Thank You!!

Dear Family<3

 

FIrst I wanted to say thank you to Ashley for the letter and the package! It made me soooo happy you have no idea :) I was recharged all that day because of it! And I loved getting a letter from mom, Kristen and Haley! It made me so happy you have no idea how good it was to hear from you! And dad- thank you for the email today- you have no idea how much that meant so to all of you- thank you. I feel so far from home I forget what Provo, BYU, and home even feels like- it feels like i've been here my whole life- I guess because I've been so absorbed in it- so hearing from you guys was nice i didnt realize how far from you guys I was until i heard from you. But in other ways I feel close to you...you are all always in my heart and a part of me and much of what I teach and share is directly related to each of you. 

  This week was great- really busy. lesson lesson lesson. appointment after appointment after appointment. It's amazing how the Lord facilitates the Work and makes it all possible- I can;t express how fully I rely on Him and the Spirit. This sunday the Fillmore family sang "Did You think to Pray" and the little boy reminded me SO much of Michael when he sang, he sounded just like him, it really got my heart! I really miss Michael- I really miss you all...Jared. Kristen. Lindsey. Stacey. Haley. Ashley.mom dad. I really just cant think about it or else I get too emotional so I cried a bit but then just thought how happy it will be to see you all again. I just dont think about it.

So now for some info on the week- we had our lesson with Kiara and Candy and Charles (the family we randomly found by walking up and talking to them on their porch) we brought Nikita with us bc they both are military and have a lot in common. We taught the Atonement of Christ and introduced the Book of Mormon. Candy opened up and told us that when she was young she was bullied but the only girl that stood up for her and was kind was a mormon girl. What an impression this made on her!! It's so important we are kind and good representatives of Christ to EVERYONE we come into contact with- it really DOES make a lasting impression and it can make all the difference. These are our brothers and sisters- if we love God then we love them. We invited them to church but they didnt end up coming :( its ok! We will see them again and we will keep praying and being led by the Spirit and when they are ready it will happen. Join me in praying for this please! 

      We had a great lesson with Maya- she really opened up and we poured over the scriptures and found answers to her questions and by the end she was so excited she said, "I never thought I would be able to find answers in the scriptures for me- but now I feel it! I'm going to read whenever I have a question and just see what happens!" Ah!!! That made me overjoyed- i could've died- I was so happy because she GETS IT NOW!! She sees how the scriptures apply to HER PERSONALLY and once you get that- it all comes together. I know a power and peace is going to enter into her life like she has never experienced and I rejoice in that for her! Thats why we' re out here doing what we're doing. So much of missionary work is diligence, patience, trust, and long suffering- but when someone receive the truth or even a portion of it- it is all more than worth it!! I'm grateful the Lord is so patient with us. She came to church this sunday. 

     Then we had a really cool experience yesterday- after church the Elders came with us to see the H family, the family of little girls we are teaching and Autumn who is "investigating" (she's 10 but really wants to be baptised) and they gave them Father's Priesthood Blessings. It was really cool- dad I was trhinking of how much those blessings have meant to me all my life and they dont have a priesthood holder in their home so we had the Elders do it and what a beautiful job they did. All the little girls were shy and giggly with the Elders there haha it was SOOOOO cute- but then Elder Sanders explained what the blessings were and that they wer from Heavenly Father and then they blessed everyone of those little girls (2 10 yr olds, Autumn and Jordan,and 8 yr old, and then little lexi who is 5) mom and dad- it felt like I was home- it was so cool watching them get blessed for the first time and we wrote down everything that was said. 

     When Elder Sanders was blessing Lexi it was possibly the most tender thing I've ever seen- his hands were 5x the size of her teeny head and it was such a beautiful blessing- and then after he got a little emotional and was tearing up- it was so precious. I love those little girls. Then after the elders left we talked about patriarchal blessings and I shared part of mine with them and they were mesmerized. the Spirit was really strong there. I love being a missionary. 

      Bishop asked me and Elder Sanders to speak next Sunday. He let us choose our topics so after praying about it, I am going to speak on the reality of miracles in our lives! I'm excited about that topic- I believe in the reality of miracles. I pray I will be able to say all that the Spirit would have me say. I hope all is well with you and everyone is ready for school. This summer flew! Know how much I love you all. I want you to know that I have a burning testimony of this Gospel- this is Christ's church.The Book of Mormon is truly the word of God- it is truly the most inspired and correct book on the face of this earth. When we have a question in mind before reading- we will ALWAYS find answers if we have that we will. I have seen this time and time again on the mission. I love that book. I know the power of Prayer is real- its our portal and means to draw nearer to God so He can lead us in this life and help us know His will. I glory in this work and in His children! People are so easy to love. Take care.

 Much love sister B