05/08/17 - Raleigh, North Carolina

What a busy week! I don't have a ton of time today to email because I have actually been called to serve as the new assistant to the mission president! A few weeks ago in my interview with President James, he called me to serve with him and I can't believe it's already here! We are on a tight schedule and will be picking up the new missionaries soon, so I will make this quick! I loved this week!! I am loving every minute of the work. It was the best week of my mission!! Last Monday we went frolfing again and then went to buy some snow cones! Haha I got the biggest one they had, it was huge! We taught Kabin later that night, the man that walked into church last Sunday! He is so strong, we taught him the plan of salvation and he is ready for his baptism! The following day, we saw some gators at the park!! They were massive, we took some pictures of them! We then went tracting in downtown Wilmington and we ran into a man that was pretty drunk. He told us that because we were in the hood, someone would either rob us of all of our money or if we didn't have any money, they would kill us! I told him neither of those options sounded pretty good and left him with a card ha! We visited Karen DeMata next and we talked about her getting baptized. She told us that she has been thinking. We asked her about what and she said "I'm going to do it! I'm ready, let's go!" We set a date for this coming Saturday, we are so excited for her! She has had her interview and everything, she is ready and very excited! She even said "I don't know why I waited so long! I guess I was just waiting for the right missionaries." I am so happy for her, she is amazing! We tried to visit a less active that night, but he didn't want anything to do with us! It was so sad to see him reject a message, especially because we could see him fighting the Spirit!! Wednesday was a good day, we went down to district meeting in Southport and we had the meeting on a private beach! It was very nice! We went on exchanges with the Elders there and I brought our district leader to our area! We went tracting in a Hispanic trailer park and found a very elect man! In his prayer at the end he thanked God for "sending [us] to knock on the door of [his] heart!" We tracted the majority of that day and we had both a Jehovah's Witness and a Seventh-day Adventist try to bash us! Too bad we don't bash. We only teach. If the Spirit is not there and their heart is not sincere, we aren't to be found! The following morning we saw some more gators and they were even bigger than before! We saw one gator that was 14 feet long! I got some packages that day and they were great, thanks to my sister and grandma! We visited Karen again and her dad was there too. We've been told that the missionaries have never gotten him to pray before in the three years he’s met with them! I was determined to make it happen. I invited him to offer it and after a little pushing, he did it!! Karen's mouth dropped wide open. None of us could believe that he was actually praying! Brothers and Sisters, miracles happen when we have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and in his ability to prepare the hearts of the children of men. I testify that he does! After meeting with Karen, we visited our Congolese family and let them know about my departure. It was so difficult, I have come to love that family so deeply, it was so hard saying goodbye to them. They were champions though and stayed positive and even tried to encourage me to keep working hard! We visited Jonathan, one of our investigators, the following morning and set a baptismal date with him! Elder Brezenski was so good to me this week. Every second we had during lunch or dinner, I was busy packing so that we wouldn't have to take extra time to do it. He made me food for so many meals! He is such a great example of looking outward and serving others. We met with Jerry again and he said he will finally consider baptism as a possibility! He is seeking an answer from the Lord. We tracted the rest of the night after! I love tracting! Saturday morning we ran on the beach for exercises and it was nice! We went tracting for most of the day and enjoyed every second of it. We visited a part member family and had a great lesson with Brother Moore, the father. He is very open to the message and has a lot of great questions! He even came to church the next day! We visited the Recillas family, a Hispanic family, to say goodbye and we talked about enduring to the end. They are an amazing family! We then got transfer news and sent it all out to our missionaries. We are excited for the upcoming transfer, the zone will do great! Sunday was a marvelous day. We started it off by going to church and getting all the members enthusiastic and excited about missionary work! Sunday is game day to get the members on board! I said my goodbyes to the members and then we ate dinner with the Arne' family. They are amazing! Mama Arne made me some ties too as a going away gift! They are beautiful! We then visited our Congolese family one more time so I could say my final goodbyes and I shared my testimony with them in Swahili. We took a picture and then the Assistants pulled up in the van! We loaded up my stuff and then drove off to Raleigh! Haha after a few minutes of being in the van they initiated me in and the mantle was on! Once we got to Raleigh, we went to the mission office and did the weekly numbers for the mission! I signed my name on the Assistant board and then we drove home. We finally went to bed at 1 in the morning! It was a great week!! I am so happy to be able to be serving with President James! He is truly a man of God.

Getting the mantle on,
Elder Shearer