05/16/16 - Siler City, North Carolina

What a glorious week! It started off on just a beautiful note as we went to see one of our investigators, Net, last Monday night! We've been teaching her for almost a year and she still has not read the Book of Mormon to find out if it is true! But. Everything has changed. She told us that one night she went in to check on her son James (another investigator with stage 4 cancer) and she saw angels standing around his bed! She went back into her room and one of them came in and sat on her bed and starting speaking with her. He told her that God has given James a second chance and she needs to give God a second chance in return. Well that experience has changed Net! She is so excited to read the Book of Mormon and get back to church. The Lord is truly preparing his people, even if He does it after you begin teaching them! Elder Allred and I have been giving many more Priesthood blessings to random people that we tract into! Not really sure why, but it has just been coming up more often and people have been accepting to receiving them. As I have pondered I have realized that as representatives of the Lord Jesus Christ, we must not only teach as He taught, but we must heal as He healed. He went about and healed many! I wish I had made this connection earlier in my mission so that I would have had the chance to be on the Lord's errand even more fully. We had a fantastic zone training this week and the them was "What do we have to lose?" Too often we fear man and are not firm in following the promptings the Lord has given us. We must always ask ourselves the question, "What do we have to lose?" We must fear God and not man! I then went on exchanges here in Apex with Elder Shepherd and we had a grand old time. I even spilled rice all over my pants during dinner! The next morning we helped an older woman replace her mailbox. And on Friday, I went on exchanges with one of our assistants to the President, Elder Chandler! He came out to Siler City and we had a blast. He told me that my Spanish is almost perfect, and I laughed. He has AMAZING Spanish! He also told me i'm on the "pathway to assistant-ship." Haha I told him I didn't think that was a good thing at all! We really did have fun though, we went to a panaderia and got some pan dulce! Probably one of my favoritest exchanges on the mission. We have been really working hard to find the less active Hispanics in our area and help them get back to church! And a lot of them came yesterday!! I have a dream. That one day there will be a Spanish branch in Pittsboro, North Carolina! We can do it. The Lord can do it! Elder Allred and I tracted into my first Atheist on the mission! His name is Roberto and he is 14 years old. He is very troubled and doesn't see how there can be a God with so much confusion in the world. I hope the Lord can help him through us. And yesterday a good friend from my home ward came out to see me at church!!! His name is Brother White and he is amazing. It was such a treat to see him again! We also have been working with a recent convert learn how to bless the sacrament and he was able to do it yesterday. We call him Abuelo because he is about 67 years old, and he is a hoot! He gave a brief testimony afterwards in Spanish and it was powerful. Guess what?? I have been itching my legs for weeks because of what I thought were mosquito bites. Come to find out, they are actually chigger bites! All over my legs! Probably at least a 100 of them! So I guess they will be there for 8 weeks.. being itchy... but that's alright! The Lord still loves me and all is well in Zion. :) We have found 3 more new investigators this week and now have 23 investigators we are teaching.. SO many people! But we are in contact with them all and they are each doing great. Quick story from yesterday! Elder Allred and I hopped in the car to go to church, and we saw that we were almost out of gas! We were so bummed. We thought we would have to break the Sabbath and buy gas! I tried to justify it by saying "At least it is for a good cause! We are doing the Lord's work, right?" But I felt like it wouldn't be right. So! We said a prayer that the Lord will help us keep his commandments. And he did! We drove 92 miles before having to fill it up this morning. It did not add up at all! We even have a reader in our car that tells us how many miles to empty and for the longest time it just froze! It stopped lowering!! I testify that the Lord loves us and that He blesses. As Nephi once taught us, the Lord does not give us any commandment He does not prepare a way for us to fulfill. So stay strong in doing His will and stay faithful! I love you beautiful people with all of my heart! Thanks for tuning in this week. Stay classy!!

Still cleaning out the rice stains on his pants,
Elder Shearer