Poppin in Moncks Corner

Sister Ashton & Dan

Sister Ruth-Mepkin Abbey

Sister Rachel and Sister Ruth

Hey everybody! It has been a GREAT week in Moncks Corner. We are seeing a lot of success here and it is really exciting. We had 5 of our investigators show up for church. It was REALLY exciting. Never has that happened before to us here in "the corner." It was really exciting and ward was really excited too. Maybe a little bit too excited. One of the ward members told one of our investigators that this ward was going to "soak him with love and then dunk him with baptism." Oh man. Ha-ha. Moncks Corner is the funniest place. It was all sorts of excitement over here.

It was a really cool week though because we just had a conference with President Turner about faith two weeks ago and he talked about faith being a power. President Turner said once you start to use this power of faith and set goals to make things happen trials will happen during this process. We definitely were tried a lot these past two weeks but we tried our best and kept moving forward and God blessed us. We really didn't do anything other then practice faith and diligence and God did the rest. During the conference, president talked about how last year the mission had set a goal to baptize 720 people in South Carolina but right after they made that goal our number of missionaries dropped dramatically because of all of the missionaries going home after the big surge. He talked about that we are fewer in numbers but that just means we need to have more faith and miracles will happen. His talk was basically all about a book Pops gave me before the mission called, "Drawing on the Powers of Heaven." We need miracles to happen but miracles only come after great faith. It's starting to happen! The baptisms in the mission are already starting to climb and things are starting to happen here in the corner. It's really cool to be apart of it all. Sister Hill and I are excited to work this week!

I love you all so much! Thank you for all the support you always give me!

Love,

Sister Ruth ;)

Ursala with her Kitchen knife to get the criminals DNA and lipstick...because Ursala tells us to never go anywhere without a Kitchen knife and lipstick. Ha-ha this lady KILLS me.

We got iPads!

Practicing piano for nights. It's a good stress reliever. :D

Claudia

Sister Swanson, Claudia and Sister Ashton

Hey everyone! It was so great to hear from everyone! Thank you so much for all your e-mails and prayers. They were much needed this week. I am sure you have all heard of the tragedy this week at the A.M.E Church in Charleston. Although we don't get to watch the news we definitely heard about it and it broke my heart. But those people are so forgiving.  It is inspiring.

 I can't lie, but this week was hard! It has been the most trying week of my mission so far. Over these past months on my mission I have had to deal a lot with death. I didn't think that would be one of my mission trials; but it seems like I have had to deal with death quite frequently. On Thursday night Dan called us with news that completely shocked me. He called to tell us that Claudia had passed away last night in her sleep. It crushed me. I have gotten to know this woman since my very first week in South Carolina. I watched her heart completely change and start to accept the gospel. If y'all don't mind, I would like to share my favorite and last memory of this dear, sweet friend of mine that I love so very much. 

On Thursday night Sister Hill and I went over to Dan and Claudia's home to teach Dan more about the temple. I didn't know why at the time, but I felt impressed last minute to add Dan into the plans as our last stop for the night. So we went over to teach Dan a lesson.

After the lesson, Claudia came out of her room and into the kitchen. She had a big smile on her face. She looked so happy and full of light. She looked at us and said; "I read the book by myself for the first time!" I was a little surprised...Claudia had been taking the lessons and reading the Book of Mormon with us but never alone. I was so happy for her! Here was the lady who once said the Book of Mormon was evil. She read it! We asked her what she thought and how she liked it. She responded: "I liked it. It's about a family. I'm going to keep reading." I thought I was going to burst, I was so happy for her! We encouraged her to keep reading. She then gave me a huge, sweaty hug and said, " Sister Ashton, I love you so much." And then we parted ways. Little did I know this would be the last time I would see Claudia in this life. I love this lady so much. I was so sad when I heard the news and I still am but also happy -happy because I am so glad that I had the opportunity to meet this lady. I am so grateful for the opportunity to be a small part of teaching her the gospel. I am confident that Claudia is still being taught the gospel. That there are people who are continuing to teach her and that someday she will soon receive the gospel. 

Sorry for all the heavy stuff. I promise next week will be back to fun stories and such! Don't worry. I am doing just fine. 

Also, I killed a snake this week so pretty happy about that too. I felt like I was saving my fellow mammals. 

I hope y'all have a great week!

Elder Caldwell

Sister Hill and Sister Ashton

Hello everyone! Summer is here and so are the fireflies! They are everywhere and I love them so much. It's beautiful here in South Carolina but also really hot! We come home every night pretty wet.

This week was good but also kind of sad. One of my dear ward members passed away on Saturday. His name is Brother Caldwell. He the coolest, funniest guy. I sat on the same row as him during General Conference. After the meeting he pointed his cane at me and said, "Don't you ever watch general conference at home. Always, always watch it at the church. Remember that."

 My last memory with him was coming over to his house and singing "Families Can be Together Forever." It was a good last memory. I miss him dearly but I am happy he isn't suffering anymore. I am so glad we know that families can be together forever and that "death has no sting."

I love you all! Hope you are having a great week!