Good News!

Dear family,

So much good news to report this week! Darlene and Everett moved to Arizona a few months ago, and this week they went to the snowflake temple to get their endowments and to be sealed! Such a happy event for them and for me! I wish I could be there somehow, but I am so happy just to hear that they're doing so well! We also went to the cottage meeting at the mission home last night, and I got to see Jesse, the guy that I contacted at Edmonds Community College a few months back. I'm pretty sure I wrote about him in a few emails before we found out he lived in Silverlake YSA area so we had to pass him off. Right before I got transferred to Silverlake YSA Jesse moved to Marysville so he was then passed off to the Armar YSA sisters. Well, Jesse got baptized yesterday and he was absolutely beaming! I see such an amazing change in him! I asked Jesse if he remembered that first time I met him and him telling me that he doesn't agree with organized religion, and there's no way he would ever join the church, but he was willing to listen just to hear what we believe. Jesse laughed and told me that he did remember that.

Heather has officially been free from smoking for 8 days as of today! She successfully finished the 7-day stop smoking program and we are so proud of her! The first few days were extremely hard for her, but on day 6 she told us that she went out to take her dog Duders for a walk and she smelled someone smoking (not a big surprise when you're in north Everett) and she said that it absolutely disgusted her. The last few days have been easy! I have taught a lot of investigators on my mission that I have gotten very close to, and Heather is one of those that I will always have a very special love for.

A few weeks ago I mentioned that we are teaching a girl named Zahra who is muslim. This week President Bonham came to one of her lessons with us and we had a very powerful experience. We were reteaching the restoration, and we turned to the picture of the first vision in the pamphlet. Before we said anything Zahra looked up from the picture and said, "Does it make you want to cry?" and out of nowhere she completely broke down sobbing. The spirit was so strong. We let Zahra cry for a few minutes, then she expressed to us how she felt good and how she knows that this is the path that she wants to take, but she is terrified of what her family back in Gambia will think. They are muslim and she doesn't want to become a disgrace for the family if she gets baptized. This is something that she has been working through for a very long time, and I felt so much love and compassion for her as she shared her feelings. I told her that my heart went out to her for this hard decision that she has to make, but the reason we keep coming to teach her is because we love her and know that this gospel really is that important. We promised her that if she will do everything in her power to pray and read and come to church so that she can build her testimony, she will be given the strength that she needs to make the decision that is right for her. 2 days later she told us that she is going to read the Book of Mormon by one month from now, and 2 days after that she came to church and showed us that she had already read through 1 Nephi. :)

There is so much more I wanted to say about my studies and being a Sister Training Leader and other investigators but there never seems to be the time! Just know for now that I love you all! I am so grateful for the support and prayers that I feel from all of you!

Love, Sister Slade

Seeing Jesse Gilpatrick again at cottage meeting!