Week 4

Dear family,
We got new sisters this week. Hermano Romero and Hermana Wallet. Both of them are from california and they are great girls. Super silly and still trying to figure out some of the rules, but they're learning. They make me laugh.

This week we were focusing a lot on the fact that if the members would do their part and find investigators then the missionaries wouldn't have to. Ideally, the missionaries shouldn't have to find investigators, they should be 100% teachers. But we have to find pepole because we don't get enough referred. Anyway, I am extending a commitment that I expect all (you too Andrew :D) of you to keep: This week pray to find one person that you can refer to the missionaries. And when you do (because if you are sincere and care at all you will find someone) then ACT and tell the missionaries. They'll love, love, love you for it!!! And you'll be blessed.

I could have done better about this...but I was too chicken. Don't be a dummy like I was. It is hard, but possible. And you'll grow from it. Anyway, I'll be calling you to check up on you...jk. Wish I could but I guess you will have to report to me. And i'm expecting a report! I'll be praying for all of you in this endeavor!

Ok awesome experience of the week:

So, to practice teaching investigators my teachers Hermano Concha and Hermano Alder act like an investigator. Hermano Concha is "Pablo" and Hermano Alder is "Marcos". Although they aren't that person, these investigators are real people that they know really well.

We have been trying to focus on the needs of the people we teach and the spirit can tell us how to do that. So, all I"m trying to say is these lessons we teach are super real. Like, sooooo real! We just don't have as many resources, but everyone is still being edified and progressing. It's cool.

Anyway, we team teach w/ the elders in my district (Elder Croft and Andreasen). We switch off teaching, so we also bounce ideas off each other when planning. So both parties had the idea to mention that we know God loves him because He sent us to him. (oh....we were planning for Mark aka Marcos and he doesn't really believe God loves or cares about him...) The other idea we had was to try to talk to him about keeping the sabbath day Holy. Well I"ll admit, the sabbath day sounded good, but it didn't "click" for me. But we planned on it anyway.

So we went to visit Marcos. We brought our "member" with us (aka E. Andreasen) and found out he didn't have the best day. Apparently his brother Brian came over drunk and messed up before and it just ruined his day. Anyway, we were talking about stuff and then started getting in to the second lesson (this was all in spanish fyi...) but it just wasn't "working". No one was being edified and Marcos was bored. This whole time I kept thinking "just ask him more about his brother" so I changed the subject completely. It sounded weird and crazy, but it worked!

All of a sudden he opened up. He was telling us all about his family situation and we just started talking about the atonement and forgiveness. (By this point it had changed back to English...even Hermano Alder *Marcos was speaking in English which is weird. Usually he stays in spanish). It was sooo powerful. I wish you all could have been there! I don't remember what I said, but that's good because it wasn't me speaking. It was the Holy Ghost. We didn't cover everything we wanted, and the lesson was taking a different route, but it was way better than what we'd planned. And we said nothing about the Sabbath day. It just wasn't what he needed to hear.

Marcos was almost crying and that is HUGE! He had to choke back the tears, and I of course cried. Even Hermana Springer cried. She never does normally. Oh yeah, and at the end he didn't want to pray because he didn't feel like it. The Holy Ghost helped me remember that when you don't want to pray is when you need to most. I told him that and he decided to pray. I was so glad, and apparently everyone else wasn't even going to try to get him to pray. They told me after that they wanted him to pray but didn't know how to get him to.

Heavenly Father is amazing. I continually slap myself across the face because I realize how much of a dummy I truly am. Seriously. The lessons where I think we aren't accomplishing anything (because we aren't checking the teaching list off) are those lessons that are most effective. Pray that I can be humble. I am prone to pride (as we all are), especially as God uses me to accomplish his work. I hope I never think it is my abilities that things get accomplished and lives change. It is all God. He uses our talents to further His kingdom. He truly is a God of miracles.

Love you all!
Sarah