May 30, 2012

Dad, I can't believe I didn't see you!  You were here for almost a week.  Ahhhhh!  The senior missionaries thought very highly of your decision to not try to see me.  But still...you were so close!

On Saturday I was at the John Johnson farm all day, and we had over 300 visitors! We had four buses of youth come in for a youth conference. It was so busy that we decided to all take a room and just stay there, break up the buses into smaller groups and send them on through. I was given the assignment to share the Revelation Room (talk about INTIMIDATING!). The tough part was to 1) give the revelation room in 5 minutes (there is so many amazing things that happened in that room!) 2) give every group a good tour with the spirit and entertainment (they were falling asleep) and 3) remember what I had said! After about the 5th presentation, I started forgetting in the middle of a group what I had already said and what I didn't. The senior missionaries have it easy, because they can excuse these times as 'senior moments,' but the younger missionaries don't have such a convincing excuse! :) It was a neat experience though.

The most rewarding part was when the spirit really was strong, and then to read their comments on the cards. One of the kids said something like, "I have never felt this way...ever...and I really like it," or "I don't know what this feeling is, but I want to feel it more!" Isn't that so cool?! These sites are a very neat place to be. The kids were so cute, and so many of them referred their friends. I love how open they are to sharing the gospel. We are told that the youth normally have less reservations about sharing the gospel, and it really seems to be true! I don't know how they do it- I have always been hesitant to share the gospel with others, especially when it comes to referring friends to the missionaries. They have a lot of faith. One of the people I called from the referral cards on Monday said that he would love to have a Book of Mormon, and he was open to hearing the missionary lessons after his mid-terms for medical school was over. Calling on the phone hasn't been as difficult for me recently, and there has been some really good experiences! So neat that we have the opportunity to share the gospel that way.

We started riding our bikes! We are like a joke in the mission. Whenever the senior missionaries see us, they ask us how bike riding is going. They all think we are pretty hilarious :) Riding to the John Johnson Farm on Saturday was a lot of fun! Besides feeling like I was going to die up the uphills (there are so many more uphills when you are riding a bike! I don't know where they come from!) it was great to be outside and seeing the greenery. I am still loving how green it is out here. 

Ohio=the best 

Love you all!

Sister Kimber Mahrt