Boo Yah! - Prayers Answered

Dear Mommy,

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!! [Insert picture with a funny face here and a birthday sign]

I Love you!

Love, Me

Dear Fambily,

So, this week has FLOWN by. it shouldn't be allowed, but alas! 'Tis so!

We did a lot of service this week- raking leaves (the few in existence here), painting, and pruning weird bushes.  It was nice to really work hard. Not that we aren't working and doing missionary work, it's just nice to do "hard" labor every once in a while.  We also met about 3 realy good potential investigators. One of them is like 14 yrs old. Her name is Julia. She said she gets a seminary lesson every day at lunch from her LDS friends. Lol. Good for them! We also are trying to get a former invetigator to desire to continue learning. There's a bit going on in the area, but it's nice to see things pick up a bit as we continue to be full field and actually have time to do more than the minimum.

Ok. So I have to tell you about my miracle for the week.  But I have to backtrack a little so you can see the whole picture. 

At the beginning of the transfer, I knelt in prayer and told Heavenly Father that I really wanted to see one more baptism in our area before I go home.  I just wanted to see someone progress and get far enough to be able to enter into that covenant.  And I kinda got reprimanded by Heavenly Father that if I wanted it, I needed to get my act together and be more obedient and work harder.  So I have been.  So three weeks pass, with no great improvement and if anything, the work was suffering more. It wasn't for a lack of trying, we just didn't know what to do.  I had fasted, I was getting more out of my studies, and I was working. But I just didn't see any improvement in our teaching pool. I then decided that I wanted to broaden my prayer about the baptism. I told Heavenly Father that I would even be satisfied if I got to see someone that I formerly taught in another area get baptized. So not last friday, but the one before that, Sis Anderson and I were sitting at our desks weekly planning and I was just getting discouraged so I asked her why don't we have more people to teach. She said that she didn't know and she didn't like thinking on it too much.  She just said she didn't know if Heavenly Father was trying to teach us something before answering or if we weren't be enough obedient (even though there's always something to improve) or what.  Then, not 5 minutes later, we recieved a text messege from our zone or district leaders that President Ellsworth wanted us to read and study D&C 123:17 and be prepared to talk about it in interviews this coming Zone Developement Meeting (on Wed). So Sis A read the scripture out loud, "Therefore, dearly beloved brethren [and sisters], let us cheerfully do all things in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed."  So, I took it to heart as an answer to my question. We worked cheerfully. And sought service opportunities this week.  And taught as much as possible even though it wasn't much. And we talked to about 2 or 3 pretty strong potential investigators. And then last night happened.

Last night was the Mission President's fireside.  It is the same thing as the "We Believe" fireside in MD.  it's just a few talks by recent converts telling their conversion stories and musical numbers by missionaries. But it was the last one that I would be able to go to before I go home. So I really wanted to go.  So I prayed that we would be able to go but in order to do so, we had to have someone we're teaching go with us. We didn't have any luck going with our investigators, but our Ward mission leader invited a less active we're teaching. So he came, and we went.  Answer to prayer. The fireside was really good.  the talks were amazing and I even got to go and sing the EFY Medley at the end.  It makes me cry EVERY TIME!!!!  I was the only missionary up there bawling. Lol. Then President Ellsworth made his remarks and invited a girl named Ayla from the audience to share her story. She's getting baptized on the 14th. She has an amazing story I'll have to tell you later. I didn't recognize her at the time, but I gave her a hug after teh fireside and she asked if she knew me and that I looked familiar. Then she talked about her mom and I asked who her mom was.  She said Martina and it clicked. I had street contacted her mom as she was moving in and we had tried to teach her but gave up because she was avoiding us (Ayla confirmed that. Lol). But I had talked to Ayla several times and she told me the beginning of her story (up until her meeting with the missionaries since that happened after I left the area) and how she was introduced to the church through a friend. Well, her story obviously has developed since I talked to her more than 6 months ago. And she's so on fire and SO EXCITED to get baptized. And I'm gonna go! Ayla asked me to be there. I had to ask President because I was doubting last night that we'll be able to get anyone to go with us which is the requirement to go to baptisms that aren't our investigators. But last night President told me to work hard this week and pray in faith and then to call him at the end of the week. So that's what I'm gonna do! We're going to do everything we can to get someone there, and last resort is to call president.  But God answers prayers. And he hasn't gotten me this far just to deny me the opportunity of seeing the baptism. So. yeah.  THAT was a faith building experience!  And continues to be! :-D

WEll, that's about it. Lynz, i haven't gotten the letter yet. I'll expect it soon.

Love you all!

Love, me