maNy BleSSings!

Corbin is great!!

This week has flown by! We taught some really great lessons though. Tuesday we went on another blitz with the Sister Training Leaders and had a really productive day! We drove down to Jellico, which is the
very bottom of our area (and mission) and found a really great part- member family to teach. One big blessing that I've seen as a missionary is how the spirit has lead and guided us to where we need to be
-especially since we don't always get the best directions :) For instance, we were out trying to find a less-active's house. We drove up and down the road, but their house number was nowhere to be
found. After we said a prayer for help, we felt impressed to drive up this dirt driveway, even though the mailbox at the bottom was a different address. As we drove up, we realized there was a fork that
lead in a different direction and then another fork. So, we drove along this dirt road for awhile, and then up this long gravel drive that had a million "no trespassing" signs. But both of us felt like it was the right way to go. Sure enough, their house was at the top! So, I'm grateful that The Lord has alllll the crazy Kentucky back roads figured out, even when I don't!

We also did a service project this week, and helped the H's move some logs they'd chopped down on Wednesday.

I love, love, love it when I can so clearly see and feel Heavenly Father in my life. And that's pretty
much how all this week was. It's really reassuring, because when you feel the spirit you can know that despite everything, you're at least doing something right.

AND, E's getting baptized this Sunday!!!! Yeah!! It's come so fast. I can't believe it's less than a week away! I feel like I've worked towards baptizing for so long and set so many dates that fell through, that it's strange to realize that this is really happening. Although, it's not without some issues, of course. E's been
getting a LOT of persecution about it at work :( And even ward members have been kind of criticizing us because Sunday is Ward Conference. However, we've been planning this for weeeeeks and also it's his eternal salvation. (He works Saturdays so that's why it's on a Sunday!) Blah. So Satan always tries to stop anything good. People need to just be supportive because E's great.

We also have an investigator named K. He's Native American and is crazy. I don't quite know what to think of him or how to take him, but he should be getting baptized the 22nd. (To give you an idea, sometimes when we teach him, he says he sees purple lines coming out of our cheeks.)  So, that's interesting. He's a true "Corbin-ite" and does fit in!

Speaking of Corbin-ites, here is a fun conversation we had with a member:

"Hey, does Tuesday still work for us to come and teach your wife?"
-us
"Can we put it off a week? I"m in trouble with my family again. I put
someone in jail"


Testimony meeting was also interesting, but I can say that at least it's gotten better in the past 6 months. Here are a few gems:

Bro M: "I have a perfect testimony. You can't get a better
testimony than I have"

Bro W: (entire testimony): "Being here at church with you people
is the highlight of my week. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen."

Sister S: "Some people think I"m inactive, but I"m not."

It was pretty funny. People in Corbin are definitely quirky and unique and colorful, but for sure are genuine and have a lot of faith.

Elder S also taught us a song on the way to district meeting that's been stuck in our heads all week:

"Born again, saved from sin, never gunna go to church again!
Beat my kids, cheat my wife, I"m gunna have eternal life!"

Thursday, we had district meeting. It was probably one of the best ones I've been to. We have an investigator, C, who's been really struggling with understanding Jesus Christ and The Atonement. As a
part of the training, we role played using the Atonement to call investigators to repentance. It was probably one of the most spiritual experiences I've ever had in a role play. Until people truly feel Jesus Christ's love for them and the power of his Atonement, explaining and teaching and persuading doesn't mean a thing.
Friday, Sister S and I both felt impressed to go visit C! (He was the investigator that gave them his 2 packs of cigarettes and lighter, but then the next week told them to lose his phone number.)We were able to pick him back up as an investigator!!! So that was a huge blessing.

Saturday we also were very blessed. We taught H, who is probably one of my favorite people in Corbin. She loves meeting with us, but her husband hasn't been too happy with the idea. So Saturday we
taught both of them the restoration lesson. The spirit was very strong. He opened up some and committed to reading and praying. During the lesson, H bore her testimony! We tried setting a date, but I think her husband needs more time for the spirit to work on him. But definitely remember them in your prayers.

Sunday, we taught R, who we've been slowly working with. We have been working on the concept of prayer. This week he told us that he had felt and recognized a spiritual prompting and just "knew" that
him and his family needed to come to church :)

All in all, it has definitely been a very fast and a very blessed week!

Love,
Sister Ashlyn Galloway

Quote of the week:
"Are you interested in hearing more about this?"
"No, but if you give me your number I might keep an open mind"