February 10 2009

Hey Everyone, Everything in West Virginia is great. Working harder then ever. The weather has changed here and we have had some really great days. I finally pulled out one of my short sleeve shirts. I have had an interesting week. First off, we have been searching for a lady named Brenda Coppage for the last week and a half. Finally one of her neighbors came and told us that she has been in the hospital. So being good missionarys that we are we went to the hospital to see what was up. When we went to the front desk they started asking us questions like crazy. Well, we finally got permission to go and see her. We went to the top floor like we were told and when we got off the elevator there was a big metal door with a speaker next to it. We went and pushed the button and the door opened. As we opened the door we relized that we were walking in the psych ward. It was the weirdest experience I have ever been through. First, they took us in a room and went through all the procedures with us. Like no giving the patience anything, no touching them or letting them touch us, it was crazy. Once we got in the room with this women, she started freaking out saying that we came to get her out of there and that we weren't leaving without her. She told us about all the things that they were doing to her. WOW!!! We didn't know what to say. Finally, she calmed down and started acting normal. We talked with her for probably thirty minutes (it felt like forever). When we got up to leave she was still thinking that she was going with us, so a man hade to come in and hold her while we left. What a weird experience. I never want to be in the psych ward again. On Thursday we had the opportunity to do service. There was a lady that was a friend of one of our investigators that was moving and needed to get rid of some furniture. So we went over to her apartment to help. Well her apartment was on the third floor and the only way down was to take the furniture down the narrow stairs. She had so much furniture! Then she wanted to just put it out on the curb so the garbage people would take it. But Berry Carr (the skitsophrenic bipolar) needed furniture, so we took the furniture to his house and carried up to his forth floor apartment. My arms were dead after that. I don't know if I have told you about Yvonne yet so I will just tell you anyway. She is a lady that is paralyzed from the hips down and has been for her whole life. She lives with her two sons (who don't help her at all) two dogs, three cats, and i am sure there is some mice and cocroches running around also. Oh, and the smell in that house is so nasty, as you can imagine. Anyway, she has the strongest faith. She loves the gospel and loves us to come visit her and share a message. Well, yesterday we were eating dinner and I got this crazy idea in my head that we needed to go see Yvonne and take her some peanut butter, jam, and bread. When we got over there and gave her the stuff, she started to cry. After she was done crying she explained to us that just one hour ago she was talking with a friend and told her that she wanted a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. It may seem stupid and simple to you, but if you knew these people in West Virginia and how poor they are, you would understand how a peanut butter and jelly sandwich may be the answer to their prayers. It was an amazing moment. We got two new investigators this week. Alex and Seapu. Alex is twenty and is carrying Seapu's baby. Seapu is thirty four and was in prison for fifteen years for killing someone and just got out six months ago. I have come to realize how much a strong family has helped me in my life. It is amazing to see the families out here and the struggles that they have because they struggle with the Word of Wisdom and the Law of Chastity. Well, everything is going great. I sure would love some more popcorn mom. I think popcorn and roast on sunday are the two things that I crave the most. My pants are getting baggy and I need another hole on my belt. LOL Don't worry though, I am not starving. The people out here love to feed us. I have just been doing more push aways. Tell the girls to hurry and talk on the recorder. I don't care what you say I just want to hear your voices. I love you all so much. Thanks for the support!! Love, Elder Anderson