The Raleigh Family!: November 2008

How are you? Mom and dad it sounds like you are having a blast in Alaska.I am so happy. Elle sounds like she is a great little baby girl and what a happy time right now. I bet she is so cute! Today is election day Nov 4th 2008 and its my pday as well. I am anxious to see who becomes President. My perdictions are Obama. He doesn’t really have any experience though. I have been praying for our country and also for prop 8 to pass. I hope it does. I am not allowed to go to your blog so please send me pictures. I hope the lord directs you into what you need to do about the house situation I have been praying and fasting for our family. I guess that is all we can do and have faith Heavenly Father will provide. He always does when we are doing what’s right. Well since last thursday I have been feeling alot better back to normal and serving in my area and at the Visitor center. I love the visitor center. The spirit is always so strong there and people just come in there to ponder, receive answers, pray, or read their scriptures. Its neat to see them doing that because its quiet there. My health is 100% better! Thank you for sending my box up here its getting cold up here today it looks like it is going to rain. Halloween was a blast!! I felt better I will send pictures. I am surprised how much fun the Holidays are on my mission. I heard Christmas is so much fun. The are starting to decorate for Christmas at the visitor center in 3 weeks. I saw pictures of last year and it is beautiful. But for Halloween Sister Moon and I went to D.I. and bought 80's outfits for like $5 total. We had a huge party with all the missionaries at the church building across the street from the visitor center we had dinner then took lots of pictures and then had a rely race with all of our districts there were 6 districts with 10 people in each. We were partners with our companions I think that it was the hardest I had ever laughed with sister moon Like there was no air coming out of my mouth cause we were laughing so hard. It was in the basketball court room and like some of the things we had to do were Leap frog over each other to the other side then one companion had to chew gum and blow a bubble as fast as they could and then get a piggy back ride back to the other side. then we had a 3 legged race and Eat a donut on a string and it was the district who did it the fastest won!! guess what!??!?? we didn’t! haha actually we left out one of the things we were suppose to do so we were disqualified!! but it was so much fun anyways. You should have seen sister moon and I trying to do the leap frog. It was so funny and embarrassing. We were horrible at it. ha! Then we had a pie eating contest and then we all watched the Emma Smith movie in the Relief society room. I had so much fun!! Well Sister Moon and I have seen alot of miracles together these past transfers. We have potentially 6 baptisms in the next 3 weeks and last transfer we had 7. I feel very blessed to be apart of these peoples lives. I am so grateful for the atonement of Our Savior and that he is able to help my investigators and the people I love here in Saint George. I am so grateful especially for the atonement in my life. I am so far from perfect and have so much to work on. Read D&c 8. My greatest desire on my mission by the end is to have a greater appreciation, love and knowledge and understanding of the book of mormon. I have such a desire for that. I am really learning to love this book and I am so grateful for it. Everytime I am having a hard time on my mission I just open up my book of mormon and read. It gives me direction and comfort. Ya know we are all in a spiritual battle with satan everyday from when we get up in the morning till we go to bed at night. Each 24 hours we should look at like our mini life everyday. When we are doing righteous things we are happier and the Lord blesses us. Think about the men fighting over in Irag or throughout the ages the wars. These soliders would never go over to battle with out their protection like helmet, sword, gun, breastplate, and they put it on everyday that they are over there!!!!!!!!NEver miss a day without putting on their protection to fight!!!!. Think about this since we are in a spiritual battle everyday with satan never should a day go by that we should miss out on putting our armour on our protection which is reading our scriptures, praying, fasting when needed. Heavenly father will bless us as we show him we are putting him first. 3 nephi 13. We need to feed our spirits. I love the scriptures. Sister Moon and I are extremely busy we have received so many new referrals which is great and are teaching some new investigators with alot of potential.Ya know Heavenly father is so mindful of all of his children and he leads sister moon and I where we need to go at the exact time. I had a neat experience with this yesterday. Well we met with a new girl we are teaching then after we were going to another woman house for an appointment but she called and dropped us. So within an hour we gained a new investitgator but lost another. So it was 5:15 and we were like what are we going to do cause we had dinner planned at 6 with some Less actives we are teaching so we were like lets just go over to their house early and see if they are home. We get there and they are not home so we see this old man who is their neighbor he is smoking he looks hammared and he has a coke in one hand and a cigarette in the other and he didnt look happy or he wasnt very nice either. So We asked him if we could talk to him for a while. This mans name is brent he is 68 years old and is less active he had been married 3 times, he has tried to kill himself 3 times and failed, he was an assasian for the US government