March 24, 2014

March 24, 2014

HELLO everyone! SO we had a great week. I am not with Sister Perez! She is wonderful. She is 19, from California, and has only been out 6 months so has lots of fire and energy and it's so neat! Love it!

Monday we went and said goodbye to all of the recent converts Sister Stewart had here. It was hard for her to say goodbye. It's amazing how close missionaries and converts can get in just a little time. Tuesday we went out to lunch with a SUPER MEMBER who is like my Mom out here. She's a sweetheart. She took us to transfers. Transfers are one of my favorite meetings. I love being able to see old friends, old companions, and see where everyone is going to. It's weird to think that I only have 2 more transfer meetings left. But the spirit is always strong, the missionaries leaving bear their testimonies and share their experiences, and the new missionaries look like deer in the headlights, and everyone is really excited. The missionaries going home, it's strange because I know more and more of them every time, and it's so sad, but it's exciting to meet the new ones too. I got put with Sister Perez! We have had a great week of finding and teaching.

WE GOT A MEDIA REFERRAL!!!! YAY!!! I hardly ever get those but when they do happen it's really exciting. So this man ordered a bible. So we called and scheduled an appointment, and brought a member to teach him with us. (he's a man, so we couldn't have gone in without a member)  We talked about the bible, and it transitioned into the restoration so perfectly. He doesn't have much of a religious background, so we had to go super slow. We are working on teaching really simply! It's so important. He said he was working this week, so he didn't get to come to church but NEXT week :) I didn't realize before my mission people had to come to church 3 times before they can get baptized. Fun fact. 

On Saturday was our car fast day and the two appointments we had scheduled fell through... So we had a great day of WALKING YAY!! the weather was actually really nice so it worked out. We met a guy who just wanted to bash with us, and was asking us about weird random doctrine and obviously was "ANTI'D" as we call it. So we just bore testimony to him and answered his questions simply. My companion was great and very bold. But he wanted us to come back and talk more so we'll see how that goes. We also met a really nice 16 year old girl out walking who was talking about how she and her family used to be 7th day Adventist, and she was baptized there, but doesn't really necessarily believe it and her family doesn't go, she's searching for good things and a place to go, she says she was baptized when she was little but didn't think she knew what she was doing, and wants to do it again and wants it to be her decision. BINGO! We were like "Good news for you, that's our JOB!!" So she was about to go to work, but hopefully we'll see her again this week. It's amazing how God just puts prepared people in your path, if you only have the faith to open your mouth and talk to everyone. I think if more members opened their mouth and talked to their neighbors, they would find more prepared people! The Lord is truly hastening the work and preparing the hearts of people. 

On Saturday night we had a neat experience. There is a sweet sister in the ward who has been a member for 17 years. She joined the church, and her husband has never been interested. He is a chemistry professor, and he is very analytical, practical, scientific, and he doesn't really claim to believe in anything. He has never been open to the gospel. He doesn't prevent her from being active in the church or anything though, and she is very active and faithful and attends the temple and holds callings. We had dinner at her house with her and her husband was there. She is so cute, there were Restoration pamphlets on the counter, a preach my gospel sitting out, paintings of Christ and temples everywhere, scriptures written on the walls, and everything. She wants him to be a member SO BADLY and she's doing her best to plant the seeds. We had a great conversation at dinner, he was very nice to us. We shared a message about prayer. We shared how it was communication with God, and just a conversation between God and his children. We invited them to pray together. She took us home and she thanked us so much. She thinks he really was listening, and he really will pray with her. She told us about how she really really wanted him to come to church for the next day, because she was speaking. He has never ever attended church. BUT we all prayed in the car an exercised our faith that he would have a desire to come. AND Low and behold.. GOD answers prayers, and a man who has never been to church ever CAME! It was such a neat miracle. The Ward loved him, and he came and listened to his wife's talk. She thanked us so much for our faith and prayers and she was so excited. We have dinner with them in 2 more weeks, and we are excited to see what happens with him. I definitely think he'l be a slow mover, but is making HUGE PROGRESS!

Also, we met 2 less active families from the ward split (the ward gained some area that used to be in different boudaries) and we talked to them and they both were very excited to see us, and wanted us to come see them. One member and one nonmember in each home. We are excited to see them this week! 

Also.. our recent convert's husband came home yesterday! We haven't met him yet, but he is interested in learning and we're excited to meet him this week as well. 

We were supposed to teach a different recent converts 10 year old son this week, but he got sick so we're going to try again this week. 

LOTS of great things happening. 

  

We have been studying knowledge in our Christlike attributes study this week. I learned alot about how important knowledge is, and how to gain it. This week we are studying PATIENCE and it will be wonderful. Something I definitely can learn about. And it seems like whenever you study something, god gives you opportunities to exercise it. So I will have opportunities to exercise LOTS of patience this week. We'll see what great things God gives me to make me more patient. I'm kind of nervous. But it'll be great. 

Good luck registering for my classes this week! Ah. Weird. 

Study Patience this week and tell me what you learn!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!