June 9, 2014 40 day fast

Wow. what a week. I told you last week I was going to be in a choir at a funeral, what an experience! Sister Samantha Lierly died on her mission in the Washington Vancouver mission. Her funeral was at the stake center and there was a lot of people there! There were also a lot of missionaries there, too. They came from all over.. Anchorage, Soldotna, Chugiak, and of course, Wasilla. It was such a spiritual experience. So back up a few weeks. Elder Bratt showed me this talk called, "40 Day Fast." It talks about a missionary who fasted and prayed to know what he could do better, then made a list of the things he was doing that was keeping him from feeling the spirit. Then you fast from those things for 40 days. By the end, you are out of the habit of doing them. Well I started almost 40 days ago now, actually, and wow, I have noticed a difference. Well I could definitaly tell in this funeral. Every little thing nearly brought me to tears. it was pretty intense. We helped a member clear some land the other day, thats what the pictures are from. Sister Hewitt is the sister in the pictures, and Elder Hamilton is in them too. Yesterday we had a cool experience with a returning less active. We went for a walk with her and her dog, and after the walk she took us to her neighbors and introduced us. We were totally rejected but it was still cool to see her try! Well I hope all is well! Love you all! Elder Pawson