Dope Cat to the Rescue

YAY...Getting to see Sister Ramstedt....Love her so much

Princess and the Pea? or just an extra bed there is no room for, so stack um up!

Seriously, our car has a tire problem!

Nothing like a good ol' outdoor Bon Fire and roasting Hot Dogs, Starburst, and  Peeps

Emily and Sister Belyea

Home Sweet Home in Gaston

Sister Burbank and Belyea

Sister Barrett, Belyea, Burbank, and Millett

Sister Barrett and Belyea

Sister Barrett and Belyea

Howdy yall! Another week of tender mercies and miracles.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY BEST FRIEND ON FRIDAY!!!!!! I LOVE YOU TONS AND CAN’T BELIEVE THAT SISTER HARDCASTLE WON’T BE A WITTLE TWENAGER ANYMORE!!!

So.. this morning we got the chance to go to “Nephi’s Books” by the South Carolina Temple. Our Relief Society President, Sister Carroll- owns the place! It was a fun little P-day trip. We also got to take some fun pics outside the temple- and then she took us to Chick-fil-a for lunch! Fun day.

Well… I guess we could start off the email by saying that we officially have 0 progressing investigators at this point. We’re starting off at ground zero, again.

Miracle this week! So… Sister Barrett and I were down in Swansea following up on some leads of past investigators. Well.. we also were knocking a little bit and taking in some Vitamin D. Next thing we know… we’re in our car and driving to our next destination. We both heard a kinda weird noise and thought that maybe our tire was flat. I pulled over immediately and it was COMPLETELY flat. So, quickly pulled around and pulled into a little church parking lot. Well- Sister Barrett knows what she’s doing- so I helped her get the spare tire out of the trunk- blab la bla.. and next thing I know- she’s jacking up the car. Well.. I start pulling out the owner’s manual like an idiot, because I’m pretty clueless on this kind of stuff. Next thing I know, DOPE CAT PULLS UP ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD! (Let me just say… I know Gaston is a small town… but Swansea is even smaller. Let alone the fact that we’re even MORE in the middle of nowhere.) Well, we still don’t know his name. But, he pulled up- jumped out of the car- and didn’t even say a word. Literally, less than 2 minutes later- the entire tire was changed. I honestly don’t think there were more than 5 words exchanges between the 3 of us. It was something that would happen in a reality show.

Well, then he asked, “Do you know Squirrel?”

Excuse me?! WHO?

In about 10 words- he described who Squirrel is, what he does- and where he is. Pretty much, he’s a man who fixes tires super cheap in Gaston.

Next thing we know- Dope Cat is in the car and driving away.

SUCH A FUNNY AND RANDOM MIRACLE! Heavenly Father watches out for his missionaries.

We went to see Squirrel and he actually was just closing up his shop for the day. (oh- and yes, on his little mechanic collared shirt it even said his name is Squirrel. Oh, and his truck has a bumper sticker that said, “GOT SWEAT TEA?”. You know you’re in Gaston when…)

Well- we ended up going back the next day and our tire was worse than we thought. We may have been driving it longer than we thought. Well, he knew we were fans of Jesus, so he gave us a REALLY good deal, (well, the Church a really good deal- got to use that tithing money wisely!) Well, He gave us a brand new tire and mounted it for $30.

He said we were 110% safer leaving his shop, than we were when we came into his shop.

Like I said before, God takes care of his missionaries.

So- this next little story isn’t so little. I hope I can explain everything- because it was literally a series of miracles.

Our next door neighbor is actually a less active member! Her name is Marsha and she was baptized when she was 8 years old and her parents were both members of the church as well. She’s a homosexual and is very strong in her ways. We visit with her every once in a while. When the sisters first started going over there- about a year ago, she had 0 faith in God. She only believed that everything in this world was aliens, (refer to Simpsonville and to Bo for any more questions about that.) Well, Marsha has come a VERY long way. She has sense read the entire Book of Mormon from cover to cover and she’s highlighted a lot of stuff that she really likes.

Miracle #1; She first read the Book of Mormon because on the title page, it says that Moroni appeared to Joseph Smith on September 22. Well, that day was significant to her- so for that VERY reason- she was intrigued and read the whole thing in just a matter of months. That was apparently the day that her last girlfriend broke up with her. But when she was telling us about how big of a miracle that was- she decided to flip to the Introduction page to show us. Well, it says September 21st. She was DYING! For the next 10 minutes she swore up and down that when she very first read it, that it said the 22nd. She kept saying that she knows that Heavenly Father knows how big of a OCD she is- and that now she has no other option but to read it from cover to cover again.

Miracle #2: The first time she read through the Book of Mormon the sisters promised her that she would get the house that she’s living in right now. Well, she started reading and 4 weeks later- she got the house.

Miracle #3: She knows that the old Bishop of our ward owns a pharmacy down at the end of the road. Well, LONG STORY short- she got really upset at them the other day and sent us a texting saying that “if all Mormons act like that, then she doesn’t want anything to do with them.” LONG, LONG LONG LONG LONG story short, (don’t worry, it’s all recorded in my journal,) EVERYTHING got resolved and she was kicking herself with how stupid it was. Plus the fact that she learned a huge lesson from us, and the text (FOR SOME AWESOME REASON,) never even came to our phone.

Miracle #4: While we were leaving her house the other night- we told her to look up Al Fox when she was on the internet next time. Well, she looked it up- and the next morning she called us in tears and said that she needs to CHOOSE to have Faith in our Savior and to CHOOSE to have Faith in the Priesthood.

Ok, looking back at that- NONE of that story makes sense. Just know it was a miracle and that my testimony grew a lot from it. Hers as well. We were pretty much on cloud 9 with everything that’s happened with Marsha this past week. Fingers crossed and prayers said, that her heart is softened so that she’ll be able to come to church with us soon enough!

I was able to go on an exchange this past week in Lexington with Sister Anderson. It was a ton of fun and we saw a million miracles. Also, Sister Ramstedt lives with them- so we got to talk a little bit that night. Tons of fun. Love her so much!

Yesterday Brother and Sister Bone talked in Sacrament about Family History work. I know I’ve mentioned this before, but I know that those 2 are a HUGE reason I was sent here to Gaston. They’ve taught me so much about the Gospel and about life. Also, Sister Bone fed us this past week. I love both of them more than words could ever express.

Will y’all do me a HUGE favor?!?!?! Go to LDS.org and check out the talk that Elder Holland gave in October 1999. IT’S INCREDIBLE! Also, check out the video called “Family Search; Indexing is Vital.” Both of those little media items made me choke up a ton this past week. The Gospel is real- and it’s important!

We had a bon fire again with Kathy, Emily- and Emily’s dad, Jim. The other sisters were able to come, too. We roasted hotdogs, peeps and starburst. Tons of fun!

Wow. Sorry this whole email was from A to Z. I guess that’s what you get for going to see the temple/Nephi’s books this morning.

My testimony is literally growing every single day. I know that Heavenly Father is aware of me and us, more than ever. I know that the Atonement is real and our Savior, Jesus Christ lives. I love the Book of Mormon and I know that it was written for our day. I love knowing that Families can be together forever and that we have the priesthood authority on the earth. I love that we’ll get to gather as Sisters this week and attend the worldwide broadcast from our latter-day prophet and apostles.

I love you all! So much! Family, be sure to have a FUN and SAFE time in Japan this week! Feel free to pick me up a cheap pair of Ray Ban sunglasses.

2 Nephi 25:26

Mormon 9:19

Enjoy to the End,



Sister Belyea