We Can Officially Be Considered Cincinnatians!

Hello Family and Friends –

Well it seems like you have a better memory than we do. We forgot the Library AND the post office would be closed yesterday. Ha ha. But they are open now so here is your email! :) We did enjoy a fabulous Labor Day Picnic yesterday with the stake! We learned how to play Cornhole. Cornhole? What is that you say? Well, it’s basically the most competitive game in Cincinnati! But to be honest, it’s just a glorified bean bag toss. They love it here though. We had an investigator, Becky, teach a few of us Sisters how to play. It was hilarious. But now we can officially be considered Cincinnatians! Pictures included!

My foot is finally on the mend! Wahoo! There is still a pretty sweet bruise, and I wonder if I should have gotten stitches because its having a hard time sealing back up (it was REALLY deep), but to late now. Plus, I have a great story every time someone asks why I’m limping.

This week has been wonderful! Our investigator situation is rough, but we were finally able to make progress with a few of them. We were excited! It’s amazing how creative you have to be, like having a pizza and watching a movie (The Testaments of course). But hey! It works! And we’ve learned to watch for “many mighty miracles.” They happen everyday!

We still have a lot of less-actives we are trying to work with. I’ve truly gained a testimony of the Lord’s awareness of each of His children and that we as missionaries have been commissioned to do His work here on Earth. It’s amazing how many times in the week we will visit someone right at the time that they needed help. We stopped by a Sister’s home last night, we didn’t know if she was less-active or not. But we were led to her without even knowing it. We quickly found out that she needed us there. She explained to us that she felt like she was loosing her testimony and she didn’t have the strength or energy to do anything about it. She is the only member in her family and she felt like she was overwhelmed and couldn’t do it anymore. It was an incredible feeling to look in her eyes and testify to her that the Lord is aware of her and that He loves her. I know the Lord was teaching me what it feels like to speak by the power of the Spirit to fulfill our responsibilities as His representatives. It was incredible!

I learned another great lesson this week! We had a great lesson with a referral from a member in Utah. This young woman had lived in Utah for two years and made lots of friends, but she wasn’t particularly interested in the church. However, one of her friends talked about the church with her often and gave her opportunities to have good experiences with the church (like singing with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir!). When this young woman moved to Cincinnati her friend sent the missionaries. Us! She finally felt comfortable enough to ask all of her questions and we taught her about the Restoration. We even watched the short Restoration DVD with her. When it was over she looked at us and said, “It’s over? I was ready for part 2.” We smiled and gave her a Book of Mormon.

Don’t be afraid to do missionary work at home! Even if you don’t see the fruits of your labors, you will be planting seeds! Plus… WE NEED YOU! Sister Thacker and I cover an area with about 200,000 people. We can’t do it alone!

I love you lots and lots! And I love this work!

Sister Painter