Weekly Letter -- 11 APR 2011

Hello Everyone!!!

Happy Birthday, Becky Donakey!!!

First, we'll start off by answering some questions!

How many people do you have who come to church?
We have about 80 people at church, on average. Our ward boundaries includes 5,000 square miles of western Oklahoma, so there are members strewn across the whole lot of it. There aren't a whole lot of active members in our area (probably 3 or 4), so we do a lot of less-active work.

What's the church like there on Sundays?
Church is great! Since it's a small ward, everyone knows each other and is friendly with each other. Just like it should be :)

Is there a local leader or are you the leadership?
There's a bishop and counselors.

What about the Relief Society and the YW/YM and Primary?
The Relief Society probably has a dozen women in it, maybe. There are about 6 Young Women of various ages, and about 3 or 4 Young Men that consistently come to church. There are a good number of Primary kids (20 or so?). And they're just crazy (but that's what kids do, right?)

How often do the other Elders come out and do splits?
Once a week, maybe. Most of the active members live in Clinton or Weatherford (which are 30 minutes and 60 minutes away, respectively), so it's a little more of a challenge to have it happen here. There's a less-active member who will go to teaching appointments with us, though, so we try to have him come out with us without burning him out.

Comments/concerns/questions? Please email us at philip.woolley@myldsmail.net. ;)


So this last week was great!

I've been listening to "The Lamb of God" lately. It's about the final days of Christ's ministry and His Atonement. I'm very grateful for music. Music makes Christ's mission and ministry come alive like no other way.

One of our investigators, Cheyenne, has lived with a less-active member, Jeremy, for the past year or two. She has been investigating for about a year and a half, has a deep testimony of the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith, etc, and has been so close to getting baptized for a long while now. There have two things that have been holding her back: smoking, and living with a person she isn't married to. A few days ago, one of those obstacles was overcome.

Elder Garner and I were in the apartment eating lunch on Saturday when we got a 3-page-long text message from Cheyenne. It read:

"I'm sorry I haven't called. Things are really rough for me right now. I have left Jeremy and am staying wherever I can. I cannot stay with him if I want to be closer to God and do the right thing. Right now he is not doing the right thing and doesn't want to let God in his heart. I am going to try to come to church in the morning."

Needless to say, our minds were blown away completely! She stayed with a friend Saturday night and plans on staying with her grandpa in Elk City for a while. She came to church, met some members (the Johnsons (the Relief Society President's family), who invited us and Cheyenne over for lunch), and is now doing everything she can to quit smoking!!!!

The Spirit WORKS!!! I was wondering for a while if anything was really happening with her!!! She said the straw that broke the camel's back was when we visited her and Jeremy a few days ago. We taught them the Doctrine of Christ and Cheyenne was really into it. Jeremy, however, wasn't paying much attention at all.

Yesterday during lunch, Cheyenne apologized for Jeremy's actions. Brother Johnson asked her if she was a member of the church. She responded, "Not yet, but soon." YES!!! So happy!!!

So things are happening here, slowly but surely. Thanks for the letters and prayers and love! I love all of you! :)

Love,
Elder Woolley :)