Hello Family!
It has been a very busy week. One of those weeks where it seems like it was just yesterday I was emailing you, yet it seems like forever ago at the same time. And SO much has happened. This area of Niagara is great. All over the people are awesome- the members of the St. Davids ward, our potential investigators, the investigators whom we're teaching... they're all great! There is so much potential here. This past week, we had some sort of service opportunity almost every day. It was very busy. And my companion, Elder Welch, is a great missionary. He is humble, honest, and extremely willing to serve people. He also likes to sing Hymns to the tune of various pop songs. We have a good time! In a nutshell, Niagara is an awesome place and I'm happy to be serving here. Oh, by the way, the ward feeds us like crazy here. I'm definitely not losing weight in this area!
The highlight of this week is a miracle investigator we met, referred to us by a senior missionary couple from Temple Square. Her name is Nan (aka Joanna), she's probably in her 70's, and she is recently widowed. She never went to any church, until shortly before her husband died. And she's been searching ever since. After her husband died, she decided to travel a bit. She made her way to Salt lake city, partially to see MoTab, and partially because the Spirit was directing her steps. She met the senior couple, and they've been holding meetings via Skype ever since! She lives in our area, but we are teaming up with the senior couple from temple square to teach her (via Skype at her house) and prepare her for baptism in December. She'll be baptized in Salt Lake, then she'll be confirmed here in the St.David's ward. The amazing thing about Nan is how fast this all happened. And she is so prepared, and is so willing to search and question things so she can gain her own testimony... and she has gained one! Its all been so fast, since we just met her yesterday, and only heard about her on Saturday! She is awesome, and Elder Welch and I are just happy to see the rest of her journey towards Baptism, and to help her as much as we can. The senior couple in Salt Lake has done an amazing job with everything. And the coordination that took place between them and the ward leaders here was amazing! Nan attended church yesterday, and she was welcomed with open arms. The St. Davids ward is so amazing at that. They're happy to meet and welcome new people, and they do it because they sincerely care! They are the real deal. So... that's been the highlight of the week, and it sure made it an awesome week! I hope you will keep Nan and us in your prayers.
For a moment, I want to zoom out of Niagara and look at the world as a whole-- since I've been on my mission, I've seen a lot of messed up families. I've seen people who have messed up lives. And each time, its been a time for me to look at my life and the choices I can make and say "Its your choice, Brett... its either this... or that." We all know, because we hear about it and we see it, that families are fading away. Too often, adults are making choices out of selfish desires rather than thinking of how it will affect their children. These major life-altering choices begin as small, seemingly harmless ideas. Every day, we choose by our thoughts, words, and actions whether we want to be happy or miserable. And eventually all these small choices can add up to some very huge consequences. I know how hard of a fight it is to constantly be choosing the right, but its a fight we're all fighting whether we want to be or not. We're all lost, we're all fallen. We all need mercy. From God, and from each other. We live in a crazy world. A world that can only be healed by the Gospel of Christ. We need to be united in love and respect. Love casts out fear, light chases away darkness.
I love you all!
-Elder Simper-
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