04/25/16 - Siler City, North Carolina

Adventure Landing!! Last week we got special permission from the assistants to have a district activity at a place called adventure landing in Raleigh. It is unlimited mini golf and laser tag for only 12 dollars!! It was a blast. I got a hole in one on mini golf! And then we found out a few days ago that we are having a zone activity today. And guess where it's at? You guessed it! Adventure Landing!! Haha round 2 here we come! We had deep cleaning this week as it is a new transfer tomorrow and our car and our house are looking fly!! We have been helping a less active with family history and this week we were able to help her print out ordinance cards for her parents! She was soo happy and it was very neat to see the spirit of Elijah working in her! So every since I have arrived here in North Carolina, I have been searching for an Einstein's bagels and I haven't found any! But this week we ate at a place called Bruegger's bagels and it's pretty much the exact same! So that was really cool. Elder Niko and I saw my dream car driving by this week too: a BMW i8! It was the first one I've seen in person and it is gorgeous! I did a little cooking this week! I made Fried Rice (Polynesian style) and more pizza from scratch! We went back to Habitat for Humanity this past Saturday and did more painting! The house is almost finished and it's really exciting to watch it get built! Elder Niko and I played Sting Pong this week and let's just say, he won. For those of you who don't know what that is, it's pretty much where every point that you make, you get to smack the ping pong ball into your opponents back! Well I lost and it was terrible. But super fun at the same time! Last Saturday the 23rd, we made a crazy realization! I had been out for exactly 7 months on that day and Elder Niko has exactly 7 months left from that day! Crazy coincidence. We have been doing a lot of teaching and have really been trying to use members in the teaching process. We were actually able to set 6 baptismal dates this week with different investigators because of our using members! It just goes to show you the difference it can make when a member bears testimony and goes on exchanges with the missionaries! We had out court date this past Wednesday and what a crazy day it was. We arrived at the court house at about 9:00 in the morning and didn't leave until 1:00! When we arrived we went inside and let the District Attorney know that we were present and ready and she asked us for what case we were there for. We told her that it was for the case of Marvin McCrimmon and her reply was a simple "I'm so sorry." She took us to the court room and we got to sit through tons and tons of different cases while we waited. It was very interesting to watch how the whole system works! We were pulled out every once in a while and were interviewed by various people such as attorneys and sergeants. Well we eventually got to our case (It was the last one of the day) and Marvin came out in handcuffs and in a jumpsuit. I actually got a little nervous seeing him again! We thought that because we had given so many different statements we wouldn't have to speak, but the first thing the judge said was "Can I speak with the victims please?" So we got up and stood in front of the court room and testified to the judge of everything that had happened. She thanked us for handling the situation so respectfully and for not hitting the man as he was harassing us. She noted on the fact that we were very mature for our age and handled the situation just perfectly. Marvin was sentenced to 120 days in jail. After the case his girlfriend came up to us and with tears in her eyes thanked us for not hitting him. She thanked us for "looking at him with the love of Jesus". We later related the story to President James and he told us that he was very proud of us for being respectful during the whole matter. So that is that! It's finally over and settled. I had an amazing personal study this week. Well, I have amazing studies every morning, but one in particular stood out to me this week. I was sitting there pondering one morning not too long ago and I had an overwhelming feeling come over me that I don't need to worry about any of my trials, that if I live righteously and follow Christ, God will take care of them for me. Well as I was thinking about it, I got a prompting to read a talk. So I opened my binder of talks and started flipping through them. None of them seemed to appeal to me. I kept flipping and I finally got to one that caught my attention. It actually turned out to be the only talk I hadn't read yet!  And I am not even sure where I got it.. But it is entitled "Fear Not, I am With Thee" by Elder Ucthdorf. I began to read it and it talks about how we need not fear anything. He is specifically addressed missionaries too which was a little bonus tender mercy. Towards the end of the talk he begins to promise blessings and he states that if we put our trust in God, He will take care of our worries for us! It was almost the exact prompting I had earlier received! It was very special to me as I was reminded that God is mindful of us. I realized that as a missionary all I need to focus on doing are ultimately three things. I need to 1) Live righteously and like Christ so that I may 2) Have His Spirit to be with me always. Which will enable me to 3) Find, teach, and baptize His children. This week we also found out transfer news. The zone leaders usually call us Saturday night, but Saturday night we were waiting and waiting for a call and 10:30 came and went! We figured that we were both staying! Well the next morning as soon as we woke up, President James called us! He informed us that Elder Niko will be opening a new area: Lumberton Spanish! AND he will be training! I'm so excited for him. President then spoke with me and thanked me for my dedicated service and let me know that I would be having "many challenges ahead" and asked if I was up to the challenge. He reminded me that a mission is here to help me grow. Well I was terrified! I told him I am ready to accept God's will whatever it may be, but I was a little nervous at first! Well as I prayed to Heavenly Father about my new experiences that lie ahead, I remembered my personal study from a few days ago and had peace! I don't need to worry about anything! God is there for us and He will not fail us. He can not fail us! He is our Father and He will be with us to the end. Well sorry for the long email, but it was a very eventful week! I love you each and continue to pray for you by name. Always remember the support of our loving Heavenly Father. Have a wonderful week!!

About to take Adventure Landing by storm. Again.
Elder Shearer