Family and friends,
This last week was super fun! I haven't actually been in our house
since last week. Monday to Wednesday last week I was in Cody with
Elder Hubbard on exchanges. It was a blast. Elder Hubbard is obsessed
with Diesel trucks and he works just like one, you can't stop him from
working. While we were together a guy showed up that used to live in
Meteetsee and wanted to go on some visits our there with the
missionaries so we spent all of Tuesday with him out in Meteetsee,
it's got maybe 350 people and is about 40 minutes away from Cody. We
taught a super awesome investigator and also a less active member.
People that live out in the country are so sincere, both lessons were
powerful. I learned so much from them because they have their
priorities in the right place, God and family at the top.
Elder Hubbard also took me to the Cody Mural building. It is such
a neat thing, if any of you go through Wyoming make sure you stop in
Cody to see the church museum and mural. They have a FamilySearch
computer that tells you about who your ancestors are and lots of other
cool facts. Turns out that Byron Sessions is my 8th cousin 3 times
removed! He was called by the church to help settle the basin because
of his experience irrigating. So the Big Horn Basin runs in my blood.
Yesterday we visited Byron Sessions' great-grandson, a less active
member that we visit regularly, and I told him that we're related and
we were both pretty excited about that.
We do service for this old guy (don't worry, he tells us to call
him old man or grumpy) named Ray every Friday and he's not a member.
We filled up his planter boxes with dirt, planted his garden and have
taken care of it as well as mowing and weed whacking his lawn every
week. He told us off the bat when we met him that he hates religion
and would have nothing to do with us talking about it with him. Every
once in a while over the past 2 months we drop a couple of hints but
he catches on and gets bristly. We hadn't brought up anything for a
while and then this past Friday while we were working at his house he
stopped us and said, "you know what boys? If I was even slightly
religious you'd have sold me a long time ago. You four are some of the
finest young man I've ever met and if half the members of your church
are as Christlike as you it would have to be the true church." I think
most of the members of this church are way better than me, so I agree
with him. It is the truth.
Here's two 'but if not...' miracles (Look up the talk "but if not"
from April 2004). One night we were trying people and praying for
miracles to happen but nothing was working out at all. As we kept
going and trying to follow promptings, even really awkward hard ones,
we got a text from a lady we met a couple weeks ago that was
interested but has a tough schedule. Now we've got an appointment
scheduled for tonight! Also, last night we were trying people with no
success again and decided that we should tract out this
apartment-complex-like-place. We knocked on 7 doors with one rude
answer and no other answers. We missed one of the Apartments and it
was out of the way now so we didn't want to walk all the way over to
it, but we did anyways. The guy answered and he said he grew up Mormon
but isn't sure if he's baptized but was super open to us coming back
tonight and teaching him, his girlfriend and his daughter!
Other than all of that we spent a lot of time this last week
coordinating stuff for the fair. We finished filling out all of our
volunteer time slots and got a bunch of hand outs and such cut out and
prepared. People have been donating water bottles and the works for us
to give out. The lady in charge of the whole fair really likes family
history works so this last week she also upgraded us to the really
nice brand new events center! It pays to be on the Lord's errand ;)
Oh yeah, last thing! The other half of the week (after exchanges)
I wasn't in our home because the Jeide's had a bunch of teenage
granddaughters visiting so we couldn't be there at the house for a
bit. So we moved into their camper trailer for the rest of the week! I
sleep on the couch, Elder Decker has the table, Elder Stone has a
mattress on the floor and Elder Decker sleeps in the one natural bed.
All four of us in a little trailer for 5 days has been awesome, we
really got to know each other better! Not many missionaries get to go
camping on their missions!
So that's my week. Lots of good things going on this week as well.
Please pray for us and the other missionaries that will be working the
family history booth at the fair. Pray that the spirit of Elijah will
be over the Park County Fair this week!
Elder Tippetts
607 Avenue E
Powell, Wyoming 82435
