EXPECT MIRACLES

Sandra Lynch and Sister Berry

Sandra lives in an assisted living apartment tower in downtown Augusta. She has been inactive for years. Her records had been sent to Salt Lake because the wards here lost track of her. Another resident in the tower, Carol, is an active member of the church and she introduced us to Sandra. When we first started visiting her she was a very polite and gracious lady and we could tell she still had a spark alive but wasn't ready to committee. She went to the ward Christmas party with us and enjoyed it very much but kind of distanced us after that but was friendly and we enjoyed our visits. Through Carol we learned Sandra needed assistance getting to the doctor so we called and offered to help. Sandra had a day surgery planned and her son was to take her but they got to the hospital to late and she couldn't have the surgery and she was very discouraged. Carol let us know what had happened so we called Sandra and told her if she could get her surgery rescheduled we would drive her. Last week we drove Sandra to the doctor and she made arrangements for surgery this week and we will drive her there this Thursday and return her home. Last week as we visited with Sandra and drove her to the doctor and home we could tell that Sandra was really touched by what we were doing. She kept saying she really appreciated all we were doing for her but it just seemed so strange that we actually didn't know her but was willing to help her. We could tell that Sandra's heart was changing. Before joining the church Sandra was attending a Baptist church and had attended the same church, St. John Baptist Church, since she was a young child. The assisted living building she is living in is operated by St. John and the church is right next door so Sandra had returned to attending the church with her childhood friends. Today Sandra called and the minute I heard her voice I could tell she had changed. She was happy and wanted to know if we could come visit her today because she had something very special she wanted to share with us. She apologized because she knew we would be busy getting ready for our zone transfer dinner. We drove over to Sandra's and the minute we walked in her apartment and looked at her and saw her beaming and filled with joy we knew she had decided to return. Her joy was so full she just had to share it. She told us she would go back to St. John Baptist Church this Sunday and tell all her friends good-by and she wouldn't return. This was a Miracle. Pray for Sandra that she will be able to make the break on Sunday. Today we rejoiced with Sandra.

Sister Holmes brought all the ingredients for omelets and each Elder made his own in a zip-lock baggie and put it in a pot of boiling water.

Sister Holm served brunch at the zone training and interviews with the President

Sister Atkinson, Sister Holm and Sister Berry

Wednesday President Holm was in Augusta for instruction and interviews for all missionaries in Augusta Zone. Senior Couples were included. Our interview with President Holm was very brief because he needs to focus on the Elders. Senior couples are stable and all mission rules for the Elders don't apply to the seniors. He expressed his love and appreciation for our service and encouraged us to take more time for ourselves. He encouraged us to visit more with my sister, have date night, and make sure we take our preparation day and take a day or two occasionally and travel around our mission sightseeing. President Holm appreciates our involvement with the Elders but cautioned us not to spoil them or make things too easy for them. He and Sister Holm love the senior missionaries and have requested more senior couples from the missionary department. President Holms tells us often "Expect Miracles" in our missionary efforts and promises us that if we are exactly obedient we will receive miracles. Last Sunday the Relief Society President asked us to visit a sister that just had a baby but didn't have her phone number or address. Monday I prepared a dinner for the new mother and spent the day trying to locate her phone number and address. Everyone told us she lived off 15th street Finally I got a phone number for the new mother but it didn't work. We learned that a doctor in our ward delivered the baby so I called him and got her current phone number, called the new mother and arranged to visit her the next day and take dinner. (Now we have an address and current phone number to give the membership clerk) Tuesday was a day of miracles for us. We had a list of names of people we needed to visit and call. It seems Tuesday that everyone answered their phone or was home when we knocked on their door and we were able to get the information we needed or make an appointment to visit. Relief Society, Primary and Young Women have given us lists of people that need to be contacted. Many times they were baptized were active for awhile then fell into inactivity. Contacting by phone is mostly impossible as phone numbers change on a monthly basis it seems. We are still working on our lists and we will Expect Miracles.

We are working with a mother (recent convert) of three children ages 3, 2, and 10 months. She has no mothering skills and gets frustrated with us when we try to soften the way she treats her children or when we treat the children with patience, kindness and love. She screams orders to her children and expects them to obey. When they don't respond she screams "what's wrong with you, why don't you listen." She doesn't appreciate our example so we are praying for an opportunity to teach her when she will be receptive and we are Expecting a Miracle. Sometimes the truth is too hard to bear.

Driving members to doctors or for treatments is one of the things we do often. These members are around our age and because of their health issues we sometimes refer to them as older because we assist them into and out of the car and into buildings. President Holm refers to us as his "senior couple" but when we are dealing with our peers who have health issues we don't feel like seniors. I'm sure this is a miracle.

We know you will have miracles in your lives as you strive to live the teachings of Jesus Christ with exactness.

Love,

Elder and Sister Berry