Braum's (week 4)

Hello from Oklahoma! Things are going swell!

This week I was able to go on exchanges to Seminal, OK which is just East of Shawnee. My exchange companion was Elder Linam from Lehi UT, we both haven't been out in the field very long. It was a pretty rough exchange for knocking on doors, no one really answered. We did get to pray with a couple of non-member families, though, which was good. Out here in Oklahoma it gets pretty dead around 8 o'clock-especially in Seminal where there isn't a main street or condensed commercial property. We got to the apartment around 8:10 and we had nothing to do.

Bodacious Wall Mural Outside the Town Hall on Main Street

Maybe it was the Spirit, or maybe it was my stomach, but I felt prompted that we should walk down the street to Braum's to get ice cream. We walked the mile walk to Braum's and got ice cream cones. As we were walking out, a girl caught my eye (not like that). She was a Braum's employee and she was crying. We walked over to her and asked what was wrong, she explained that the person she had been living with for a year had just told her that he never loved her. We comforted her and found out she was an inactive member, in fact she had been the last door we knocked on... it was a spiritually inspired trip for ice cream. We talked to her for a while, and set her up with an appointment with the sister missionaries.

D~ has been doing good. We had a lesson with him and really cracked down on quitting alcohol. We read Alma chapter 34 with him and talked to him about prayer.and how it will help him in the process of giving up alcohol. Afterward we gave him a blessing. Elder Bushman sealed it and I anointed it. The spirit was so strong in the room and I knew D~ could feel it. We told him about the Book of Mormon class that we would be teaching on Thursday, and asked if he would like a ride and he said yes.

Later on Thursday we gave the Book of Mormon class, and connected the Book of Mormon with the Bible. We answered two big questions off the 50 frequently asked questions list. Why should we pray? and How can I know that the Book of Mormon is true? We taught a really solid lesson and addressed a lot of questions and concerns. I think it was really good for D~ to be there for the lesson and he got a lot out of it, he also made some new friends. D~ didn't come to church this week but we think he was visiting his dad so we will meet with him again this week and teach him the Plan of Salvation.

Fred the Toad

Thank you for your letters, they mean alot.

Sincerely, Elder Watkins