Gladys Knight Fireside

March 17, 2013

Dear Family,

Wow it sounds like you had a great week! And it sounds like St. George was a lot of fun! Kyle, great job in your games! You are amazing!

Ryan, you are a fantastic baseball player! And I believe with my whole heart that God has a plan for you. I am sure that wonderful opportunities will open up for you.

I can't believe Whitney is coming to Jacksonville, Florida!! Maybe if I pray hard enough I will get to be her companion!!! :)

This week we had the privilege of having Gladys Knight and her SUV choir come. They had a couple firesides where they shared their testimonies and sang gospel music. I had a couple favorites. The first was "I am a child of God." Gladys Knight introduced herself with that song, which I thought was really sweet. I also liked a song that said "You look better when you smile." :) And there was one that said "Don't wait until tomorrow, because tomorrow isn't promised. And tomorrow very well may be too late." There were other songs as well, but she sang "I Stand All Amazed" at the end, and it was beautiful! I think that it was the perfect end to the night. The spirit was so strong. I loved the music, but I think my very favorite part was when Gladys Knight and her husband shared their testimonies. They were so powerful. 

I set up my facebook account! I don't know if President Barry sent you a letter yet... but I don't think we are really supposed to communicate on facebook. But at least you get to see what I'm up to a little bit during the week. :)

I love you all so much! I hope you have a terrific week!

Love,
  Sister Scott

Spencer!
Thank you so much! I truly appreciate that! I can't wait for you! You are going to be an excellent missionary! Ha ha there are some young men in my ward here in Julington Creek who have been getting their calls and leaving and it just makes me think of you. And of course I have basically been telling everyone that I meet where you are going! Get your visa as fast as you can! A young man in my ward was supposed to go straight to Brazil and be trained in the MTC there, but his visa didn't come through and now he has to go to the Provo MTC until he gets it. Not to scare you or anything. Just don't procrastinate. :)

How has mission prep been going?

I am so so so so so So So SOOOOO excited that Whitney... Sister Lusher is coming to Florida!!!! AH! I can't wait! 

I love you! Have a great week!

Love,
   Sister Scott

Upcoming Baptisms

March 10, 2013

Dear Family,

Many wonderful miracles happened this week! Sister C. contacted her first referral this week! I didn't say anything! She did it all by herself! We got into the car afterward and I was so happy I was beaming. :) I think this experience was really good for both of us. She now has more confidence in herself. She knows that she can do it. And now I have trust in her and I know she can do it too, which means that I need to talk less at the door and let her talk. 

I don't know how much I have told you about the 14 year old girl we are teaching... She was a referral from a less active member in our ward and we have been teaching her for a couple weeks now. We invited her be baptized on March 24. She was kind of nervous that it was so soon, but we told her that we would be there every step of the way to help her prepare. She has been reading the Book of Mormon and coming to church! We finally met her mom yesterday, which was probably one of the highlights of my week! We needed permission for this girl to be baptized, and really we wanted to make sure that it was okay that we were teaching her. I had been so nervous to meet her because she kept putting off our meeting. For some reason that just made me think that she didn't want to see us. We prayed so hard for her heart to be softened and for her to support her daughter getting baptized. Prayers work! She is probably one of the nicest people I have met in Julington Creek so far. Her daughter is continuing to prepare for March 24 to be baptized! So excited!! And we hope to teach the whole family in the near future. :)

This week we also found out that a less active family that we have been working with has an 18 year old who hasn't been baptized yet! So on Tuesday we invited him to be baptized on March 31. He also felt like that was really soon, and that he wouldn't know everything by then. We told him that was okay. WE don't know everything. But we told him to pray about it and let us know how he felt when we came over on Friday. When we got there he said that he felt like he would like to be baptized after he got his GED in June. My heart kind of sank a little bit. June is forever away! Then his mom, who hasn't come to church in many years, told him that maybe getting baptized and receiving the Holy Ghost would help him get his GED. I just wanted to give her a big hug! So he is still going to prepare to be baptized on Easter. We talked to the bishop about meeting with his dad, so that maybe he can do what he needs to do baptize his son. 

Also, the girl that we are teaching and her friend who is a member invited one of their friends to listen to us. We taught them on Saturday, and invited the friend to say the prayer at the end of the lesson. After the prayer, the girl we have been teaching looked at her friend and asked her how she felt. The friend said that she felt fine. Then she asked, "How do you really feel?" It made me so happy how excited she was to share this with her friend. To help her friend understand what she was asking we asked, "How is your soul?" The friend said that she felt like she had been lifted up. We explained to her that she was feeling the Spirit, and that the Spirit witnesses of truth. We need to talk to her parents, but hopefully she will be getting baptized soon as well. :)

Another miracle that happened this week! --We finally met a boy in our ward that the elders found before they were transferred. He moved here a while ago, but he thought that the closest church was in Orlando so he didn't go. Good news! The closest one is about 7 minutes from his house! :)

Well he plays basketball on Wednesdays with the young men, but I have never seen him at church and we could never catch him at his house. Last week we were in his area, so we decided to just stop by. Him and his mom were just walking out the door to go to dinner. Miracle! I now had a face to go with a name that I had heard so many times! We talked to the for a little bit and then set an appointment to visit them the next week. So last week we met with him and we committed him to read the Book of Mormon and come to church on Sunday. Sacrament meeting started and there was no sign of him. But then during Sunday School the Young Men's President came and got us, because he was there! With his mom, who is not a member! Plus they are both going see the Gladys Knight fireside this weekend!

Sunday was basically the best day ever!! 

Being a missionary is just so exciting! And I have been telling everyone that Spencer is going on a mission. :) how is preparation going? 

And the mission rules changed... so now I can e-mail family and friends! 

I hope you are all doing well! I love you soooooooo much!!

Love,
 Sister Scott

Congratulations, Little Brother!

March 4, 2013

Spencer!!! CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!! You got your mission call!!! Aaaahhh!! I just can't even believe it! I am so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so excited for you!! Coming on a mission has definitely been the best thing I could have ever done. My testimony and my relationship with our Heavenly Father and our Savior have strengthened so much. I have come to know how important it is to be obedient so that we can have the precious gift of the Holy Ghost to guide us. Yesterday in church we talked about how in a war the first thing you want to do is to block all communication for the enemy. Satan knows that he is in a war. And he wants to block that delicate communication that we have with our Heavenly Father. I would encourage you all to do all you can to keep the Spirit with you "at all times, in all things and in all places."
I will send another letter by mail.

I love you all so much!!! You are always in my prayers!

Love,
   Sister Scott