The wild flowers have come out to let us know that summer is here! They are absolutely gorgeous. I love looking at the yellow flowers as we walk around. I even picked one to bring to a member in our ward who recently had surgery! You sure don't see stuff like this in Vegas haha!
It's been a really good week. We've been super busy and worked super hard this week. Sometimes I get impatient because we don't see immediate results for all the hard work that we do...and sometimes we put forth a lot of effort and don't see the results we wish to see. But the most important thing is that we are here and we give everyday our best efforts. Our new mission president is consistently reminding us that baptisms or "stats" do not determine if we are successful as a missionary. Just the fact that we are here sacrificing our time and money is a huge way to show our efforts. And every day that we get out and do our best to fulfill our purpose...we are successful. Our new mission president is so great. He is very encouraging and motivating!
One day this week, we were at the community food bank doing service. The lady asked my companion and I to keep an eye on her kids so she could fill out the paperwork. While we were sitting there, a nice man and his wife starting asking us lots of questions about being missionaries. He said they lived in the same apartment as some elders (in the other mission) and they used to talk to them all the time! He told us that he really respected us for what we do and he has a great appreciation for the LDS people. The conversation was going great and my companion and I were able to teach him many gospel truths as we talked. His wife then started to tell us about their daughter. She began to cry and told us that her daughter has a special relationship with the Lord and she is "lost" in her life right now. We told her that the gospel can really help those who are feeling lost and how her relationship with the Lord will bless her life. Then the husband says "You need to teach my daughter the word....The Lord just told me that." Woah. I had to take a second to comprehend what he was saying! This couple was so receptive to the spirit and they acted on the promptings they received. Even though there was so much going on around us, we were able to have a sweet spirit there in the food bank. The couple asked if we could meet up again, but next time they wanted to bring their daughter so we could meet her and share "the word" with her. That was an awesome experience. We have arranged to meet tomorrow and hopefully things go as we have planned! This experience let me know that we were in exactly the right place at the right time, and these people were put in our path by the Lord. We were able to tell the couple that this was not a coincidence that we met and they completely agreed.
Another cool, but small, experience this week. We were walking around trying to visit less active members in our ward and talking to everyone we saw. One girl was walking her dog and we stopped to talk to her. We started just asking her about her adorable dog, and then she goes "I believe in God! My heart was pounding and I was very happy the first time I learned about God...and I know He is real!" She is a cute girl from Ukraine who has been adopted by an American family here in Parker. But the neat thing was that she recognized us as representatives of Jesus Christ and began to share her belief in God before we even said anything about religion at all! She said she is grounded so we couldn't get her phone number, but she said she'd call us soon if her dad is okay with her learning more! People really are put in our path. And maybe they won't get baptized immediately, but we still teach them and share the gospel with them.
Our investigator, M, has been so busy that we haven't been able to see her! And she goes out of town again this week. But, she is still reading the Book of Mormon and praying! Summer will be over soon and then we will be able to meet with her regularly again. But we have kept in touch with her and shared some inspired scriptures with her via technology. Thank goodness they give us cell phones!
And the S family who has an unbaptized child reached out to us this week and said they would like to start the lessons next week! Finally!!!! I am so excited to start working with their son. He is so so excited to be baptized. Things are moving along here in Parker! I've almost been here 6 months which is crazy. Hopefully, I can see some of these miracles through the end.
So yes. Mission life is great. And great things are happening here. The work really is hastening! And it's all about the members in areas like this. They are our main resource for finding people to teach! The Lord really has blessed us this week. He blesses us every single day! I have come to know the Holy Ghost on a more personal level this week as I have sought after inspiration and prayed more than I have before! I am just continually amazed at how the spirit will comfort and inspire us to make his work move forward. I am so happy to be here and love sharing the gospel! It's exciting to see the Lord work through us as missionaries and to see the spirit work on those who we teach. Life is so wonderful! yayayay.
xoxoxo
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