Week Five Completed

Dear one and yall
 
This week was definitely the busiest of my mission. We went on 4 different exchanges in 5 days. It was a wonderful experience to be able to travel the mission a little bit. I even spent a day in Ohio. In Marietta acutally. It sounded familiar. Is that where Nicole and Abe lived? For some reason I was thinkin so. We definitely had some amazing things happen.
 
 On Tuesday while on exchanges with my good MTC roommate Elder James we had a lesson with Pam. In the last lesson she kinda started closing door, saying she wanted to stay at her church. At the end of that lesson we invited her to dinner at a members home and she accepted. So on tuesday we taught her the plan of salvation with a meal. It was one of the greatest nights. As we sat at the table and chatted beforehand I asked how she had met her husband and she told her story. Then I asked the members how they met. Immediately the brother got up, went to the piano and began playing and singing full bore one voice by Barry Manilow as the sister told how they met at this his concert. It was straight from a movie. I was biting my lip trying not burst out at how amazing the scene was before me. So classic. After our serenade the conversation turned to genealogy and then to temples. It was the perfet precursor to our lesson. She immediately wanted to learn and know more and accepted a baptismal invite for Feb 19th. She has a good ways to go until then, but her intent is pure so we will continue working with her.
 
Thursday Elder Wiederholt and I were finally able to teach together. It was about the only time the whole week that we could. We taught Brenda with Elder Bennion who works in the office. We discussed repentance and baptism with her as well. At the beginning she said she had some rough thoughts the past few days and didn't really feel like God cared about her anymore. We talked it all out and explained her relationship with her father and by the end she felt much better. It was a marvelous experience to hear her softly whisper, "Well maybe I am worth it." She identified the Spirit and we explained that she could have that with her always. She is eager for baptism.
 
I feel so blessed, but the coolest thing about this week is I could feel power of prayer. I felt it like I never have before because I felt it sustain me from day to day. When I was weak and tired I could feel the Lord fortifying me just one hour at a time. I am so grateful for this work. I don't know where I would be without the gospel. It gives me perspective and it gives me peace. I have never been one to have a burning testimony, but I guess this is what it must feel like. I have a firm testimony of the plan of salvation, and undeniable witness of the priniciple of obedience. Real quick just today (P Day) a couple elders wanted to go shopping early. We held out until the time we were supposed to and just before we were supposed to go a pipe broke in the apartment. Water was flowing as a heavy stream so we quickly shut it off and it was no big problem. If we would have left the whole apartment would have been flooded no doubt! I sure love yall so much.
 
Much Love from DUB V
 
Elder Dumke!