Fertilizing the Soil!

Hello everyone!

Weather has been a little on the cool side.  We woke up Saturday morning with frost on the car windows.  So Fall is coming.  Winter in Plattsburgh is described as "being too cold to snow."  We are not affected hugely (is that a word?) by the lake effect off the the great lakes, unlike the northwest side of the mission.  It has been a week of appointments falling through, and lots of self-evaluations.

Labor day, we had a branch pot-luck with talents.  Elder Rammell and I did a skit on the spur-of-the-moment.  It was the kind where you have an overcoat, one shares a joke or story, while the other one is behind the person and be the arms and the hands.  It was fun. 

The only investigator we were able to visit with was Shannon this week.  We watched the Restoration DVD with her.  She still has not come to church!  But, we hope to keep working with her.  A week or two after we started meeting with her, she expressed how she prayed, and felt a warmth that she could not quite describe.  She is so busy with 2 kids, being a single parent, and going back to college full-time.  She can make stuff happen, for sure!  I just hope the spirit will keep working with her, and she will be able to come to church.

Carin was talking in Sunday school class about how she received 'an answer to her prayers' about something that has been stressing her out.  She seemed to be refreshed.  We are excited for her.

Besides that, we have been working A LOT with the members and less-actives.  At the beginning of the transfer we would be reporting visiting about 2 recent converts or less-actives, but yesterday we just reported seeing 6.  This is also not including the active members we are visiting to follow-up with the Preach My Gospel class to set goals in inviting their friends.

We are keeping track of who the members are working with (we call them ghost referals).  So we hope things work out!  The idea is to have them choose who and how to do it.  Some will be going into their homes, others will be invited to church!  If everyone accepts an invitation to come to church, we would have about 4 people that are member's friends!  It has been fun to see how the members react when they relize we don't want their 'referrals' (at least not yet).  We want them to get their friends, family, and acquantances involved; help them feel the spirit in their home or at a church (or church function). 

We have been finding joy in the change we have seen in one of the less-actives we have started on seeing in the last few months.  She is in her late 20's, married, with 1 daughter, and a son on the way.  She is the only member, but her husband said he is curious to have some questions answered, and learn a little about the church.  It is amazing to see the change in her countenance after she has started to read the scriptures again, taught her daughter how to pray, and talking a little about it with her husband.  She generally has a few questions when we go over, then teach her a lesson.  She comes to church when she can.  It is hard as a nurse sometimes.

We have also been having a good time with Diane and Eve (most recent-converts).  They are so excited about church.  Diane should be getting a calling soon.  We also got them started with Family History, and hope to get them to the temple soon.  They went to the Family History center (where we do our email by the way) and had a good time.  Diane's non-member mother and son came as well!

President Bulloch called us yesterday to set up times for our interviews.  He will be coming up this Sunday after Sacrament meeting in Saratoga Springs.  We sent him the Preach My Gospel class stuff last week.  He says he likes it.  He also commented on how he has been hearing good reports from the members here about missionary work.  That is always a good thing to hear!  Sometimes to go through your day and you feel like you made so little of a difference.  But, looking back, I don't think there has been a Sunday that has gone by where missionary work has not been discussed.  Branch Leaders are talking about it more.  If anything we are fertilizing the ground here in Plattsburgh (and it really did need it).

We caught the last 10 minutes of the CES fireside last night.  A good talk it seemed.  It was fun to see Uncle Bob Todd up on the stand and to think Katie was there in the crowd.  I hope you all have a wonderful week!  Enjoy my peaches!  I just had to buy some at Walmart; 3 for about $2.50!  gross!

Love,
Elder Shurtz