Heather

Dear family,

Today I wanted to share about one of my favorite people in the whole wide world. Heather has been investigating the church for about 5 years, and very seriously for the last 2 years. She has wanted to be baptized for a very long time, but because of some things that happened in her past, Heather has to have special permission from the first presidency to be baptized. We've been teaching Heather since I came here (and many missionaries companionships before me) and her lessons have been some of the most sacred experiences of my mission. I haven't shared about them partly because of how sacred they are to me, and partly because of how sensitive her situation is. Heather has been through the ringer, and in the last few years she has overcome every type of sin and every sorrow you can think of. Because of this, Heather is the atonement in action. Very few times in my life have I felt the love of Jesus Christ as strongly as I have when I have talked with Heather, because for Heather the atonement is as real as it gets. Last week Heather finished meeting with her counselor and he called President Bonham and told him that although Heather will have to stay in the singles ward for life, he sees no reason why she shouldn't be able to get baptized. What we didn't realize is that this was finally the last step in the process, and all that's left is for President Bonham to contact Salt Lake and get the approval for baptism. We talked to President Bonham at zone conference and he told us that he feels confident enough that the first presidency will approve Heather being baptized, that he gave us permission to set a date for baptism, as long as it's far enough away that he can be confident she is 100% prepared. When we invited Heather to be baptized on November 22nd she was completely in shock. It was an emotional experience for all of us. The whole process of teaching Heather has been an emotional experience for me. I love Heather so much. The last thing Heather has to overcome is smoking, and she started the program last night. Please please keep her in your prayers this week!!!

We got transfer calls and I'm super happy to report that both Sister Smith and I are going to be staying in Silverlake YSA!!! We have also been asked to serve as Sister Training Leaders for the nearby zones in this area, which we are excited but a little overwhelmed about as well. It's going to be another transfer filled with miracles!

Love you all!

Love, Sister Slade

We told Heather to show us her baptism "victory pose"

 Us and our grossness after completely cleaning and sanitizing Heather's apartment to prepare for her to start the stop smoking program

 She starts the stop smoking program today. We spend a million years cleaning her apartment so that it's completely smoke free! Oh. And we made her promise that she would wear this sign whenever she leaves the apartment this week. Keep her in your prayers!!!