ETERNAL SALVATION-CANCELED

Hello familia!!! It's been an interesting week here in Tiffany Park! Last Monday after I got off of the computer, 3 of us missionaries were able to teach a lesson in ASL!! This sweet woman at the library was deaf and we just started talking to her and it turned into a lesson! Her mother passed away 2 years ago and so now she is talking to God a lot more! Her life has been difficult since her mother's passing, and so she cried a lot during the lesson! I had the great opportunity to say the prayer at the end of the lesson. After I prayed, she gave me a HUGE hug and kept saying "Thank you!" to all of us! It was so tender! The Lord truly provides opportunities for us to serve His children!

Now on to explaining the Subject line of this email. On Saturday night it started snowing. So, naturally, everyone in Washington FREAKS OUT. By the time we woke up on Sunday morning, there were 2 inches of snow or less. And guess what?! THEY CANCELLED CHURCH!!!! It was so weird!! People were literally parking their cars in the middle of street and walking home. Soooooo weird!! It wasn't even that bad!! I'll send a picture of it to you guys. It was just so foreign to both Sister Carlin and I because she's from Utah and I went to school in Iceburg, Idaho. There were only 2 wards in 2 stakes that didn't cancel church so we went to one of those meetings. During the sacrament, I looked up and saw a friend with Down Syndrome passing the sacrament! It made me so happy!! And, there was a middle-school aged boy there with autism!! I felt so at home!! lol!!

Now to the rest of the week! I got sick one day this week and the nurse told me I had to stay inside. I hated that. It was soooo boring and I just wanted to go outside and get to work. I felt really badly for Sister Carlin. But there's nothing I can do about it now. And I'm better, so it's okay. :) One of the families in my ward has a son that went to BYU-I and he lived in Somerset and knows some of my friends there. It was really strange to hear about people's lives. I am just in a totally different spot than they are. Some of my friends have gotten married and engaged and it's crazy to me that not every one is out serving a mission! lol!

We have been working with a part-member family and I love them so much! She is less-active and has been for quite some time. Her husband is not a member and doesn't really have any interest in the gospel. They didn't even let missionaries into their home until Sister Carlin got here. We have been making HUGE progress with them! We were working on incorporating family history into our missionary efforts and so we did with them. When we mentioned family history his eyes LIT up and he got so excited! So now we are working with them even more!!! The Lord really has prepared people for His gospel!!

On Saturday night I learned a HUGE lesson on humility. It was the hardest lesson I've ever learned. We had an appointment with a family in our ward for an in home lesson. Sister Carlin has been trying to let me take the lead sometimes so that I know how for when I'm not the junior companion. This was one of those times. We got in there and started the lesson. I hadn't even gotten a full sentence out when the brother stopped me and started critiquing my teaching skills. I was horrified. Nothing I said was good enough for him and I felt completely shut down. I was actually angry with him. How dare he do that. He wasn't the one that was called to be a missionary. I was! I was so angry that I couldn't feel the spirit. I sat there for the rest of the time praying for strength to get through that hour. Praying that I wouldn't burst into tears in front of them! I didn't even want to speak. I wanted to sit back and let Sister Carlin take over. It was time to go home and plan after that and I couldn't even concentrate on planning because I was so upset. I went into the bedroom, closed the door, started bawling my eyes out, and praying with all of my heart. I told Heavenly Father that I was angry and that I never wanted to see that man again because he was so rude to me. I just poured my heart out. And I got the most humbling response ever. I felt like my Heavenly Father gave me a huge hug and said, "This isn't about you. This is about my children. Forgive him, and move on." I realized even more that this was never about me. It has always been about my brothers and sisters who need the gospel! I have been called to serve my Heavenly Father, not care about what other people say! It wasn't that member who stopped me from feeling the spirit, it was me who stopped myself from feeling it.

I know that this gospel is true. And that our Heavenly Father gives us the answers we NEED, not the answers we want! I am so grateful for that!!

I love you all!! Have a great week!!!

Love,

Sister Keele