Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Letter 2 - First from London, Ontario - November 12, 2013



HELLO FAMILY AND FRIENDS!!!!


It's no big deal.... I'm just writing you from a little place I like to call CANADA. That's all :) I'm a missionary. And boy is it great. I LOVE IT!!!! My companion's name is Sister Mendenhall. She has been out for 4 1/2 months now. She is from Alberta. She is quiet, serious, VERY Hard-working, and we have a great time together :) I have been blessed with an amazing trainer. And we are in the GREATEST AREA IN THE WORLD!!!! We are serving in London with the London 1st ward. The members here are SO missionary-minded. We are working hard to have a member with us at as many lessons as we can. People are so kind here. And members LOVE sister missionaries! Haha. We have a dinner appointment almost every night, and people are putting their name down multiple times so we can eat with them. Needless to say this sister is NOT going to be able to keep her weight down if this generosity remains haha. 

We are in a car mission. It is so nice because our area is HUGE, but it is also sad because we do not have as much time to contact people. All the more reason to talk to everyone whenever we are out of the car :) It's the greatest. 

So, the people here..... LOVE THEM! God truly brought us so many tender mercies this week. I forgot to tell you but we are white washing into the area. There were two investigators from the past Elders who were here, but the couple are never home and not answering their phones, and D is just wonderful :) We are still working with her. But anyways, so we are starting from scratch, and the Lord has put so many amazing people in our paths. Young and old, white, black, Muslim, Cambodian, Chinese - this place is so diverse it is crazy. Already after a week, we have had many many people here who we were and come throwing their beliefs at us with fire in their eyes and the desire to kill haha, and then we smile, bear our testimonies, give them a card, and ask if we can talk to their friends and family about our message! haha it's the greatest. Every corner you turn brings a new story because there are so many cultures here in London. 

But back to tender mercies, God has blessed us with some GOLDEN AREAS!!!! Places where we knock on door to door and each one holds a family of nine kids (people from kenya, Samaria, Iran, Sudan, jamaica...) with great people inside! We have a lot of follow-up appointments with people this week so please pray for the people in the London 1st ward area!! We have a new investigator named T. She has 11 kids, 2 live with her; she is very quiet and absolutely amazing. She comes from a very hard life, and she is SO open to our message. I love her. We set a baptismal date for December 1st and we are working to prepare her by then. 

My favorite experiences so far were, first, with a lady named B. she wanted NOTHING to do with our message, and just as she was closing the door and said "Wait I have a question!" She opened it again, and I asked her why she had a British flag on her door. She told us it was where her ancestors were from, and BING! We told her all about family history in our church :) She still didn't let us in haha, but we are coming back to tell her more about family history! Oh B.. :)
Next story, my favorite, we were in our golden area on Huron and we were about to visit a certain house with a boy named A. Just as we got there, a group of people came out of the house with a bunch of stuff and we asked if we could help them carry some things. They said they were fine but no thanks, so of course my companion and I went over and picked up some of their stuff haha and walked with them back to their house. They were just moving in, the mom's name is S. She is from Sudan (I think) and she has 9 kids!! We talked to her and a few of the kids for a while, she is strong in her religion, but welcomed us back for a message sometime! I am excited for tomorrow when we get to see her again :) It was a wonderful experience.

I have to go, but I want you to know that I LOVE YOU ALL!!! The Lord is in this work. We are being blessed right and left in the London area. God is preparing this people (Alma 16:16-17). I know this is where I need to be. It is hard, and it is glorious :) Please keep these people in your prayers. Keep your standards!!!

Love
Sister Bodine

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