News from North Carolina: "I can't change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination." Jimmy D Read

Hi Everyone!

So last p-day, we were driving home at about 8 or so and I got to a four-way stop sign. I also saw a person riding a bicycle come up to the stop sign and I was just kind of hanging out at the stop sign, waiting. Sister Shepherd was looking at me weirdly as I was just sitting there, and then this car just came speeding through the intersection, without even slowing down! It is so crazy when the Spirit can direct us to do things, and it isn’t until after that we even realize we are following direction from Him!

It has been so cold this week! A lot of people got frozen pipes! We went with Sister Roma to visit her mother in a rest home and while we were there, the pipes burst!! There was water everywhere coming out of the sprinklers in the dinning room and in the individual rooms! What a mess!

Also this week, we set up an appointment to go meet with Christelle (she is a recent convert) but she forgot we were coming, so we had to reschedule for the next day. When we got there, we found out that her uncle had passed away and she had found out just before we got there! It was really an amazing testimony to me that God will direct us because if we had not been there on that day, we would never have been with her in her time of distress. Especially since all of her family is in Africa and she is the only one here in the US.

We also taught the Word of Wisdom to two people this week! So first we were teaching Stephanie Jewell the Stop Smoking lesson (a program we have that helps people to stop in a week-it is super effective as long as they follow all the steps) and she gave us her cigarettes and lighters. So later in the day, Sister Shepherd goes to pull out the phone and instead pulled out the cigarettes! We also taught Milford about it so he immediately wanted us to take his tea away so it would not be a temptation. So pretty much we have cigarettes, lighters, and tea. Nice! Anyway, Stephanie has really been struggling with not smoking because one of the steps is getting rid of anything that reminds you of smoking and staying away from smokers. Unfortunately, her husband is not being very supportive and has been smoking inside the house since it is so cold out. So we have started taking her to lessons with us instead so that she can have a break. She is doing much better now!

Also, we are really excited for Mark and Markie Gay! They are getting baptized on Wednesday! yay! Their mom has really had a softened heart towards their baptism and we actually got to meet with her on Friday! And she signed up on our meal calendar! (She is a member, but she fell away for a time. It looks like she is now interested in coming back!) So because of the cold this week, Sister Shepherd's knees have been doing really badly. They keep getting all swollen and she has a hard time walking (it is worse in the evening). So this one night, we walked over to the clubhouse and taught a lesson. Then we really slowly walked back (well I walked, she limped) home. Once we get there, Sister Shepherd goes, "I left my i-pad at the clubhouse!!" And there was no way I was letting her walk back there so we decided to use our bikes instead. Then, brilliant idea- I put my bike back away and pushed Sister Shepherd's bike! ha-ha I am sure people thought we were crazy! A girl in a skirt on a bike and another girl in a skirt running behind her pushing the bike.

Anyway, I love y’all!

Sister Morris