and he said it messed him up mentally, he is an alcholic, smoking, and he is addicted to gambling he had just gotten back from Mesquite and lost $300 and now his checks were going to balance. He said Heavenly father has never loved him, he is worth nothing, he’s a bad person, there is no hope, and that were were wasting our time on him. He said there is no hope to change and that he is at a point in his life where he just wants to die and doesn’t even want to move on there is nothing for him. His family doesnt talk to him and he is very stubborn. He probably smoked about 6 cigarettes in the hour we talked to him. He said he came back to church about 20 years ago and was the singles rep but feel into his old habits and never came back. He thinks people in the church dont know anything and he was a murdered because he use to kill people for the CIA. I mean of course that would do something to a person I would think too. He said it has just got to him. I dont even know why our country does that but anyways... It was so amazing the spirit was so strong, we said a prayer and commanded satan to depart from him while we talked to him. We told him there is hope through the atonement and to humble him self as a little child mosiah 3:19 and called him to repentance. SIster moon and I were crying. He had no self worth and thought heavenly father never has loved him and he didnt care about him. Man did satan have a grasp on Brent. We cried together and told him to PRAY in humilty and we are going back Wednesday to meet with him again. He soften up towards the end and said he would try to pray we told him heavenly father wants to hear from him. He has been waiting all this time. I cant wait to go back wednesday and see what happened. That experience was amazing I will never forget it and it was so sad to see someone who didnt have any self worth and though God didnt love him but there is hope and GOd loves him so much. I know we were suppose to meet him that day to help him. I pray that we can save his soul. He is a special person my new speical friend Brent. I love the light that the gospel can bring into people's own lives. We have to have faith hope and charity Moroni 7:41 I love this scripture. Heavenly father needs everyone of his faithful sons and daughters to help his other children. Think of a $20 bill and if it was spit on and crumbled up and had gum and it and was lying on the floor....would it still be worth the same amount??? Well of course just because it has some stuff on it it is still worth $20 and that is like us we are going to have "gum on us and spit on and be crumbled up but we are always still worth the same. Every soul is great in the eyes our our father in Heaven. He heart aches when we ache. The gospel gives us opportunites to grow. I love you all and I hope you are doing those things that help you gain eternal life. There is hope through the atonement. I love my Savior. Talk to you next week!!!!!! Love Sister Raleigh

My dear family and friends!! First off, I loved seeing those pictures of Elle. She is beautiful. She does have bryce's nose but looks alot like Tara. I can never tell until they actually start to open their eyes. Well, can I just say that I love my mission I probably write that everytime. Of course its hard but the people I meet and the experiences I am having manifest the truthfulness of the gospel to me. I really saw the spirit testify through me at the visitor center this past week. I always seem to meet people from foreign lands who come here and I figure I will probably never seen them again in this life so I am going to bear my testimony boldy and by the power of the spirit so they can, if their hearts are open to the spirit, feel that peace. I gave out a book of mormon in chinese and dutch yesterday. It was awesome. Also sometimes we have men who come in and try to bible bash in the visitor center and this seventh day adventist minister came in yesterday and he was bible bashing and I just let him talk(well he wouldnt let me say anything)he said he read the book of mormon and prayed about it but never got an answer and I wanted to tell him maybe he didnt pray long enough and he should fast about it but that would have been a little mean so i didnt. But I gave him a joseph smith pamplet and then he gave me his pamplets from his church in return and I told him thanks for coming and have a nice life..I mean day.. haha just kidding he was really nice and all people of all faiths are welcome but he came in to try to change my mind and he failed. I still love him though because he is a son of God and I respect that he believes in God and Christ but I just prayed for him. Anyways, My mission is going excellent, my companionship is great, We found a new investigator, we have 3 people on date for this transfer to be baptized. This Friday jesse Brown our ex polyigamy investigator is being baptized so that is exciting. Ill send pictures. I am sending some of my last baptism with Connie barnes too. I love utah. There is alot of work to be done here. I Finally after 6 1/2 months began driving on my mission. I will most likely take over my 2 stakes that I cover when sister moon leaves to go home in 5 weeks. I also became a sister #1 at the visitor center so when I serve there I am incharge of everyone on shift. I have to make sure they are in their correct areas and I have a just keep everyone in check. I am very excited. Its a big responsibility. I am going to get a flu shot this week cause winter is almost here. Halloween we are having a huge party with all the missionaries. Oh yeah dad I was wondering if you could ask Bob Holiday how my stocks are going?? Well I love you all and it sounds like you are doing well. Take care and give everyone and hug for me!!! Sister Raleigh