"Olo everyone!! So, I'm sure you're wondering about the title of my e-mail? Well, prepare yourself for awesomeness!!!
My companion and I went to a white elephant exchange party in our ward with some less actives and one of them brought this big, blown-glass rooster to give away. Guess who ended up with it?? :) We've named him Inigo Montoya and he goes with us everywhere now. He's also become the mascot of our district. We've decided he will become a legend in the mission and that we will take pictures of him everywhere we go. Yes, missionaries get excited at the littlest things and yes, we are weird!!! And awkward! I used to not think I was an awkward person until I came on a mission. Now......well, nough said! Anyhow, you will probably hear more about the adventures of El Rooster so get excited because we are!!
So, this week has been a week of miracles. It's just been amazing!!! We had exchanges this week and I finally got to drive the truck for a day! It was wonderful! When my STL was with me, we had a few appointments cancel, which turned into a blessing because we met a young gal who just moved here from Texas and we invited her to church and she was excited! (she didn't show up, but we'll keep trying). We were also able to share a message with a couple of Less Actives and a few non-members. It was great! Wednesday we did service with the cutest elderly lady in our ward who's less active. We helped put up all of her Christmas decorations and her tree. She was so excited that she gave us a whole bag full of stuffed animals and she came to the Christmas party that night. We gave the stuffed animals to kids at the party and she loved it and was so touched. We had 7 less active families/people come to the party! Most of them hadn't been to anything church-related in years. It was truly a miracle and a blessing! My bishop asked my companion and I to do a talent for the Christmas party program. Ugh! Neither of us are super talented, but I sang Silent Night in Hebrew and she signed it (she's majoring in ASL). Luckily, no windows or glasses broke from my singing so it turned out all right!
So, the biggest miracle(s) that happened this week was we got four new investigators!!!! It truly has been a blessing from the Lord!! The first one, his name is Joe and his wife is a member but she's less active. They both agreed to have the missionary lessons!! And we love them so much already. They're hilarious and kind and pretty humble people. The next two is probably the biggest miracle of all. We've been trying for the last couple of weeks to contact a less active lady in the ward. Finally, someone was home but it turns out she moved like a year ago and this a young couple was living in her home. We asked if we could share a Christmas message with them and they set up a time for us to come back. Well, we went back on Friday and not only were they home, but they had been looking forward to us coming all week!!!! They're a younger couple with two kids and their names are Jeff and Sarah. They've had a hard life, but they're both very humble and they've been looking and praying for a church to join! I almost fell off my seat when they told us all of this. We had a wonderful Christmas message about the Savior and they both agreed to take the missionary lessons. And they asked us if they could come to church!!!! (Sadly, they didn't make it because Sarah has a lot of health issues). We're teaching them lesson 1 next week and I'm thrilled. The spirit was so strong! When we left their house, I literally lept for joy and then bawled my eyes out!! :) It was the most amazing feeling I have ever felt. I felt so much love for them and I felt so much love from my Savior. What an amazing gift He is!! And to share it with someone. There truly is no greater joy! The fourth investigator is a man named Mike. The elders tracted into him about a month ago. He had actually been pondering about what he should do with his spirituality and search for truth, when we knocked on his door. Random? Heck no!!! So, we met with him last week with a member and had a really good conversation with him. He's very intellectual and science-minded so it will be a difficult road with him, but he's agreed to take the lessons and I'm excited to teach him. He's good at keeping commitments so that's a plus!
Also, this weekend I performed with a multi-faith choir on Saturday and Sunday. It was awesome! I talked with a man who is Baptist and he was very curious about missionaries and our lives and what we do. We had a great conversation and he said he'd talk with his pastor about us coming to their church and helping with some service activities! The concert went really well and we had a lot of people attending on Sunday. Hopefully, it will unite the faiths here more and create a stronger bond between all of the Christian denominations. There's a cowboy church here! So cool! Also, on Sunday we kicked off a primary missionary competition and it went so well!!! I love little children! We had at least ten of them come up after church to get Books of Mormon, pass-along cards, videos, and other materials to hand out to their friends. What a miracle! And the youth have been a little slow getting into their competition, but we've already seen some miracles with them and several have commented to us how it's helping them get out of their shell. Youth are amazing as well!! No wonder the Lord tells us to become like little children. They are amazing at loving people instantly and they have no fears of sharing the gospel!
Sorry this is so long! There's just so much to say! Real quick funny story for you: I finally ran into the first legit person who was high on marijuana on my mission. Oh boy was that a fun experience!!! She told us that not only did she believe in Jesus, but that He did puzzles with her when she was a little girl and that He charged her to create an electricity box that she needs to give to the Prophet so he can share it with the world. Best story ever!!! I love this lady!! We invited this lady and her partner to the Christmas party and they came!!!! They're actually both less actives, but he is trying to quit marijuana and smoking so hopefully we can help both of them. Even though they are struggling mentally, there is still a chance for them and we can still help them!!! It was an hilarious experience but also a very humbling one for me.
So, that was my week. I want to testify to you that this is the greatest work we could ever do!! One of my biggest heartaches on the mission is for members who have become "at ease in Zion". They refuse to do missionary work and they get angry at us for encouraging them to do it as well. The saddest thing is I feel like I used to be that way! Not that I ever got angry at the missionaries or anything like that, but I didn't do very much missionary work before my mission. I've definitely repented and I know that nothing brings us greater joy than bringing someone closer to their Savior! Members, please become engrossed in this work. Make it your top priority every day! Listen to the talk "The Missionary Next Door." It will change your life! Missionary work is fun and rewarding and joyful and amazing!!! Don't let anything else replace it. I love you all and I'm so grateful for your support. This mission has been the hardest thing I've ever done but it's also been the most rewarding. I've never been so humbled in my life!! What a wonderful thing to be humbled!
Okay, I'll stop writing cuz this is SUPER long sorry! Love you all and God bless you and Merry Christmas!
God is good!!"
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