Well, as the title of this week's e-mail translates, this week was a week of miracles.
J, M, and their son A (the family we found last Monday) came to church on Sunday and they really liked it. M and A had come in the past and so they were right at home. Apparently, J never wanted to come to the church before, but on Sunday morning, although he had fallen earlier in the week and was suffering pain from that injury, woke up early and told his family they were going to church. When we passed by their home to pick them up, they were all ready!
From Tuesday to Thursday, we did divisions with our Sister Specialists (STL's), and I learned so much! I stayed in my area with Hermana Pizza (yes, that is her real last name), and she helped me learn a lot of things. We worked hard and contacted many people and found new investigators. One of them was a woman named C. She is Catholic, very Catholic, but when we were visiting her, she started crying and thanking us for visiting her. Her husband is alcoholic and her son is having drug addiction problems. We are hoping to see her again today!
The next day, we found (part of) a family: A and her daughter N. They are so wonderful! Years ago, A was receiving the missionaries and was attending church, but her boyfriend didn't like it so she stopped going. During our visit, she started crying as well. She's been having a hard time finding work and is very worried for her family. But, she is so amazing. Their baptismal date is in April!
M is very excited for her baptism this Saturday! She is so sweet and gives the best hugs! We went to see her mom, E (less-active) on Sunday and she told us that she was actually thinking of going to church on Sunday! We've seen her change so much! When I came to this area, E didn't even look at us when she would pass through her mom's house (active member) on our Monday night FHE's. But, now she is always excited when we come over. We told her we're going to get her married with her boyfriend or find her a good man in the church and she always laughs.
S and J are doing very well! S had a health scare but she told us that the doctors have confirmed that she is all good. Yesterday was her birthday and we were able to stop by last night to sing her happy birthday. But, Friday was the most incredible day! We had a multi-zone conference which was amazing. I really loved it! President Wilkinson and Elder Alonso are men truly called of God! I was talking to our District Leader after the meeting on the bus and we were talking about O and R. They were supposed to be baptized last month, but many road bumps came that stopped them from doing so. Something that Elder Valtierra told me really struck me. He said, "Hermana, O and R are going to complete one month of having their baptismal interview. What do you think the leaders and president going to ask me? They are going to ask me why I signed their baptismal register." It's a good thing he's like my brother because what he said was very direct, but he was right. They are ready! These last few weeks, my companion and I have been worried about them and were not sure when the Lord wanted them to be baptized.
We decided to go see them, the 4 of us. When we got close to their home, they were waiting at the bus stop to leave. We greeted them and told them we needed to talk to them and that it was important. As we were talking the bus had come, but they decided to go back to their house with us. We talked about their baptism and they told us that they felt that they weren't ready and that they wanted a little more time. We testified that this was the influence of the adversary and that they have been ready since before their baptismal interview. Elder Valtierra challenged them to be baptized on the 14th of March. Then R asked, "Hermanas, what time is the baptism tomorrow?" (the Elders had a baptism programmed for the next day).
"At 4 PM," we said.
"Well, why not tomorrow?" she said.
It surprised all of us! The spirit there was so beautiful and we agreed for the next day.
On Saturday O and R entered the waters of baptism and it was such a beautiful experience. We are now working with them to get to the temple in one year to seal them as a family for the eternities!
I love this gospel! I know that this is God's work and that He is spreading His gospel! This is true and if you are not sure if it is, I invite you to get on your knees and ask God.
I love you all!
Hermana Whitman