I'M GETTING TRANSFERRED TO BLACKSBURG, VIRGINIA!!!
Today is our preparation day, and we will be touring the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum (TALA) and then go to the Game Farm later today (closest thing to a zoo here). I will end the day by saying goodbye to my favorite people here in Buckhannon, and then finish packing.
I've seen a lot of miracles this past week. The Lord has been very kind to me in every aspect. Saturday we got the phone call that lets us know who is going to be transferred to a new area or if we are staying. Well, the Zoneleaders let us know that I would be leaving my beloved Buckhannon/Weston. I expected to be devastated, but instead I felt very reassured, and at peace. I knew that I would miss "home" but I was blessed to fell excited about my new area and companion.
For the past few months, no investigators have shown up to church, which really hit me in the faith area. I just started to expect that no one would come to church anymore. I did not realize my faith was so lacking until I say Cayla walking into the church building Sunday morning!!! We found Cayla in a neighborhood we got lost in looking for another house. We thought, well, we are here for a reason, lets knock on that door. So we did. Guess who answered it? CAYLA!!! She was home babysitting, and if anyone else had answered the door, we would not have met Cayla. Cayla is sixteen, and so prepared to hear the message of the Restoration. Her extended family is all very religious, but not her immediate family. She has faced a lot of the same struggles as I, and we really connected. Well, we gave her a Book of Mormon, and asked if we could come back again soon. And we did. We came back twice a week for three weeks. She may only be 16, but she has a very mature soul. Well, just as we were teaching her about the Plan of Salvation, she interrupted us- just as we were about to explain the spirit world. She told us she always thought that a fair and just God would not have just a heaven and hell, but that He would place us in an upper-, or middle-, or lower-class heaven according to our righteousness. We were speechless!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Somehow, God had prepared Cayla for learning about the Kingdoms of Glory. We were astounded by her faith and knowledge. This greatly encouraged me and strengthened my faith that the Lord really does prepare others to hear us. We explained the Celestial, Terrestrial, and Telestial kingdoms to her, and then invited her to church. Her commitment was kind of iffy, but then she showed up!!!!! My faith went from "eh" to "WHAPOW!"
As it turns out (I have stopped believing in coincidences a long time ago) Cayla's mom knows Sister O'Neill (from the Buckhannon ward) and because Sister O'Neill had been such a good example to Cayla's mom, she texted Sister O'Neill during church and told her to thank the "cute girls who stop by" who have befriended Cayla. AUTOMATIC FELLOWSHIPPER LEVEL UP! Cayla went to Young Women's with a friend she recognized from school (coincidence? I think not) and LOVED IT! She asked us how baptism works and we have committed her to be baptized on July 15th!!!! All with her mother's permission of course. Actually, Cayla's mom has always admired the Mormons, and is interested in learning more. *Squeal of delight*
Well, last night was my last time to be with Cayla before I leave for tomorrow. WE hugged each other to hard, neither of us willing to let go for anything. She has made my faith grow, and I have seen her change as she has faithfully read the Book of Mormon. She told me just how much she loves me, whereas I choked on my words of affection for her. I bore my witness of the truthfulness of the gospel and how it has blessed me and my family. I love her with all my heart. I gave her my email and found a letter from her written on my email when I logged on today. Not gonna cry, not gonna cry...
I know Blacksburg is where I need to be, and I love the people there already, but I never knew my heart could ache this much for a place that has been my home for so short a time. I remember the drive from Charleston to Buckhannon. I was really sick and running a fever, and I kept thinking "How can I even do this?" Well. I did it. But the Lord is not finished with me yet. ;)
As to the adventures in Buckhannon and Weston, I close mine epistle. I leave the people and the hollows here for a new start in the South. I pass as a bird to ashes, to the rolling mountains of my first West Virginian home, but I will rise again, born from the ashes of a broken heart, to the healing of a land I shall know here soon. I love you, West Virginia. I'll be back, before you know it.
~Sister Mary Sierra Peacock
WVCM
"There is beauty within every beast... We must only have the courage to find it." ~Me
~Close Jedi Training Series~ Stay tuned for more to follow
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