Sister Haley Knight: Birthday Balloons and hundreds of miles later....

(Ghetto Minnie and Mickey at Taco John's- the closest to Disneyland I'll ever get!)

Hola mi familia y amigos! Tengo mucho amor para a tus!

Esta semana fue muy incredible!

Lunes (Monday)- Sister Larsen (English Sister we serve with here in Paducah) had her 24th birthday so we went to Cracker Barrel for lunch and then went to the mall! It was my first time going to the mall here and I couldn't stop singing HIMYM's Let's Go to the Mall the entire time! We ran into an old investigator Noel while we were there and were able to share a quick message and have a prayer with him. He is usually preoccupied with other things on his day off so it was neat to run into him on his break!

Martes (Tuesday)- We went into the Sister's apartment while they were running and blew up a billion balloons to put in their front room and left a giant birthday card for Sis Larsen since we didn't get to the day before. We got a cute thank you text from them later and then we received 5 missed calls from them- Sister Jarvis was cooking breakfast when she was struck with a lot of pain in her back which caused her to fall to the ground and crawl to the front room crying for Sister Larsen. When Sister Larsen found her downstairs she was lying on the ground surrounded by balloons! It was actually really scary because she was seriously hurt but we all laugh about it now because it had to looked so ridiculous for Sis Larsen to find her there! Sister Jarvis was told to rest for a few days so the next few days we took turns staying in with her and going out on exchanges with Sis Larsen- it was a really neat experience!

Miercoles (Wednesday)- Sis Larsen and I were dropping off stuff to the Pastors and Sis Larsen wanted to go check on their new member Chris who lived a block away. We pulled up and Christ was standing outside with one of his friends Sergio. Sergio is AMAZING. He was living in New Orleans when Hurricane Katrina hit and he had some of the craziest stories- like putting his one year old daughter on something to keep her out of the water and swimming through waters infested with all kinds of scary animals and dead bodies with his girlfriend on his back because she can't swim. He has been through so much and was so excited to read the Book of Mormon and come to church. He already started reading and really wants his daughter and son to get into it too. We can't wait go get to know him better and for him to learn more about the gospel!

Jueves (Thursday)- Reagan's birthday and a miracle day! We didn't have a car because it was in the shop getting fixed so we were on foot ALL day. We're so spoiled to have a car because by 9:30 my body was so achy and I was completely exhausted! BUT I was happily exhausted because that day we had taught 9 lessons, given away 4 Book of Mormons and we met SO many cool people! We literally talked to every person we saw and it was so fun! We also had so many miracles and met so many people who were sincerely interested in reading the Book of Mormon. By 9:15 we were RUNNING home to get to our apartment on time and it was so fun being out in the country behind our house with the spooky fog! Good day!

Viernes (Friday)- We were able to meet with a member's uncle who goes to a different church. His wife is Pentecostal and at first did not want us in their home but within 3 minutes she warmed up to us and we had the best conversation! They happily took a Book of Mormon and invited us to come back!

Sabado (Saturday)- Was SO random! We went ALL over our area never taking a second to think about what we were doing- but truly following the Spirit and not questioning anything! We ended up driving 80 miles but we saw everyone we were meant to see and met some really amazing new people!

Domingo (Sunday)-We had a super crazy busy day at church- as usual! We had 3 investigators in our Gospel Principles class and we had a sweet lesson about how God is our loving Heavenly Father-Something so simple but so important for us to know. We had a super fun FHE (Family Home Evening) with one of our favorite families in the ward and ended the day with a visit with the Pastors. We were able to see Manuel, their son, finally because he had the day off. We sang some hymns and shared a scripture and it was the perfect way to end the week!

There is nothing that brings me more joy than doing this work. Everyday I come home so tired and my mind is full of a million things we need to do the next day but I have never been so happy in my life! I hope that all of you not only understand the importance of sharing the gospel, but recognize the joy and blessings that come as we put forth all we have to build up the kingdom of God here on the earth. I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior, our brother and friend. I know that the power of His Atonement can help us in aspects of our lives. That is something I have come to understand more this week. I would not be able to have peace and joy in my life without the power of the Atonement.

I hope you all know how much I truly love and appreciate you.

Hermana Knight