Letter 9/14/2015- Ever been bit by a dog?

So this last week was fast, fun, crazy, busy and hard. We had lots of success and found some new people to teach. My new companion Elder Davis and I are getting along well. He is from Aurora in Colorado. He played lacrosse all through high school so I like talking about that with someone. We get along pretty well. He also loves Captain America, so he is pretty legit.

Our top investigator right now is Jamichael. He came up to me last Sunday and told me he wanted to be taught the lessons again. He had been taught in the past but never made it to baptism. We taught him on Wednesday and committed him to start reading the Book of Mormon again. We also committed him to baptism on the first lesson. We are working toward October 18th after he gets married on the 11th. We may teach his fiance in the future so hopefully that works out!

Cory is doing well. Still waiting for an answer to his prayers. We had a great lesson on the spirit and how to pray to our heavenly father. He knows the church is true, just needs God to tell him to go this path before he decides to be baptized. We keep bringing the spirit to everyone lesson and trying to help him receive the answer that he needs. I think he knows, just needs to recognize his answer. Maybe in the future he will have a baptism date too. 

This week it rained hard on us and we didn't appreciate it with our bikes and now rain coats. Luckily our investigator Anna let us in and we were able to teach her and her daughter. Bike areas can be hard but I like it. Give you the chance to talk and see everyone on the streets.

So you are probably wondering what the caption is for?.. Well we knocked on this door and a young girl answered. She opened the door wide and suddenly a dog ran out and jumped for my ankle. The dog nipped at my ankle as I tried to kick it away. The young girl then ran after the dog, caught it, went back inside and wouldn't open the door again. I then looked at my ankle and there was a bruise from where the dog had bit me. Luckily it didn't puncture the skin, but it left a good little mark on my leg. I can mark that off my mission check list, "get bit by a dog."

I pray that we continue to have success and joy this next week. We have some good plans and ideas for this area. Greenville won't know what hit it. I really have been grateful for prayer this last week. I spend a lot of time on my knees as a missionary. Prayer is a sign of faith, that you are humble and it helps us grow our relationship with our Heavenly Father. He is there for us and he wants to hear about our days. I pray that each of us openly and honestly speak with him throughout our days. Heavenly Father loves you and so do I. Have a great week y'all, keep on smiling!

Love,

Elder Mason Rankin :)