Merry Christmas

Merry (late) Christmas! I hope y'all had a wonderful Christmas! Isn't Christmas the best time of year?! I'm so grateful for this time of year where we can really focus on Christ!

Well a lot has happened these last 2 weeks... We had zone conference a few weeks ago and it was amazing. Seriously helped me so much especially during this Christmas season.

Something exciting that happened these last 2 weeks was...our washer broke. A ward member tried to help us fix it over the phone. We did what he told us to do and the water was draining from the washer. We didn't think much of it and we thought the washer was fixed. Apparently not, behind the washer there was a puddle of water. We were pulling the washer out so we could clean up the puddle when all of a sudden we heard a Snap! Water starting pouring everywhere!! We had pulled the hose out of the wall and all the water in the washer was all over the floor...I freaked out, because we are on the 3rd floor! Being missionaries we don't have a lot of stuff especially towels so we grabbed all the towels we could and some blankets to clean up all the water. I don't think I have ever been so stressed in my life, haha. When maintenance came, he was surprised that we had gotten all the water up so fast. I said "we were freaking out and had no clue what to do." The next day we got a new washer, and everything was great...so we thought. Christmas morning Sister Cobb went to do laundry and we found a puddle of water. We could not believe it. The next day we called maintenance to help us figure out what was wrong with our new washer. Turns out the cold water pipe was not screwed into the washer all the way. Well after a few weeks of not having a washer it finally works...hopefully. You're probably wondering why I am telling y'all this? I never knew a mission would teach me so much about things beyond the gospel...especially about a washer! I have definitely learned a lot about figuring out how to do things on my own, especially since I can't call my parents when there is a problem.

Anyway, we got a referral last week. She requested a Bible so we called her but she didn't answer so we left a message. She called back later but the phone rang for a second and then stopped. She kept requesting Bibles, no kidding she requested it like 3 times! We called her again a few days later. When we called she said "I thought ya'll were suppose to come yesterday afternoon!" I said "we are so sorry we were not aware of that, is there a time we could come by?" She said "tonight?" I was looking at our schedule and she said "you hesitated, come tomorrow morning." So we went the next morning. When we got there we gave her the Bible she requested and then we asked if she would be interested in the Book of Mormon. She was super hesitant but then said sure. I started to explain the Book of Mormon using the pictures that are in the book. Underneath the picture it has the scripture reference, well she looked at the reference and said "oh no that is different scripture, I am good with the Bible." I explained to her that it was another testament of Jesus Christ and it's not replacing the Bible. She wasn't satisfied with my explanation, and gave the Book of Mormon back to us and took the Bible...we'll keep trying!

We got a another referral Saturday night and had a short lesson yesterday. Oh my goodness gracious, Heavenly Father defiantly puts people in our paths for a reason. She had requested the Bible and the Book of Mormon because she wanted to draw closer to God. When we explained the Book of Mormon she was so excited to read it. The Spirit was so strong during the lesson. At the end of the lesson we invited her to church and she asked where the church was. We told her where it was and she said I have seen that church before. She said, "I have always wondered and wanted to go to that church but wasn't sure if I was welcomed." We said "everyone is welcome." It was so amazing, she's excited to go to church and I am so excited for her to come with us.

We asked Martin (he read the whole Book of Mormon) to be batpized and he said YES!! Super exciting although we aren't too sure if he heard what we were asking because we had to repeat the question, lol.

Transfers are this week and...I'm leaving Fayetteville. I am so sad to leave because Fayetteville, it is such and amazing place and the people are awesome. But I'm excited to see where I will be going next.

Love and miss y'all
Sister Ogden

District Photo

Christmas matching PJ's and Chocolate from England

Our New Washing Machine!

Bike week!