Week 11

GOT MY VISA!

Hola todos :)

This week has been a lot of fun, and we've had some great experiences. I love serving here, and I'm not totally sure I'm ready to leave, but I know that the Lord has a plan for me. I'll go where He wants me to go.

The area is great, we had Maria and Alison at church again. It was the primary program, and they loved it! I also thought it was hilarious, but the little kids have such a sweet spirit about them. Maria said that the ward is already her family, she can tell. That made me so happy because the ward is so good about meeting investigators and fellowshipping them. I love the ward here, they are excellent and a lot of fun to work with. The ward Mission Leader is doing great, even though he's still pretty new at it. I love having the support of a good ward. The investigators we've been working with are progressing and I know that they will keep doing better as we continue to work with them, and help them feel the spirit.

We had some interesting and challenging stuff this week. We had an investigator named Gene who gave us back the Book of Mormon we gave him and told us that he didn't want religion anymore. That was really sad because he's really looking for some happiness and we know that he'd find it in the gospel. We also ran into a lady named Kathy. We've met her before, but this time when we ran into her she burst into tears and started to tell us a little bit about what was going on. It's hard to see people go through really tough times, but there is such hope in the gospel and in the atonement of Christ.

Our Spanish group is starting up on the 9th of November and I wish I could be here, because it's going to be great! I am so excited to hear about what happens with that. The whole ward has banded together to help, and I think that it will unite them even more.

We met a guy named Alfredo in a little crazy town called Halcyon. He told us some pretty cool stuff about the area, like that Ansel Adams used to live there. When we went to dinner with the Slayters, they looked it up and didn't find anything about it. He also told us some other stuff, but now we're a little unsure of it's truth, now that our source has been deemed questionable. I was really excited about that though, so someone email me if it's true :)

Hermana Eastman is doing great, she's really an excellent companion. I love her dearly, and we've been blessed to get along spectacularly. I couldn't have asked for a more patient and obedient companion. I can't sing her praises enough. Also, she teaches me a ton of stuff every morning in companion study that strengthens my faith and understanding of the gospel. She's also hilarious and keeps me laughing all the time, which is great :)

My testimony is always strengthened here and I love working with people and being able to feel the spirit testify to them. This week especially, I've had the opportunity to see that the Lord always guides the feet of His missionaries. We have had a crazy week that has not really gone according to our plan, but rather, to the Lord's. Every time there was a delay or a change of schedule, we found someone that needed our help, or had been prepared to hear the gospel. We found a girl named Ali in a random 7 minute walk in the dark, and we were able to give her a Book of Mormon, and she was excited to read it. We helped Kathy, who just needed a friend, and we were able to find a referral and approach them without even having to knock on their door. We got to do service for a less active, and really help her out (more on that later). It has just been an excellent week, and I know that the Lord has a plan for each of his children and He sends His beloved missionaries to help them. I love being a part of this work, and I love that we can help people-not only with their temporal needs, but also with their spiritual needs.

Service this week has been a great opportunity to soften people's hearts one hour at a time. We were able to meet a possible new investigator, and continue helping Sister Millar with her yard problems. We helped at the Catholic outreach food bank and we were able to not only further friendships with the other people who work there, but answer more questions about who we are and what we do. Finally, we were able to serve a less active member, Sister Leathum, who was having a costume sale. She had tons of things to do, and we were able to help her because we were prompted to send her a text about visiting her. We're really getting to know her and what she needs, as well as softening her heart a little bit at a time. I truly have a testimony of service, and I'm so thankful that we have the opportunity to offer it to others. It has also come up in conversations with people everywhere that we serve, and they're always impressed by it. This is a great work.

Thanks for all the letters and notes and packages! I hope you all have an excellent week! I challenge you to share the gospel with one person, and write about the experience :)
Happy Halloween!!!

Sincerely,

Hermana Swan