Great week!

We had a wonderful week!

Here are some miracles and funny stories:

On Monday we ate dinner with Brother Jackson and his wife, who is not a member. It was wonderful. Apparently she usually hides when people try to share a scripture or anything, but we connected with her about foods we like and dogs and photography and things, and then she stayed for the scripture! It was great. Baby steps.

WE SET SHELBY FOR BAPTISM!!! March 29. On Wednesday we taught her the Word of Wisdom and it went great. So excited!

I talked to Angel, my favorite less-active member from Newport News, for the first time in three and a half months. He is doing well. He quit drinking for A MONTH AND A HALF, but then started again after a bad conversation with his kids a couple weeks ago. So that was both wonderful and really sad news. What made me feel really good, though, was he said, "You started all of this. The other missionaries built off of what you did, but you're the one that gave me the courage to try." It's nice to hear that you're making a real difference every once in a while.

During a lesson with Sister Eason about scripture study we got talking about Revelations and the seven-headed beast somehow. I always use my Spanish scriptures and just translate out of them for English work, so I was looking at it and confused the work cuerno (horn) with cuello (neck) and said, "It had seven heads and ten necks." Hermana Brugman immediately was like, "What??" and then died laughing as she imagined three headless necks swaying around. Oops. Spirit = gone.

We went to the church to make a countdown calendar for Shelby - what we still need to talk about before her baptism and what days it will happen - and while we were there watched the new Mormon Message about bullying. At one point both Hermana Brugman and I were crying because it was so sad, and then we heard someone come into the church building. We both stood up and hid in the corner like panicked little chickens trying to wipe away the tears in case whoever it was wanted to come into the Family History Center. Well, it was the biking elders, and they came waltzing right in: "Heyyy!... woah," as we're standing there still trying to wipe away the tears and also cracking up because it's so ridiculous. Great timing, elders!

I have taken zero pictures lately, sorry! I will be better this week, I promise!

I LOVE YOU!!!

Hermana Bennett