Another week come and gone and now another month come and gone. This week was a harder week than I have had in a while but the hard times weren't as bad because I have an awesome companion and being with her makes things a little bit better.
Long story short either we dropped our investigators or they dropped us so by Wednesday we had NO ONE left. It was the strangest thing. Everyone that we had been working with just vanished so to speak. If you remember our amazing investigator who prayed to know if the church was true before we even met her officially moved to the South Island to live with her mom. It was really sad but it was what needed to happen. Her mom supports her decision to be baptized whereas her grandparents who she was living with are anti towards there church so there would have been a lot of opposition if she had stayed here. At first I wanted to tell her that she needed to come back and get baptized up here and then I humbled myself and admitted that that was terribly selfish to think like that and I had the sweet assurance from the spirit letting me know that it was better for her to be down there. I am so sad that I won't get to see her baptism because I really love her but I know that we will remain life long friends. We get to keep in contact with her through the phone at the VC and when we called the other night she said that she is planning a trip next year to America to see some other friends that she has and she said she will definitely come to New Mexico to visit. I told her not to waste her time that there wasn't anything in New Mexico but she insisted that she is coming. I am really happy for her and right now she is set to be baptized on the 18th of October. She said she will email me photos and I will forever count her as my baptism even though I won't actually get to see her being baptized.
I also found out this week that the first convert of my mission, Pauline, is still really active and she is preparing to go to the temple! It has been a year since she was baptized and she is taking temple prep and is doing really well. She had a family thing to go to one Sunday afternoon and her ward meets at 1 in our building so she came to our 9 o'clock meeting instead. I stood up after sacrament and there she was sitting in the back of the chapel. I almost plowed people over to get to her. We couldn't talk for very long but she still recognized me and she said that she is still doing really well and she is very very happy! This was the sweetest moment to know that someone that I found and taught is now preparing to make sacred covenants in the temple. Her husband passed away about 15 years ago and so now she has the opportunity to be sealed to him. Isn't that the sweetest thing ever? I am still so excited for it. She may or may not go while I am still here but if she does I would get to go with her. I guess we'll see what happens.
I had a fight with agency again this week. Sometimes agency frustrates me so much! I really thought I would be over it by now but I am not because it just hurts when you are teaching people and they can feel the spirit and they know it is true and they still don't accept it. We have been working with this lovely lady for about a month now and we were helping her quit smoking and she was doing really well. We have been teaching her a bit by bit but she wasn't progressing at all. We decided to take one of the senior couples from the VC over to visit her with us. They helped us teach the restoration and it was so powerful and I know she felt the spirit. The senior sister handed her a Book of Mormon to read Moroni's promise and she read the first verse and then all the sudden she closed the book, looked up and said "I don't want to do this whole mormon thing anymore." I was gutted! I know we at least planted a seed however and I hope that she continues to ponder on the things that we shared with her and that one day she will come to accept it. It is so hard because I know how sweet and precious the gospel is and it never gets easier to see someone throw it away. I just know that Heavenly Father loves all of His children and I have faith that she will come around one day.
Well that is all this week! I love and miss all of you! Happy Birthday Dad and Steve! Have a great week!!!!
Love,
Sister Simkins
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