My Favorite Bishop

June 26, 2012

Dear Family,

         I received a call from President Weston this morning about Buddy. I wish I could say it was easy to move on from that, but it has not been. He is so much a part of our family and he is in my thoughts and prayers. I wish I could be there with you guys! I love you. As with most of the toughest times on my mission...we have been seeing great success!

         Every Saturday we meet with our Bishop to discuss the work we did that week and how we could better help him in moving this great work forward. In my previous ward, this meeting was brief and very rarely did it exceed 5-10 minutes. But since my arrival here in Dry Creek I have spent many Saturdays with Bishop Culp and these times have become very special to me. When I first got here the missionaries were not meeting with the Bishop on a regular basis and so when I called him on Friday to set it up he did not seem all that enthused. But as I have continued to meet with this wonderful man I have come to understand more fully what it means to "sustain your leaders." Bishop Culp is the most loving person I have met. He does not shout it from the rooftops. He does nothing to be recognized, praised or rewarded. He thinks about the people in our ward and their problems weigh him down. This past Saturday we met with him and at the closing of our meeting we knelt with him and his wife for a prayer. He gave the most beautiful prayer I have ever heard. I felt strengthened and lifted. I left that day feeling so grateful that I had the opportunity to serve with him. I love him like a father.

         Then, the next day at church, sitting on the stand was the Stake Presidency. To make a long story short of it... our new Bishop is now Bishop Wyllie. (Another one of my favorite people from the ward) I am so excited to serve with him; he gave us a call that same day and said, "Sisters, we have a LOT of work to do." Nothing could have made me grin bigger then that. But a little piece of me was heartbroken. Bishop Culp will forever be my favorite Bishop. It's a testimony to me that things are not always as they seem. Although there may be some leaders that are outwardly loving and overly caring...we have leaders that pour over their scriptures and spend many hours on their knees for us. We must sustain them as well. We must support them, pray for them and boost them up in all they do. We truly can never judge a book by it’s cover. I love this work! We picked up two new families this week and its seems like this work is just taking off! We had a new investigator at church last week. He was so intrigued by the switching of the Bishops and his eyes were just wide open. He kept talking really loud during sacrament meeting asking questions and it was so cute. One of the new families we are teaching is a mom, two daughters (13) (15), and a 17-year-old son. The fifteen year old is so curious about God and the way He works. She has had a lot of trials in her life. Health issues, learning disabilities, and even several deaths in the family. She said she felt for a long time like God may just be punishing her for doing something wrong. We had an INCREDIBLE lesson with her. Whenever people talk about the things they wonder or worry about I sometimes have to look around to see if there is a hidden camera or something because this could not possibly be real! I mean... EVERYTHING she talked about could be directly answered by learning about principles of the gospel. We have only had one lesson with them but will be going back today. They are such a cute family and such honest seekers of truth. I love you guys all soooooooooo much. Please know that I keep you in my prayers and I love you more than I could ever explain.

Te Amo,

Sister Mitchell

Photos compliments of Sister Taylor!

Sisters Love, Simons, Williams,  & Mitchell