Put your shoulder to the wheel...

Dear most excellent family,

Hello from The Ohio-- it has been another rainy, happy, wonderful, miracle filled week here in Clearfork. I just love being a missionary, and I am so grateful for this time I have to be an instrument in the Lord's hands. He is so good to allow me to have these amazing faith-promoting experiences. I know that I am laying the groundwork for the rest of my life-- this is the turning point for me, and I am grateful for His love, mercy, faith, and trust in me!

Supposedly, the allergies this year in this area are the worst they've been in years (it seems like they say that every year, in every area though), and people are having a really hard time with them-- I am no exception. What started out as allergies in the beginning of last week turned into a full blown cold towards the end of the week. It's been a bit of a struggle, and the cold rainy weather isn't helping matters much-- Saturday evening, we were supposed to go to the adult session of stake conference with the Saunders, a recently baptized family in our area. Well, tornadoes were threatening, and Marla didn't feel comfortable leaving her kiddos with a babysitter under such conditions. When she called to cancel with us, we were a little bummed out. We figured maybe it was the Lord's way of making me rest my body, so we went home around 7:00. When we got home, I felt this overwhelming impression that we needed to go see the Amicks, a part member family in our ward who lives here in Galion. When we knocked on their door, no one was home. Puzzled, we walked back to the car, and just as I was about to sit down, I just knew that we needed to knock on doors on that street. Well, everyone we talked to was, shall we say, less than receptive-- everyone until we got to the last house on the street. There, we met Pam Lorris and her 4-year-old son Garrett. We had a wonderful conversation with her which lead into a lesson about how Christ's one true church has been restored to the earth after centuries of it being distorted. She talked about how she believes in God and Christ, but doesn't go to church because they all disagree with and contradict each other. It was an amazing lesson, mostly because I knew the words coming out of my mouth weren't my own. I knew that the Lord lead us directly to her because he knows and loves her and her family. We have another appointment with them tomorrow afternoon! How great it is to recognize and be able to see the specific ways that the Lord is using you as a tool in His hands!

Yesterday, another missionary miracle happened-- when we got to church, we were introduced to a 21-year-old man who had come to church for several weeks when he was 16, then his family, who thought it was the end of the world, put a stop to it. Rob baker came back to church yesterday, and we were able to teach him after church. We had a wonderful lesson-- he isn't going to be your 'average investigator'... he probably knows more about Mormon doctrine than many members of the church. He is a philosophy major, and so he likes to philosophize -- and he stated yesterday in our lesson, that if there is ANY truth, there has to be ONE truth that is right for ALL. He has studied all different faiths and has determined that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has something that no one else has, and he wants to find out what that something is. At the end of the lesson, we felt impressed to give him a copy of the Family Proclamation, and set up an appointment for Wednesday. About two hours after we parted ways, he called us, said that he read the Proclamation, and told us that he wants the things for his family that are outlined in the Family Proclamation, and he didn't want to wait until this Wednesday to meet with us. We'll be having another lesson with him today at 4:00. The Lord has definitely prepared him to receive the word with joy (Alma 16:16-17). This is His work!

I love you all. I know this gospel is true. The Book of Mormon teaches us how to return to live with our Father in Heaven. Families can be together forever-- Have a wonderful week!

Love,
Sister Chelsea-a-Lynn LeSueur