Hey hey hey!
Well, it has been quite the happening week (like always) and we decided we just needed to re-vamp things here, so we had a solid fast yesterday. We have been doing okay and teaching quite a bit, but it's mainly just teaching these very few people over and over again... So it's way good for them, but there's just not much to work from. Plus, when they're busy, there's not a whole lot to work off of. So we fasted yesterday and we had a couple families come to church! There were 8 in total, and it was so cool to see them all there, sitting together. It was actually the primary program yesterday, and I'm pretty sure I counted 3 investigators that were actually performing in it! They had been to church 1 or 2 Sundays and they had parts and sung in it and everything! It was pretty incredible - there was a boy from a family that we're teaching, as well as a couple more from a family Elder Ricker and Wheeler are teaching. So that was sweet, and then yesterday after church, we talked to all kinds of people (meeting our goals we had set for OYM's and finding potentials) and contacted some pretty solid referrals. We found this lady yesterday, who we actually visited this morning, who got baptized a year ago and has been wanting to go to church but doesn't know which ward she belongs to. So we talked to her and found out that she has kids that live with her who haven't been baptized, and she still has some of that convert fire, so we'll see what happens there. We talked to lots of people that had met with missionaries before but had just moved and not been able to get in contact with them. It seemed like everywhere we went we were running into people that had connections and just needed to find us (even though it was almost entirely for the English missionaries here). We also taught this guy that Elder Twitchell had met earlier in the week and found that there are 5 families living in that house! So there are 9 or 10 adults there plus kids, and the guy we taught was way interested and excited to come to church! His sister had met with the missionaries before, so she already had the BOM and knew a lot. So we're pretty excited to teach all of them this week. Basically, the moral of the story is we definitely have a testimony of fasting. We've been trying everything we can think of to find new people to teach and nothing was working. I guess the Lord helps us realize sometimes whose work this is (he gives us weaknesses so we can be made strong). Yesterday was just a good day.
One thing that's pretty fun is we've been able to go on quite a few exchanges this week! It's fun to go into other areas to see how they do work there, or to bring English missionaries into ours, and have them be super lost as we teach. It's hard to remember not knowing Spanish... We've been seeing some pretty amazing things with the investigators around here. There are quite a few people getting baptized that the missionaries simply talked to out in the streets (from OYM's). Normally it's through members that solid people are found, but we've been seeing people found through missionary efforts as well! On Thursday I went with another missionary to visit this couple who gave up alcohol, coffee, and smoking in a matter of a couple weeks and is getting baptized this Saturday! They had met them in the park one night and were invited to their home to get a drink of water. It's crazy when we think about how many people we walk by, and how many people may have accepted the gospel if we had only found that courage to open our mouths.
There was a baptism this last weekend that came from missionaries just offering to help a lady move her bed into her apartment (Elder Twitchell actually did when he was on exchanges with Elder Wheeler). She and her daughter just got baptized and they are absolutely incredible. They came to church right away and just knew from the beginning that these missionaries were sent from God and that they needed to listen. She said she wouldn't open the door for missionaries before, but she was so glad that God gives us more chances. So we got to have a massive dinner with her after the baptism and it was just a good feeling. The baptism went well, even though it was a little smaller, and our musical number actually went really well. Ricker and Wheeler are super musical and Elder Twitchell can mostly hold the melody, so musical numbers turn out pretty sweet :) Our ward really likes it. Oh, and speaking of that, we found out at the primary program that the Hispanic kids take after their parents and as a whole... let's just say singing's not their greatest strength... But it was fun as always and everyone enjoyed it.
We're working right now with a lot of people that need to get married so they can get baptized! There are quite a few, and it's tough because they're not legal and I guess they need passports (which they don't have money for). So we're working on that, and some families are starting to look a lot more solid. We notice a huge difference when people are actually reading and praying and keeping those basic commitments. We're able to see it in their faces, and see that they're happier and more optimistic - life is just better!
This week should be a pretty busy one... we've got interviews with President Howes tomorrow, and then we have Larry Wilson from the 2nd quorum of the 70 who's doing a mission tour (like Elder Perry did last year) and is coming to talk to all of us on Thursday. So Mesa's a happening place! A lot faster pace than I got used to in Yuma, but I like it. The missionaries are studs and the work is really starting to pick up.
Thank you for all of your thoughts and prayers! I can tell we're getting some extra help :)
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