July 14, 2014

Oh what a wonderful week!  Sometimes I just LOVE MY LIFE. Emailing each week makes me reflect on the week and see all of the amazing miracles that happened. It helps me see that the mission is the good life. It truly is. I am so thankful for my mission.  AH! It is the best! 

GUESS WHAT! We put someone on date this week! Can I get a woot! Woot!?  haha.  His name is Matt Hinkley. Obviously meant to be a member. But I was on exchanges when Sister Steck and another Sister tracted into him.  We have been trying to meet with him for a couple weeks and haven't been able to pin him down. But on Wednesday he had this smal window of time to meet with us. So we met him at the church and gave him a church tour and taught him the first lesson in the chapel. That was the best idea I have ever had. ALWAYS TEACH IN THE CHAPEL.  It was incredible. The spirit was awesome in there.  Matt went on this tangent about how he understands God speaking to him.  He gave an experience about getting this feeling to do something and acting on it. It didn't work out like he had expected it to work out but he kept saying, I wouldn't have known if I hadn't ever tried.  OH thank you Matt for just opening up that door for us.  We talked to him about reading the BOM and coming to church because he won't ever know unless he tries. Hahaha he laughed and said we caught him.  But we taught him  about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon and read him various scriptures from the Book of Mormon.  We asked him to go home that night and ask God if these things were true.  Matt is kinda ADD and all over the place but when we asked that question, he stopped and thought and said to Sister Steck and I, "It's true.  This is God's church"  He went on and said that when Sister Steck recited the First Vision that he felt something.  He felt something in our church and knew that the Book of Mormon had to be the word of God.  We asked him to be baptized in August and he said yes.  AND Guess what! HE IS IN OUR AREA! BLESSINNNNGGGSSSSSS.  He said he was going to try and get Sundays off so that he can come to church. I AM SO EXCITEDDDDDDD. :) Oh matt! I LOVE YOU! 

Remember Wanda!?  I am obsessed with her.  We went back to her house on Tuesday and Sister Stevens came with us.  ( Sister Stevens is the most fabulous member to bring to lessons FYI)  But we had a really good chat with Wanda and answered some of her questions.  She couldn't meet for very long because she was feeling really sick.  But Sister Steck had the brilliant idea of asking her if she would like a blessing. Earlier in the lesson she was talking about the Gift of healing and how it doesn't make sense to her that there is no gift of healing anymore.  So we explained blessings and how they can be used to heal people.  We read a scripture about faith in Ether and discussed how the miracle in contingent on our faith.  She agreed and Bishop and one of his counselors came and gave her a blessing. IT WAS GREAT! I love her. Things are going to happen with her for sure.  Little miracle, she is starting to gain a better understanding and faith in the kingdoms of glory! WOOT WOOT! I love my life. 

Sister Steck and I were tracting last night and ran into a guy that had a lot of questions and I guess questions isn't the right word, but a lot of misunderstandings about religion and churches in general. But he was a pretty funny guy.  Ha at the end of our conversation I handed him a pamphlet and he was like, " Now why the hell is he white!?  Why is Jesus white!? Now that makes no sense. It shows me that your religion doesn't understand....blah blah blah" hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha I don't know if you have seen the picture on the pamphlet but it is of Jesus holding  lamb. haha I was like, "RANDY it is just a painting! Just read the dang pamphlet! " he laughed. He was hilarious.  

MIRACLEEEEEEEE!! I got another miracle for you! This week we got a text giving us a media referral. So someone put their information online to have missionaries come by.  Sister Steck and I went to the guy's place like 3 times but no one ever answered so we finally called and left a message for him. HE CALLED US BACK! His name is Derek and plays for the Missoula Osprey baseball team here and was in Orem Utah playing a game when we stopped by his place.  He was like, " Yeah I would love to meet with you, my girlfriend is actually a member of your church in Arizona and when she came up here to visit me we went to one of your services.  She was the one that put my information online for you." YESSSSS! We are meeting with him this week at the  church. Pray that he is over 30 so we don't have to give him to the YSA missionaries.  But he sounds really promising.....and semi famous! Holla! Playing on the Missoula Osprey team! Waddduupppp.  But real talk. I am so excited. The Lord is lookin out for us! He is so gooooood. 

I don't think I have ever written about Derek Nordberg to you. But basically Derek is fantastic in every way.  Derek was baptized 9 months ago and is opening up his mission call today.  Talk about someone that has given the gospel everything he's got.  He is 20 years old and has been going around town knocking on doors and introducing himself as a local representative of the church and giving people copies of the BOM.  He comes to our district meetings, zone trainings, zone conferences.  He is basically one of us and is our family.  He got his call 3 days ago  but waited for Monday so that the missionaries could be there as he opened it.  Derek is one of those converts that will effect hundreds and hundreds of people.  Because of his decision not only will it effect those he teaches on his mission and their families, but his family now as well as his future family and their future missions.  It is amazing to think about what one baptism can do.  

On a more depressing note, do you remember Sarah from Bozeman? She was the 15 year old that got baptized a week after I left?  She was the one that had cancer and her mom was super anti, blah blah blah.  Turns out she lied through the whole thing.  She never had cancer and she never told her mom about the missionaries or about her baptism. She forged all the parental stuff.  Stab. In. The. Heart.  Bummer, bumer. I wish I could talk to her.  

I got a letter from a friend of mine who finishes her mission in 2 weeks. She wrote to me and said, " The key to know God is to struggle".  I am grateful for struggle. I am especially grateful for struggle on a mission. I am grateful for the people that tell me I am wrong or shut the door in my face before I can say anything, or the people that we teach that don't progress. I am grateful for them. It allows me to question what I am doing.  Why I am here, and if I really believe in what I am teaching.  Struggle has allowed me to come to know rather than just believe. It has allowed me to know God better than I have ever known Him before.  The more I question His understanding, or His awareness the more I know that He is everything. He is in everything. He is everywhere and apart of me.  I love Him. I love my mission. It is not ever easy, but the good things never were.  

I love you all. Thank you for your prayers and support! It helps me more than you know.

Have a fantastic week! 

Sister Muchacho Moline