Once again, Heavenly Father never ceases to amaze me in the
ways he chooses to bless his children- oftentimes in ways that they didn't
expect! The first half of this week was definitely a test of my faith and
patience. It seemed like all of our appointments were falling through, and when
we did have appointments for some reason it was next to impossible to find
members that were available to help us. The challenges at the beginning of the
week made us work harder though, it's funny how the more desperate you get the
more sincere and pleading your prayers become. Heavenly Father must have
approved of our hard work, because we have seen so many miracles in the last
couple days-big and small- that I feel overwhelmed by how aware Heavenly Father
is of me and of the people around me.
We had exchanges on Saturday, and Sister Kidd and I were
doing a lot of tracting because both of our appointments had fallen through. Up
until this point we still hadn't found that new investigator, but I had been
praying for days that we would find someone new to teach that week. After a
whole lot of no's we knocked on a door, and a girl answered and to our surprise
she immediately invited us in. We got to know her and found out that her name
is Mikayla and she is 14 years old. She told us simply that she wanted to know
more about God and Jesus Christ. This girl has got to be incredibly prepared,
because from minute one when we had an opening prayer, you could tell that the
spirit was working on her and she was very intently focused on what we were
telling her. The spirit was almost tangible, it was so so strong during the
lesson, that at one point after I shared with Mikayla the first vision I felt
like I had to just stop in the middle of what I was saying and ask, "Do
you feel how warm this room is right now? Do you feel that warmth inside of
you?" Mikayla's eyes teared up and she nodded and we were able to explain
to her that that feeling was the holy ghost telling her that what we were
telling her was true. Such a beautiful moment! She's young and open to learning
and hungry for truth. I am so excited for Sister Anderson and I to be able to
teach her!
We were able to get in contact with another 14-yr-old girl
who is inactive, and we were able to go visit her along with the YW first
counselor. When we got there the girl told us that after we came she called her
mom (Who is also inactive and who she just recently has been able to have
contact with) and her mom was so excited because she said she has been wanting
to get back in contact with the church. In the last few months the mom has been
working really hard to overcome drug addictions and is making HUGE changes in
her life. The mom joined us for the lesson, and at multiple times would turn to
her daughter and teach her things like how to pray and who Heavenly Father is.
Hearing the moms story and everything that both of them have had to go through
was so touching, especially since the mom has a super firm faith in Jesus
Christ. At one point she started crying when she said, "I'm having a
religious conversation with my daughter." We will be teaching the girl and
her mom together from now on. The timing of finding them and the changes that
have been happening in their lives within the last month is impeccable-
absolutely not a coincidence. :)
Two hours before
church started on Sunday, Sister Anderson and I decided that we needed to
invite two of our potential investigators to church- people we haven't even had
the chance to teach yet. When we got to church one of them was there with his 2
kids, and the other came with 6 of his grandkids. Bennett and Verna also came
to church, and 4 of the less actives we've been working with came. In the end
there were 13 nonmembers at church yesterday, and the ward- especially the
primary and YM/YW- hardly knew what to do with itself! What an incredible thing
to see! I was smiling the whole first half of sacrament meeting- I almost
couldn't keep from laughing- because it was just such an outrageous and
unexpected blessing for everyone!
Whenever we have a rough day one of the ways I remind myself
of the miracles Heavenly Father is showing us is that I think to myself,
"Bennett and Verna are getting baptized, Bennett and Verna are getting
baptized!" and I say another little prayer of gratitude for them. We
taught Bennett and Verna about eternal families and the temple this week, and
when we asked them if they would continue to prepare themselves to go to the
temple Bennett grinned and said to Verna, "Yeah, I think we can do
that," and Verna just winked at him. Bennett and Verna were married two
weeks after they met, and they've now been married 28 years. I've never met two
people who are more in love. The beautiful thing is that they can now prepare
with Everett and Darlene to go to the temple as they are all close friends now.
I can't wait until a year from now when I'll be able to come back to Oak Harbor
to watch both of those couples be sealed!!!
Everett and Darlene were called as our new ward
missionaries- SOLID calling! :) Bennett and Verna still can hardly wait for
their baptism! Verna has read through both the relief society and Sunday school
manuals, and has recently surpassed me in her BOM reading! Bennett likes to
tell us about his new favorite programs on the Mormon channel, and also about
how he can only get through one chapter in 2 Nephi at a time because he ends up
studying one chapter for 2 hours. :) Verna likes to say that, "On October
12th, you'll have yourselves a twofer!" It's hilarious.
Well I love you all! I'm so excited that Brandon is in the
MTC now! I can't wait to hear from him. KaraLynne said she saw the pictures
from when you dropped him off- I would love to see those too! How is school
going for everyone? Are things pretty busy? I would love to hear from you guys,
even if it's just a quick note.
Love ya lots!
Sister Slade
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