a Book of Mormon and be picked up on Saturday to watch Conference. I invited him to go with the Gibsons to the Gladys Knight Fireside in November, as they were looking for someone to invite and he readily accepted. I invited M, another candidate in the office to go with Sister P and I to the Fireside, and she accepted as well. Dr. Basra called during dinner and invited us to Sikh Services Friday night to which a "humpty dumpty black man who is a coach is also going, along with a woman who asked to attend and who was told, "perfect, as two sisters are coming also". On our walk, we saw D, so I was able to give him the pass along card I have been carrying each walk for the past week, sending him to Mormon.org to check out Kevin, a member who is a professional skateboarder! Catherine texted and said she would call later as the kids got in trouble and her parents were over. Sigita, the Lithuanian genealogist I hired to find my maternal ancestors, said she found birth, baptismal and marriage dates after 30 hours of research which she would send me upon receipt of 240 Euros, which I am happy to do....most grateful. I think mother must be helping on the other side. It is only 10 p.m. so there is plenty of time for something else to happen today!

I'm a Mormon Campaign coming to Atlanta!

We received an additional set of elders in our ward today in anticipation of October's launch of the church's "I'm A Mormon" media campaign which had a successful run in New York City. Once the stats were in, the church learned that 54% of all active Mormons were asked questions about the church after seeing IAM. The members here in Atlanta, unlike the ones in NY, are being prepared to respond to the questions from their non-member friends and acquaintances. Elder Ballard, who was here recently, told us that the Lord has prepared tens of thousands of people to accept the gospel, now we all get to find them, and IAM will help. Elder Perry said that since 1830 the church has been conducting missionary work essentially the same way and it is time to turn a corner. Technology is what is going to allow us to bring the gospel to the Chinese people and others, including these people in Atlanta. We are to engage them in meaningful caring conversations, easy to do, and then hand them, if it seems appropriate, a Mormon.org pass along card with the name of one of the members whose video is on the website, or our name and phone number, or whatever else seems the thing to do. On Mormon.org they can chat with missionaries at the Provo MTC, learn more of Jesus Christ, see FAQ's We all have our marching orders!
Last night our Apartment Manager, Angela, went to the General Women's Broadcast with us. She got it....she said women have a mission to perform. We are hoping she wants to go to church in which case we will go to Marietta to attend her prospective ward with her.
C came to Sacrament Meeting today and was enthralled by every speaker and with the truths she heard. So grateful. She registered with Labor Ready and goes in at 8:30 tomorrow morning to see if there is any work for her.
After C exhausted clothing and food sources with no luck last week while sitting with me in the office, we gave her some money for a used pair of jeans and work boots and for food. We are going to invite her and her son, Justin to come for pizza and a meeting with the missionaries, which she has already expressed an interest in. She is often needed nights by her parents, so we will see. She and I were having a gospel discussion the other day and were discussing baptism. What I have always been taught about baptism's being symbolic of the old creature dying, and then coming up out of the water as a new person, born again as it were, pure and clean before God. I was overcome with emotion thinking of C and of all she has suffered, the guilt, the abuse, and what it would mean to her to in an instant be healed of all that as she is baptized. It was so sublime and loving that I could hardly handle the joy of that moment yet in the future for C. How grateful I am to the Savior who's sufferimg makes that day possible for her and for us all.