My little Missionary, and the 4th of July

Well, I'm late posting 4th of July pictures, sorry, also, here's a story that started on the 4th of July. (Sorry, it's long, but good.) Oh, and the pictures really have nothing to do with the story, except that they all took place on the same day.

For the 4th we went to Nash Farms Battlefield. (For historical background go to http://www.henrycountybattlefield.com/index.html )



They had a lot of fun things set up for the kids, like facepainting, inflatables, pony rides, food, etc. They also had a building where they were doing Colonial Dancing. It also had seats, and large fans, so that was the favorite place for pregnant mamma.



We were sitting in there, and the kids were eating "Pull & Peel" licorice that we'd previously picked up for the fireworks at Target. A girl came and asked us where we found it,so she could go buy some, so we just shared with her. She started talking to the kids, and when she asked Sariah her name, Sariah replied, "I'm Sariah, and I finished reading the Book of Mormon before I was 8. I also have a loose tooth."



I was more than a bit embarrassed at first. But, the girl was way nice, and started asking Sariah why she'd read the Book of Mormon, if it was for school, etc. Sariah said, "No, I just wanted to read it before I get baptized." Being in the Bible Belt, I was worried she was going to start arguing about it with her. But then she replied, "I've always wanted to get a copy of the Book of Mormon."



WOW! Really?!? That's not something I hear often, and I guess I'd never thought anyone wouldn't know where to get a copy if they wanted one.

She told us about how she'd been stranded in Utah at one point, and how the church had helped her get home, and had given her some food for the trip, and she'd always wanted to learn more.

Well, we could help her there! So we started talking about it and she was really interested. We didn't have any Pass-Along cards (kicking self) or a copy of the Book of Mormon. But, we figured we'd get her number. Then a guy came up and quietly said to me, "I heard you talking about the church." Oh no, I thought, now we're going to get the bible belt lectures. Then he asked "What ward are you in?" I was so shocked, I had to think a minute. (We've only been there just over a month.) It turns out we were in the same ward, and this brother had just recently been called to be the ward missionary leader! So we introduced him to Shannon, and we got Shannon's phone number, then left it in his hands basically. We said good-bye to Shannon, and headed over for the fireworks.



We'd kind of put the incident out of mind, then this Sunday (the 13th) the ward mission leader came up to DH with tears in his eyes, and told him that Shannon has had all the discussions, and is getting baptized!! How cool is that?

Anyway, we're obviously pretty excited. We don't know when the baptism is, but I'm just so grateful for the example that Sariah has set for me to be willing to talk about the Book of Mormon to anyone.