Wednesday, August 13, 2014

God Always Fulfills His Promises

Hi everyone!!

This past week I hit my 6 month mark, guess who isn't a 'greenie' anymore??? Hahaha. Me! And Sister Taylor, who is my new companion! Mom was right when she said I have always "lucked out" with companions so far, they are always so awesome! Sister Taylor was in my district in the MTC and although we always said we hoped we'd be companions one day, us or any of the sisters in our district, we didn't think it would actually happen! Hahaha. It's great though. Leaving Sister Jeppson was so hard, especially after just 6 weeks together, but Sister Taylor and I work well together and things are going so great. I had a few things to share, but after yesterday, man I just want to focus on that one miracle! But I will share about two investigators, so y'all can see how awesome it is here.

The first is a woman named Diane we met probably this last Wednesday. When we began talking to her she showed some interest and let us teach but talked about the first time she saw us, which was Sister Jeppson and I. Last Saturday night she was sitting on her porch watching us play with all those kids I sent pictures of last week. We played 'curb ball' and 'down by the banks' and she really enjoyed seeing us do that. Seed=planted. :) Well, we taught her a few different times this week and she said she would come to our Book of Mormon class and not long before it started Thursday night she said she wouldn't be coming and I was so sad we went over and I pleaded with her and she looked at me, said something about how I was giving her a 'baby face'/puppy dog look, and said there was no way she could break her promise and said she would be there. Hahaha. Go me ;) It was super awesome though she came to the class and was the only investigator that came, but we had a really great discussion, talked about and gave her a Book of Mormon, and it's been great! We went to her house the next day to teach her about the Plan of Salvation and she had begun reading the Book of Mormon and she told us that she's a recovering addict, that she has been clean for 2 years now. She told us how up until two weeks ago she was living in a semi-assisted living home and just returned back here to live. (She's in her 50s). So--she moved back about two weeks ago, just in time to see Sister Jeppson and I playing with all the neighborhood kids and see who we were, preparing her to meet us so we could teach her. Cool huh?!? So that was one very awesome miracle this week. The next one is even better, are you ready? I am! :)

One of the biggest miracles yet! Myra and Diane. We met Myra about a month ago, she is 69 and Diane is her 53 year old daughter who lives with her. Diane's daughter lives in Boston and her daughter keeps telling Diane "what if we were sent for her, and not Myra?" I keep trying to tell her I know we are here for both of them. Usually we teach them together, but we were in the area yesterday and we weren't planning to see them, but Diane was just leaving with some people to her church and Myra was outside and ushered us in. I have never seen Myra sad--she's never shed a tear while we're there or anything. She's the one always telling me to "be strong, no tears allowed." Yeah, that went out the window again yesterday, haha. Myra started crying and said how she's lonely and depressed and things were just hard right now. We read her a Conference talk from this past General Conference and the Spirit was so strong. She began to tell us how she's been deceived for 50 years-she's been taught false doctrine, her baptism was false/invalid, but that now she has found the truth. It was so incredible because we've been meeting with her for a while and she didn't realize it right away, but yesterday afternoon, everything changed. She began talking about the first time she saw me-how we had been knocking on doors of Myra's neighbors and as she was sitting on the porch she just prayed that people would be nice to us and that God would protect us. She said she KNEW I had something special to share. As she talked I reflected on this moment, of when we first met her. She was sitting on her little porch outside her apartment talking on the phone, while her daughter Diane was inside the glass door cleaning it. I didn't want to interrupt her phone call, but I felt like we should talk to her so I handed her a card with our phone number on it and told her we were missionaries and that we wanted to stop by another time and share a message about the gospel. She looked up at me and gave me the most sincere, appreciative smile I have ever seen. It was so warm and as I reflected on that just yesterday in her living room, my eyes filled with tears. Myra said there was just something about me-something special. She said my companions were special too, but there was just something about me. She told me I was an angel sent to her--exactly what Heavenly Father told me in my patriarchal blessing. That there would be people who would see my as an angel sent from heaven to them. I could just see Myra dressed in white, ready to enter the waters of baptism and I could not control the tears. In the scriptures time and time again it talks about how God does not forget about the promises and covenants He makes with His children, and I KNOW that that is true. In a priesthood blessing I was given in my first area, I was told that the promises and blessings of the Lord are still present and will come to pass. Myra is part of a promise. In my patriarchal blessing it talks about the people I will teach, and yesterday Myra fulfilled some of that saying to her I was an angel that God sent. In the blessing I was given when I was set apart as a missionary I was told that there are people that are specifically waiting for me to come--Myra has been waiting. She mentioned how elders have been in this area before but it was me she was waiting for. She also talked about our church building which is very close to her house and how that lets her know again that this is the truth she has been waiting for. She believes God made it so the building would be built so close to her, that she would be able to find the truth. That is amazing to me because only a few of our ward members live in Waynesboro, the majority live in other cities 30 minutes or more away. We told her about a young man the elders are teaching that is being baptized next Sunday and invited her to attend. She wants to come and asked if she would be getting baptized after him, the same day. My eyes are full of tears just typing this. We told her she wouldn't be getting baptized this Sunday, but invited her again to church so that she could experience it more fully and then we could begin planning for her baptism. We will see her in a day or two and hopefully set a date. 

I just wanted to tell all of you that God really does always fulfill His promises. Always. Miracles do happen every day. His timing is perfect. I can see that I had been a little discouraged the past couple of weeks but yesterday a loving Heavenly Father showed me that I am needed and that even in hard times, there are those prepared and elect individuals who are waiting to hear the glorious truth that I am called to share. That we are all called to share. It may not happen right away in some dramatic fashion, but it happens. "Show your love by serving." I am just so incredibly excited for Myra, and to be here a part of this experience. Sister Jeppson and Sister Taylor were and are right--I was sent here for Myra. She's one of the reasons. I didn't even include every detail of the experience with her yesterday; that's how incredible it's been. I hope you can see and feel as I do the workings of God in each of our lives. He has a plan for all of us, and He always fulfills His promises to us. 

All my love,
Sister Kaylee Applegate

Last day(s) with Sister Jeppson, gonna miss her!!!
The Cartmells started a water fight/silly string war with us. The silly string was all Brother Cartmell. Nice plan... very sneaky. 






Silly string war
Sister Jeppson and I
Saying goodbye to Sister J
She made an event in our phone calendar to go off Wednesday morning. What a stinker. I love her to pieces! 








Sister Taylor and I! Reunited from the MTC :)
A few common sights in Georgia... people riding lawn mowers on the road and... "pimped" cars. Oh boy....
The very special lady, Miss Myra :) Her smile is beautiful, I wish she would have smiled for the camera! :)









No comments:

Post a Comment