Yay I love P-Day because I can hear from you all! And tell you about SUPER AWESOME things that happen during my week! (but I love the others days too, don't get me wrong! I just love er'thang)
So, I have been drinking Coke Zero like it's air. Actually not really, I drink more water now a days but I think it tastes so good for some reason. Also, I LOVE crunchy peanut butter like what I hated that stuff when I was back home. Missions do crazy things to you!
But, I do thank you Dad for teaching me how to cook. I see some of the things my companions eat and..I am just so thankful I was taught to cook.
We got a new companion on Tuesday named Sister Kershaw and she is just great! We get along very well and she is very outgoing. It is good.
Anywho, to the important stuff. SAMBALA GETS BAPTIZED ON SATURDAY! I am so excited! It is my first baptism and I actually was a help in her conversion! :D :D You can see the change in her and I love it! At church she is so happy and she is sad that I am leaving but I told her I'd write her letters and she could keep in touch with me on FB. The cool thing about the LDS religion is we aren't trying to force anything on anybody. We invite everyone to come to know for themselves if the Book of Mormon is the word of god, and then to act on what they learn and come to know. If you don't want to, that is perfectly okay! We just want everyone to have the opportunity to do so. Just to give everyone a chance to read, ponder, and pray about the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. And I can say that I know his book to be true! I have put God to the test and He has answered my prayers to know if this is true. And I invite you all to do the same.
BUT something else AWESOME happened this week. We went to the Valle's house (a really big family I have told you about previously) and our last lesson before this was very discouraging. They were trying to mesh our beliefs with their catholic ones. And I was scared because that emans we had to go back and explain that we are not Catholic, and we are here with a purpose. So...with knots in our tummies, the three of us go to our appointment ready to pretty much tear their worlds apart. We were scared. We knew that this lesson would make it or break it with the family. And we love them all so much! So we are sitting in there and Lisa (the mom) asks us what we are learning today. And I had the feeling to open my mouth and start speaking. I had no idea what I was going to say, I just know I needed to open my mouth. So, I did. And words just flowed so smoothly to this family's hearts. Their hearts were definitely softened and they listened to me. I felt the Spirit so strong and I was just talking. I don't even know what I said! I said a few things, and Lisa said that she knew that she had to choose, and she wants to read the Book of Mormon because she wants what we have; the warmth and happiness we bring to her home. She wants that. And if she can get it from that book, she would take that opportunity and act on it. She said she is having a hard time, there are a million things going on in her life right now, and I took that opportunity to bear my testimony to her. I felt the Spirit like a fire in my heart and I just sobbed to them, telling them I have also had a hard time, and I explained to them a little about my hard time, and said the only way I could have ever made it through that time in my life was by reading that book. It is because of that book that I am here. It is because of that book that I am happy, and that I can bear my afflictions with joy and happiness. Even though really crappy things happen to us all, we can be happy with the help of Jesus Christ and the Book of Mormon! And while I was telling her those things, the words "This is why you're here" kind of flowed into my head. I don't think that's the only reason I'm here in Chicago, but I know it is definitely one of the reasons. And I am so happy that I was able to share that with this family. It was great. I will never forget that experience.
The ward here is great. Well, I think so. (I will always love Copperwood the best.)
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