Nice Shot!

WOW!  So where to even begin!! This week has been UNREAL!!!! 

I have the COOLEST story for all of you!

So we have this investigator named Cindy.  She is awesome!  She has been looking into the church for a while now!  She has never really committed herself until now!  So we set up an appointment with her this week and it ended up being last Friday.  She came over with our bishops wife to another members home for this lesson.  So we started this lesson talking about all the bad things that happen as a result for Satan's influence.  She told all this stuff that has been happening as of late.  She has been through A LOT prior to this lesson!  Well this gets better.  SO!  We are sitting in this lesson discussing how baptism and receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost WILL provide peace and comfort and direction through all of this bad!

As the lesson went on the spirit was SO strong.  We promised her that if she will commit herself to working towards her baptismal date she will have enough knowledge and belief so where she will know what she is doing is right!  So smiled and agreed!  She picked her baptismal date of March 22nd!!! It was so amazing! WELLLLLL!!!!! I KID YOU NOT!  2 SECONDS AFTER SHE SAID I AM GOING TO BE BAPTISM THIS HUGE EXPLOSION WENT OFF!  Smoke filled the room, and everyone was screaming!  I was looking around expecting the explosion to have come from the chandelier falling on the table in front of us!  Well the chandelier was still there!!!!!!!! Then all the sudden with everything happening so fast I hear, "Pat!(bishops wife) you've been shot!!!" As I turn and look in all the commotion I see bullet holes in her face!  The man upstairs had shot his shotgun through the ceiling! We are all running around in panic!!!! Smoke everywhere, and everyone is screaming!  Elder Afalava is grabbing the women and rushing them out of the room and finds a jacket and is holding her face so the bleeding will stop!  I am running around trying to get low and call the police!! Then I hear,"OH MY GOSH I'VE BEEN SHOT!"  Cindy, our investigator got shot!!! She is freaking out!!! She got shot in her leg!! During all this I finally get a hold of the police!  They finally show up! And the man that shot the gun was the members brother who lives upstairs!  He runs down in shock of what he did!  Apparently he was cleaning his gun and miss counted the bullets!  His finger slipped and it went off and went through the floor into the room we were in!  Well this was a Double Buck shotgun and so 5 pellets fired!  3 pellets went through Sister Wilkes, one in her face, arm, and leg!  And 1 went through Cindy's leg.

Well after all the crazyness is over we get to the hosptital.  And eventually we can go back and see the two women!  The first thing Cindy says to me is,"SATAN CANT STOP ME! I'M GETTING BAPTIZED!"  I started to cry cause I was so scared!  But her faith just amazed me!  We were just talking about how Satan will come after her and he really didn't waste and time!  And she still wants to be baptized!  It's a miracle!  Sister Wilkes was in pretty bad shape, but she too was in the best of spirits!  She was cracking jokes like.. Wow i always wanted to take shots! HAHA! I am so glad she can make lite of the fact that she was just shot three times!!! Geez!! Our Bishop, her husband, was there and gave her a blessing.  In his blessing he said,"Only good will come of this."  And let me tell you!  Only good has come from this! Cindy is so gun-ho about being baptized!  And now we are teaching her family!  They both are doing well and are lucky to be alive!  I wish I could tell you all of the miracles that happened that day.  

I have been thinking about the trials that we all encounter.  I was wondering why heavenly lets them happen? We often say, "Why me?" Well... Why not me!!  Start thinking about what Heavenly Father is trying to teach me from all of these happening! Stop focusing on the bad and see the good!  Take something from a trial for good! I want everyone to know that this Church IS TRUE.  This weekend has left me with no doubts.  I know that Satan is going to all sorts of EXTREMES to keep us from it, but he cannot and will not win.  

Hope all of you have a great week! Pray for Cindy and sister Wilkes!! LOVE YOU ALL!

Elder Spatch

pics

-Serenity and I painting her house.

-Me and Elder Afalava's favorite antique shop.