Dear Mom, Dad, Family and Friends,

Thanks for the package!!! I got it Saturday! Elder Birch and I have been going through all the CD’S… lol We have been starving for something new to listen to!

Wow that sounds like a great time at the Albuquerque Temple...  =) I wished I had gone a ton more times before  I left…when I get back I want to go to Utah and go through the Salt Lake Temple and then do some Temple hopping !!!... hahaha 

We went to the Columbus Ohio temple last Tuesday; it was an awesome experience.... I received an answer there that has helped a lot! 

I can honestly say anything that I have prayed for with real intent and asked focusing on following whatever the answer was, yes or no, my prayers have been answered!  

Like Dad said, focusing on a couple, I think really is a secret as long as it's not overly to much or just something to pass the time.... I have noticed that a lot of Missionaries are finding new investigators like crazy but aren't getting any closer to baptism.... where Elder Birch and I have built strong connections with our progressing investigators. 

  

Elder Birch with some investigators!

Our area is starting to pick back up and things seem to be moving again… =) Our main investigator, the part member family, she has been progressing. 

 This past week was a week of miracles!

We have been teaching the wife, of our part member family ….  (I’ll just call her Becky and his name I will say Bobby).  

This is the story before I got there...

Bobby was a less active of 15 years... nobody knew he was living in our Branch area. Bobby was working for a member, a recent convert of only a year. Elder Birch and his companion were talking to the member, Travis, about The Book of Mormon and Travis then turned to Bobby and said something like “these Elders are Missionaries from my church and they are talking about a book we use…The Book of Mormon". Bobby’s reply was “yeah, I know, I'm a member too". Then pulls out a cigarette and walks off.

Well Elder Birch and Elder Evans went over to Bobby’s house and introduced themselves. Bobby’s wife is southern Baptist and she and Travis are having marriage problems.  When Bobby was talking to the Elders and about Jesus Christ and the gospel, it apparently amazed Becky because she had never…for the 7 years they were married…heard her husband talk about church or God or anything like that before. It was a whole new side to him that she had never seen.

When the Elders left they talked for a good long time about the gospel and what they both believed and they did it without fighting and really having a good time together...which they haven't had for a long time. Because of that Becky wanted to meet with Elder Birch and Evans again to hear more about what her husband believed. It somehow brought out a man that she had never known and someone that she really liked!

 Now this where I come in…

Elder Birch and his companion set up an appointment with Becky for  the next week.  That week transfers happened and I was moved here to Lawrenceburg Indiana.  We  have taught her the 1st lesson.... Becky has been a great joy to get to know as well as Bobby and their children!

Becky had a hard time with the Plan of Salvation because it seemed to have changed her idea of heaven... mainly because her sister died at the age of 3 and her Grandma passed away a year ago. She had a hard time believing that her Grandma wasn't already in Heaven and that she was in this place called The Spirit World. As we have been meeting with her she has been slowly accepting the lessons.

Three weeks ago she came to church for the second time.  The first time with her husband Bobby, during that Sunday as she was listening to one of the talks by the Relief Society President, she had a spiritual experience!

Becky has had a problem with excepting the Book of Mormon, but when she saw another mom, a "Normal lady" share her testimony of the Book of Mormon, and how it has been helping her raise her children…it hit Becky… as well as a scripture the Relief Society President shared.

Alma 32:27

"But behold, if ye will awake and arouse your faculties, even to an experiment upon my words, and exercise a particle of faith, yea, even if ye can no more than ^adesire to believe, let this desire work in you, even until ye believe in a manner that ye can give place for a portion of my words."

This scripture helped her see that she can accept The Book of Mormon and that it can help teach her. Since then she has been reading on her own as well as scriptures we send to her!

Bobby and Becky have been going up and down in their relationship but whenever they apply the gospel and what we ask them to do they grow a lot closer together!

The week after the breakthrough with Becky it seemed like Satan was really working on their family. It seemed like they were going to be crushed by his “fiery darts”... Everything came tumbling down… work... rent... fighting with each other.... but we kept encouraging them.

Finally last Saturday they were told by their land lord they were going to be evicted... if they didn't come up with enough money.  Becky was having the hardest time and the stress on their marriage was heavy too. We suggested to them that they should meet with our Branch President and seeing if he could help them out.  They declined several times but finally decided after asking all their family and friends for help that they couldn't do anything more.

So we set up an appointment for them right after Sacrament Meeting. Becky was also scared that her kids would be bored at church and that it was to “old style” for them.... so she had never brought them to church. Because our Branch President needed to meet with both of them and they couldn't find a babysitter for the little girl, (the boy was with his Dad) so they had to bring her to church with them.

It was Fast and Testimony meeting when a miracle happened for Becky and Bobby.

Becky heard a testimony from a lady in the Branch who had lost her twin sister, and she shared how the gospel had helped her overcome that pain, as well as one of their best friends Travis, the man who was Bobby’s boss, went up and shared his testimony.  The real first time that Travis had ever borne his testimony.... the Spirit was so powerful.... that Becky was touched deeply by the Spirit!

After sacrament meeting one of the Primary Leaders came and started talking to Becky’s daughter and made quick friends with her and the daughter agreed to go to Primary while Becky and Bobby met with the Branch President. After their meeting Becky shared with us what happened... Apparently Bobby was feeling the Spirit strongly and when they sat down to talk to the president he shared his testimony for the first time with his wife!... =)

Now Becky wants to know what her baptismal questions are!... =)

Becky still isn't quite ready to accept a date but we challenged the family to work towards getting Bobby ready to baptize her! I am getting so excited for this family who I have been growing so close to… =) I pray that she and their family can overcome the adversary and continue to the path of an eternal family!

Oh… and the daughter loved primary!!! So now there aren’t any objections if her kids will like it or not… =)

The Lord does so many little and big things for reasons we probably will never know… but all for us!

Oh… and now we can bring members to lessons!!! She wouldn't let us until last week… =) so now we can get things moving!

I love all of you!

Elder Henke