WHAT A GREAT WEEK

We had a FANTASTIC week this week! We did great in finding, on of our investigators was baptized and we have a couple more coming really close! This area was once termed a dead area, but its sure looking rather good to me right now.

It was also a really busy week. We had exchanges at the beginning of the week with the missionaries in Oakland, Maryland. I was with Elder Stoven, whose been out for just over one transfer, but he's a great missionary. He was the goalie for the BYU soccer team as well! That exchange was tons of fun! Such a great guy!

We drove up to Morgantown for a nice meeting with President Thornock and we had district meeting then as well. A couple days later we had our exchange with the Zone Leaders and that went super well! I was with Elder Sellers, who is from Hillsboro, OR. He goes home here shortly and is really starting to miss Oregon. Oooh man.


The Zone Leaders were also able to stick around for a ward dinner before the exchange and then when it ended they were able to stay for the baptism. It was really great. One of them, Elder Hilton, was in Ashland ward with me for the last two transfers, and he's been there for both of my baptisms so far. I totally love that guy!

Well, thats my week in a nut shell. We have to cut email time short today cause we're goign to Morgantown to give one of our less actives a blessing. He almost died from a severe seizure and isnt doing too well. :/

Have a great day and a great week! :D

Rain snow and Jehovah's Witness'

This week is another full of surprises.

The ward is really starting to help us out a bit. We actually had a member come out with us to show us a bunch of less-active members homes cause out here, no one has an address, especially up in the hills. He came out with us all day and it was great! We visited an entire family of over 3 generations that used to be strong members and then they all just fell away after the grand-parents, Ma n' Pa Cress, passed away about a year or so ago.

The weather is still crazy. It was 60 degrees one day, rainy the next, snowy after that, then sunny and 40's since. Its supposed to be in the 50s today and rain over the next couple days. The best part is that tomorrow is a mission-wide thing called walk and talk Tuesday, where we walk and talk all day Tuesday. Go figure, huh? It's supposed to rain all day tomorrow. We'll be blessed for it though :D

We were visiting a Less Active this week when he started talking to us about Japan, and of course we don't watch tv, read the newspaper or listen to the radio so we had no idea what was going on. We soon found out that there was the earthquake and tsunami, and a nuclear reactor blew up. We were all worried cause most of us over here have a friend or two in Japan on their missions, but we have learned that they're all OK, phew! We also heard that there was some tsunami activity on the West Coast, but nothing much, just some broken boats and maybe a few people that were a little close that were swept out to sea? I cant remember. But I hope everyone's alright, and we're praying and fasting for those in Japan.

The area definitely is small. Everyone knows everyone. Also, we've had some interesting experiences that every missionary experiences. We asked a guy if we could help him out with his porch and he started telling us about this scripture in the bible that was about Paul telling the Galatians that if anyone came to them with another gospel other than what he was teaching then they would be cursed. He went on to tell us that we were cursed and blah blah blah. The funny thing is that he didn't know that it was Galatians chapter 1, and that his pastor told him about it. We told him that we believed that we were sharing that same gospel and were on our way. A member tried to warn us a couple days later about him and we were just like, well...

Also we knocked on a door and a little old lady came out and said that we she was a Jehovahs Witness. They like to bash and stuff, so we tried to say have a nice day, but she was just like "....come one in, boys!" with quite the smirk on her face. Ultimately, she tried to bash us with her simplified bible and told us we shouldn't change the bible(which we haven't) and that the Book of Mormon contradicts the Bible(which is doesn't) and that our look on pre-mortal life isn't in the bible(which it is). She got really offended when we told her that the Bible was compiled by a committee and Modern Christianity was started by a Pagan Emperor. We were able to get out after telling her we had an appointment. We tried to be nice, but man, it was hard! AHHH

But, Jehovah's Witness' are children of God as well, and we must love them for it! :D

Well, bot much else going on. Talk to y'all next week! :D

Let it snow!

Well, the weather up here continues to be crazy. Three days ago it was 60 out, the next day it poured rain, yesterday it snowed all day and we got 6 inches, and then today its sunny again. Blech.

On the bright side though(no pun intended) this area is starting to really pick up! If theres anything that I've learned out here its truely the power of prayer. We've fasted quite a bit as well, but we've spent a lot of time on our knees. We're doing a lot of knocking, and trying to do some less active work when we can. Unfortunately we dont have unlimited miles and gas money, which we learned the hard way at the end of last month. We're both loving it out here!

The coolest thing is that we had buckwheat pancakes for breakfast this morning. It was made with fresh buckwheat too. Sooo good. Tons of fiber, but good. Especially with Apple Butter! YUM. Here in West Virginia you're allowed to take home a deer if you hit it and kill it, and I've had a couple members tell me if I ever hit one and kill it, then to just bring it by and they're help us out. I've hit two so far on my mission, and haven't killed them, but I figure that I'm due for another one soon and the third times a charm. It'll help us out on food for a while as well. I haven't even had deer yet! I'm not gonna hit the wrong pedal though, that wouldn't be right.

well, Im sending a picture of a holler that we were driving down yesterday while it was snowing. It was so beautiful.

Well, I hope everyone's doing well and I love y'all!

~Elder Shain C Wiederholt

202 E High St #3

Kingwood WV 26537