Sister Bailey Guthrie: Armadillo

The work is sweet here in Paragould. There is a lot to be done. God

answers prayers. Sister Lange has converted me to oreo thins (random, but try them).

We almost ran over an armadillo the other day.

< (This is not the actual armadillo, but this pic will do until I get a replacement from Sister Guthrie.)

picture 1

RANLY IS GETTING DUNKED! >

We committed him to baptism this week. I love him so much. He turned to me and said "really?! I can be baptized??". Being able to tell him yes and see the look on his face was the highlight of the week by far. He grabbed his chest and said his heart was beating super fast. He's so pumped to be baptized. I wish everyone felt that way about the gospel.

picture 2 Church with our adopted children Ranly (getting baptized this week)
and Nicholas (already baptized)

Monday night was really cool. We drove

around trying to meet with some of our investigators but no one was

home (we don't set up appointments especially with the Marshallese

because we usually have better luck just showing up). While driving

around Sister Lange found a name "Cassandra" and an address in her

notes. A few days earlier we met a girl at Walmart named Cassandra and

I had been thinking about her ever sense. Hopeful that the info we had

was hers, we set out and were determined to find her. The address we

had took us all the way out in the boon docks and
we kept getting lost. We were blowing through our miles and started to get a little

worried. We parked the car to decide whether we should keep looking for

the house or turn around and head back into town. We were all quiet

for a minute. I had a strong feeling that we needed to keep looking.

After a few more minutes of driving we finally found the house. We

knocked on the door and a man answered. We asked if there was a

Cassandra that lived there. The man said yes and went into the house

to get her. We were pretty excited at this point. As Cassandra opened

the door we saw that it wasn't "Cassandra from Walmart". However, as

we began talking to her, we understood why we were supposed to meet

her. The lord had really been preparing her. She loved everything we

had to say about the gospel of Jesus Christ, the restoration of His

church through the prophet Joseph Smith and the translation of the

Pretty skies; almost as pretty as AZ

Book of Mormon. Her only hold up was the word of wisdom because she is an avid soda drinker (we cleared that one up real quick and told her we had dr. pepper in the car lol). We left her with a copy of the Book of Mormon. "But the Lord knoweth all things from the beginning; wherefore, he prepareth a way to accomplish all his works among the

children of men; for behold, he hath all power unto the fulfilling of all his words.." (1 Nephi 9:6). It's an amazing thing to be an instrument in the Lord's hands. Miracles happen every day. Over the past month I have thought a lot about conversion. I remember when I was really young I used to envy converts to the church. I used to wish that I could have had a miraculous, life changing conversion. There

are a few things I've learned recently. The first is that you don't have to be a convert to be converted to the gospel! I've learned that "Conversion is a process, not an event. You become converted as a result of your righteous efforts to follow the Savior" (True to the Faith). Conversion is a process. It really is, isn't it? Conversion means change and includes enduring to the end. We are changed and made

Trains are scary and fast

better through our savior, Jesus Christ and His atoning sacrifice. I've learned that having a testimony alone is not enough. "For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also" (James 2:26). We have to be continuously converted to Christ. Put in the work. Take control of your conversion. Draw near to your Heavenly

Father and savior Jesus Christ. Build yourself a firm foundation in Him. "And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the

rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation

whereon if men build they cannot fall" (Heleman 5:12).

I love you all. I know that He is the way. "..there is no other way or means whereby man can be saved, only in and through Christ. Behold, he is the life and the light of the world. Behold he is the word of truth

and righteousness" (Alma 38:9).

Llakwe Lluk (I love you),