Week 43- Snow and Bowl

Styling our new Massena, New York shirts.

Hey y'all! We got a lot of snow this week. We already had about a foot, and we probably got another foot and a half on top of that! Crazy stuff. Then it got too cold to snow. Haha. It's a great leg workout at least! Climbing through snow piles and drifts is no joke. 

Also we just finished with our very first DISTRICT PREPARATION DAY! That is a new change for our mission with the handbook we have been really excited about. We drove to Ogdensburg and went bowling! I'm terrible at bowling but that's okay, it was a lot of fun. This bowling alley hasn't changed since 1967 according to the owner, so no bumpers and we had to score ourselves. It was pretty funny but hey it was bowling! Then we went to a senior couple's house for linner and chatting. It was fun! 

This week we started teaching a couple new people, and we are especially excited about a couple who has had a rough go of it and really needs the gospel in their life. You can almost feel their souls stretching out to you begging for the joy and happiness you have in your life. It's so sad! But we know that they can find the peace and happiness they are searching for in the gospel. The other person we started teaching is quite the character and is quite excited (we think) to learn the "book of normon" haha.

So one snow storm we had it was literally snowing horizontally and blowing snow and was about 0⁰ so it was quite the interesting day but we didn't feel safe driving in the dark so we tried working on the one street near our apartment.  We were quite the spectacle walking around trying to not get blown over or get frostbite. But we did it! We even had a great conversation with a guy shoveling who I guess had met with missionaries when he was young.

So this last week I started studying the old testament pretty in depth, and it has been really special. It has also helped me appreciate the modern revelation that we have. So much of the Old Testament has really confusing things that most of the world has wondered about for centuries, but through Jospeh Smith Translation and modern prophets we can understand the significance and truth of things we couldn't before! It's amazing! I'm so grateful for all the scripture, ancient and modern, that we have been blessed with to lead and guide us.

Love, Sister Potts 

Fun facts:

1. So turns out that Sarah Heller Conrad, who I talked about last week, is my 5th great aunt! That was exciting to learn!

2. The summer that Joseph and Oliver were finishing translation was a record breaking year for heat! It would have been VERY stuffy up on the 2nd floor, take it from someone who's been up there in the summer.

3. The last thing to be translated was the title page of the Book of Mormon, and it was finished most likely late June or early July of 1829.

4. But first, as they were translating they came across scriptures like this one found in  Ether 5:

"2 And behold, ye may be privileged that ye may show the plates unto those who shall assist to bring forth this work;

3 And unto three shall they be shown by the power of God; wherefore they shall know of a surety that these things are true."

5. Shortly before translation was completed the Lord revealed who those three were to be: Martin Harris, Oliver Cowdery, and David Whitmer! More next week.....