Amazing Grace!

Dear Family,

I am waiting on the edge of my seat for baby news! I vote that as soon as pictures can be taken and printed, they should be sent! Because that will hopefully get here faster than me waiting until next Monday to meet baby boy Trent and all the exciting weights and measurements and name and cuteness. I hope all goes well.

Of course we saw Jim again this week. That man. It is a pleasure to be in his company. We gave him "The Blueprint of Christ's Church" last week and so we talked about it this week. There are a few points that he didn't entirely agree with, yet. And a lot of key ones that he was okay with believing. We got onto the subject of infant baptism. We got talking and he had similar beliefs about children being clean and whatnot, so we asked his thoughts on original sin. Oh boy! He got all excited, went to the other room and came out with a paper. It was a sermon he gave at his granddaughter's baptism. His daughter asked him to give the sermon, he asked her if she was sure. He got up there and gave this wonderful sermon that destroyed the concept of original sin. It really was a good sermon. I am hoping to leave his house next time with a copy. He was reading it out loud to us and saying things like, "Wow! This is really good! I can't believe I wrote this!", "I sound like a Mormon! This is really scary!" It was hilarious. He is coming along. He is going to watch general conference this week. He is looking forward to hearing from his friend Dieter.

We also went to one of our investigators house and she showed us the most amazing quilt I have seen in my life! I took a picture of it for you mom :)

Lexi and Stacy made it to both volleyball and mutual this week. We went with Lexi to mutual and it happened to be a barbecue. We stayed to true to the missionary motto, they come, they eat, they leave. Our bishop saw us when we showed up and said, "Of course the missionaries found the free food! It's too bad the Elders weren't smart enough" It gave us a good laugh. Our bishop is a character. He also had the youth sing really loud to get the neighbors to ask him questions to present missionary opportunities. We helped people move this week, we got sweet unexpected dinners and lunches! So many kind people so kindly fed us. We met a lot of members in the ward. We traveled way out in the boonies of Wisconsin to locate people. Spent way too much time in the car, but I would say it was a successful adventure. Saw some sweet cars. Met some nice people. Ate ice cream. Rode our bikes. Attempted to run. Taught the gospel. It was great. Laughed. Sweat. Smiled. Itched.

That's my summary. I loved general conference as well. I am 100%, positively, absolutely stoked for general conference. I am on the edge of my seat excited. I can't wait.

Now for my favorite part of this week. Sacrament meeting. It was one of those moments that will forever go down as one of my favorites. Let me tell you about the sweetest woman named Alberta. I hope no one takes this story the wrong way, I love this woman as does everyone in the ward. She is a character and a half. She is the spunkiest 85 year old woman I have ever met, just this tiniest petite little thing. Her eyes are so wrinkled and droopy she can hardly see, so when she wants a good look at you just just props her eyes open. So cute! She will sit down at the piano, hold her eyes open to look at the key of the song and start playing like a concert pianist. Also, you can never get away with singing a song unless she leads with both arms, very animated. She got up and bore a 25 minute testimony telling a story of one members who passed away. She got all caught up with it and she was going, using the best metaphors I have ever heard in my life. She all the sudden exclaimed, "Let's all just sing one verse of Amazing Grace!" She lifted her arms, took a breath, I was getting ready to take a breath wondering who all was going to sing. The Bishop jumped up, whispered something to her. She went back to the pulpit and told us the bishop said no. It was cute and hilarious. Our bishop's face was so red! It was a good moment.

Dawn is doing well still, we are working slowly but surely getting her to the church. DeAndre is set for the 10th for his baptism. We are very excited for that! The work is going well. Great ward, great life.

I hope this week is fantastic for you. Have fun watching general conference and be safe! I love you all so much! Love you more than I wish we would have kept singing!

Anne