Wednesday, July 6, 2016

English Class is the Best

Hello happy family, here I am again, on a lovely P-day afternoon, just returning from the grocery store and typing like a mad-woman before we go do something SO FUN which I have no idea what that is yet.

Okay, so some really cool stories and miracles happened this week, I will see what I have time to relate!

English Class

1-The Avila family. Angels. So, this is the family that we found because of Hna Lewis' bike accident. We have been teaching them the lessons and they are coming to English class, too. So we stopped by to read with them the other night and we were asking the oldest daughter, Cindy, how she is doing and also if she had been thinking about her baptism at all. She said (in Spanish) "what does it take to be a missionary?" And we explained like the papers and the preparation and a few of the things we do. And then she said "I would like to be a missionary!!!" WHAT? ISN'T THAT SO SO SO CUTE!! She is the SWEETEST. She also was like really excited about 1 Nephi 1 and told us the whole story in detail and it was so sweet. Also the other two kids we have been teaching said they are also wanting to serve missions. THE BEST. I LOVE THEM. Also they have a son with special needs and he is such an angel, holy cow.  Please keep them in your prayers as they are trying to feel prepared for baptism! They are the sweetest family.

2- Juan. The other day (like 2 weeks ago) we were walking with a member in some apartment complex, and randomly this nice Hispanic guy called to us from his car and asked if we teach English classes. We gladly ran over to him and gave him the information. Before we could explain any more than that we are missionaries and stuff, he was like waving goodbye, so we didn't think much of it. Until now. He has been coming to all of the English classes and he came to the church tour (I'll write about that one later) and he came to church yesterday! The lesson at church was about the Holy Ghost. So after class we were talking to him, just chatting and Hna Lewis asked him why he stopped us that first time to ask about English classes. Basically he explained that he now understood (thanks to the class) that it was a prompting from the spirit! He said he had a thought in his mind to ask about English class, but really he wanted to know who we were. Then he said he was always curious about the church and he was so grateful that he followed the whisper and talked to us because now he can know more about what we believe. He said something like he feels kind of alone here, but he was so grateful for the friendship he has found through the class and church. WHAT A MIRACLE, RIGHT? It makes me a little emotional still, I love Juan.

3-Josefa. Josefa is a recent convert of I can't remember how long but less than a year. She has some granddaughters that come to church with her occasionally. We stopped by their house to invite them to church, and Josefa said she wasn't feeling well, something about her knee being really painful. We have been studying so much about power and authority and the priesthood lately, and we promised her that if she had the faith like Nephi, she would be able to come to church and fulfill this commandment. AND SHE TOTALLY DID HAVE FAITH LIKE NEPHI AND THE ELDERS CAME LAST MINUTE RIGHT BEFORE CHURCH AND GAVE HER A BEAUTIFUL BLESSING AND SHE CAME TO CHURCH AND STAYED FOR ONE CLASS AND IT WAS SO AMAZING. It was such a miracle. Her family all was able to watch the blessing and feel of the spirit, and he granddaughters enjoyed primary, too. And really though it was so last minute, we got back like 1 or 2 minutes right after the meeting started.

4-Alba. Alba is the mother in law of a member in the ward. I think this member has a son who is also a member but most of her family goes to a different church. So last night we had about an hour before we had to go inside, and all of our plans got cancelled so we said a prayer and I'm going to be honest with you here, I said the prayer and it was not very heartfelt. I prayed that we would reach our goal and know who we need to see. Rebuked. Ha! As I was praying I felt like we needed to see this family but my heart was just not in the right place and Hna Lewis and I jostled (??) with the idea and decided to head their direction and possibly see a different family. We stopped by the different family, and they weren't home. Again the prompting came to mind, so we prayed again. This time our hearts were softened and changed as we prayed not to reach our goal but to be guided wherever we needed to go that night, and be able to talk with or bless whoever needs us before we go inside. Again the spirit told me to go see that family and that I needed to have faith that whoever was there would be who we need to see. We talked about it and got really excited because this time we were sure we were following a prompting. We cruised on over, and out on the porch was this mom with her sweet daughter and non-member grandma! I'll spare you the details but we started with a song and talking about following the spirit and ended talking about baptisms for the dead (??? What I've never done that in a first lesson???) and she was so thoughtful about it as her daughter in law explained how it works and we explained God's love for his children and that He has given those who passed away without the gospel a second chance to accept it in the spirit world. She was mostly satisfied but a little confused and we just invited her to pray about it, to really ask God what is true and to help her find the truth. The spirit was so strong as we unfolded this new doctrine to Alba and watched the spirit touch her heart.

5- The last one I'll write about is the church tour! When we got to the church, we set stuff up (killed a few cockroaches, side story: I had a broom in my hand and I didn't want to sweep one up just in case it was still alive and started running around so I just snuck up on it and smashed it with the broom, but I guess I don't know my own strength nor at the time did I understand how projectile bug guts can be but I soon realized as I looked down at my forearm and my leg that were splattered with freshly squished roach guts). We started in the chapel and we only had one investigator there, Juan, and right as we left the chapel, the Avila family came in with their beautiful glowing smiles and all. And more members and I think another investigator of the Elders came, too. We went through all the auxiliaries and stuff and the Elders taught about baptism and also the first vision and holy cow the spirit was incredibly strong. Elders have such a powerful way of teaching (maybe because these 4 are either practically or totally fluent in Spanish. Yeah that helps) and everyone there was uplifted and happy and the spirit was almost tangible! It was great. Then we had food and that's always awesome.

It was President Wakolo's Birthday!

It's been a great week here in Menfis, and I apologize for the lame updates recently. And I apologize mom for the lack of pictures I'll have this week! But I love you mewchow. (Mucho.)

Les quiero.

Hermana Macfarlane

Naptime!

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