Cassidy's Letter July 7, 2014

Hello..... Guess who hits 10 months this week.... THIS GIRL. Yeah can we believe that I have been a missionary for 10 months? No. Not possible.

Time is going SO FAST. And this week we were serving at the visitor center for about a billion days and we had like 5 meetings the other days so I really feel like not too much happened so this might be a shorter letter.... which I am sure you will love haha. But with the time we did have there were some pretty awesome things that happened!

I will skip straight to the best part. MICHAEL. So yeah he is basically just so solid and awesome. We met with him on the Forth of July... and he shot off fireworks when we arrived.. definitely the only time on my mission that I have received such an extravagant welcome. Then we had an awesome lesson. He had read even more of the Book of Mormon and he loves it. He told us that once he reads and knows it is true he will get baptized! He told us that the last time he met with missionaries.. he really wasn't at a place where he was ready to change his life and accept the Gospel. But he said now he is. He said that his marriage is now strong enough that he knows he can do this for himself and it won't hurt his marriage. He basically said that he knows this is what he needs to do, and he is ready to do it. SO COOL. It is really awesome because he recognizes how this is helping him change his life.. and he is listening to that voice that told him to keep meeting with us! It has really strengthened my testimony in the Lord's timing. That there are people who aren't ready now.. but someday will be. And I am grateful that Michael is ready now and that we get to help him! So we had an awesome lesson on Friday... and then yesterday he texted us and told us that he read like over 50 more pages of the Book of Mormon and that he loved what it taught about baptism and repentance. It is crazy how fast he is progressing. He is just awesome.

Also Gerald is progressing like a champion too. Yesterday he came to all 3 hours of church, stayed for a baptism, and then came to a fireside that was an hour away. Yeah... that is a LOT of church in one day for someone who hasn't even been to church in 20 years... but he loved it! He told us that while he was at the baptism he felt a strong sense of peace. We got to teach him that it was the spirit and it was awesome. He is really just a genuinely nice guy who needs a lot of help in life... but he is willing to get the help. It was super funny he had read somewhere that we don't eat meat...  and he said "That is going to be a problem because I have to start my day with pig." hahah it was so funny. And I got to break the good news that we did eat meat and he was a happy camper. His biggest obstacle is definitely going to be smoking though. He had to leave church like 5 times to go smoke... which is the saddest thing ever. It really breaks my heart that people are so addicted to something that they can't even enjoy church without having to feed their addiction. DON'T EVER SMOKE PEOPLE. Gerald has smoked enough for us all. Let's just all pray that he can quit! I know he can it will just be a matter of if he wants it bad enough or not. I am praying he does! 

Also, during the Sacrament yesterday he said "Wow there are a lot of guys here who are older than me who have a lot more hair than I do..." SO loud the whole building heard him. Good times.

We had a really good lesson with Bridgette and Carol again this week! And get pumped because I actually remembered to get a picture this time. Bridgette said some classic comments like "We are going to watch the fireworks at dawn. Oh no not dawn... dust." hahah dust? So funny. And she started calling us her "foxy girls" no clue what that one means. And then during the closing prayer (they like to stand in a circle and hold hands) Bridgette like locked fingers and was holding my hand so tight I almost lost my fingers. But they actually both really enjoyed the Restoration. After I read Joesph Smith's fist vision.. Carol said "Wow, I just got goosebumps. That was beautiful." and I was like.. yeah and it is true so it is even better. When she said the closing prayer she said the sweetest thing about how what we are teaching her is really helping her and how she is so grateful that God sent us into her life. It was the best.

My best friend Gene is doing good! We did service with him one night this week and literally I carried like 18 trees from his backyard. And then he showed us the funniest video in the world. So Gene has all of these CRAZY stories... like they almost seem too funny to be real. So last week he told us this story about how this crow would come and fly in and land on his shoulder at work.. and so he named it Pete and they became good friends. And it was hilarious.. but also I didn't fully buy it... so he showed us a SELIFE video he took (keep in mind his is like in his 60s so he is this older guy) and he has this massive crow on his shoulder... and he is petting it and saying "This is my baby. We are having a really good time together" and it is a selfie video and I was laughing so hard. I am trying to figure out how I can get a copy of it because I am positive it would be a youtube sensation. And as far as the Gospel goes... we are making serious progress. We actually "knocked out" as he said, one of his major concerns. That has never happened. And he will say prayers with us now an d he never would before! And he is believing in God and praying to him and thanking Him for letting us come teach him... it is so cool. I feel like half the reason I am here in Ashtabula is for Gene. He will accept the Gospel just you wait.

Nothing too crazy happened at testimony meeting yesterday... I think the weirdest thing I heard was the phrase "Coffeoholic". We saw one crazy lady yesterday who gave us some great advice... she said "Don't get married... but if you do buy a bat... and hang it over your front door... and tell your husband that if he does anything you will beat him with it." and I was like... uh.... no. But thank you for the wonderful advice? Now I know why she is no longer married... haha. But really she was crazy. The other old lady we saw said (sidenote apparently recently someone broke into her house and stole stuff) "I am buying a gun. And if anyone comes into this house... I will shoot. And when I shoot.. I will shoot to kill." Splendid. I am starting to think that I am hanging out with crazy murderers. I should probably be concerned. 

We had a miracle this week. And yes it had to do with steak. So it was the forth of July... and we had nowhere to go for dinner and we were pretty depressed about it (okay not really but it was just slightly disappointing) anyways.. it was the afternoon and we went to visit this old lady at the nursing home.. and all this weird stuff happened so we were there longer than normal... and while we were walking out we ran into this lady from our ward.. and she invited us to dinner. And then at dinner we had the best grilled steaks ( I haven't had steak in literally like 5 months people so I was excited.... ) and homemade pie and I was in heaven. So there you have it Heavenly Father wants us to be happy and eat good food.  Oh And I didn't see a single firework... apparently I am too far in the middle of nowhere or something? Oh well better luck next year. haha.

Kirtland was busy and good! We took lots of really great tours. We have been getting a lot of families from all over the place which is fun. I had one kid who literally kept bringing up Pokemon... and he was like 16... it was concerning. And there was this one couple who was trying to take US on tour... like we would try to say something and they wouldn't let us talk. It was super weird. But most of our tours were good! It is tough work though. And It is hard always living out of a suitcase. I realized the other day that I haven't slept in the same bed for more than 4 nights in over TEN MONTHS. That is a lot of packing and moving and sleeping in random places. And we have to pack like our whole lives and fridges every time we come. It is exhausting. My mission is just weird sometimes. But it is worth it.

That is basically the story of a mission. It is worth it. It is hands down the best thing I have ever done. I am having a blast and seeing lots of miracles! It is becoming more and more evident to me that God really knows and has a super perfect plan for everyone. It is so fun to see how things work out and come together.. and how the people who have faith in God and his plan are always happier. Period. I see it every day with my investigators and with the members I work with. And nothing in the world could convince me that this Gospel isn't true and that it doesn't change lives, because I see it do that every single day.

I love you. Have a fun week :) Thanks for the letters you guys are the best.

Love Cassidy