This week has been amazing!! I love the YSA branch so much!! We have had so many miracles this week!
We had a few lessons with a less active Diego and he super wants to come back. He has been less active for 4 years but he has been coming to church and meeting with us and is doing awesome!
We also had another less active at church, Vera. We have met with her a few times and she came to church! Everyone was shocked to see her there!
We also had a miracle with a mix up in our phone. We had been texting an Adrian all week and he was responding really weird to our messages. We were confirming our appointment and he asked if we could move it to that night and then he gave us his address. We went and as we were about to knock on the door we hear "Hey over here" I said "That's not Adrian" but we went over and he was holding a plate of cake and told us we could come on back to the backyard. We asked if Adrian was back there and he goes "No, I'm Adrian" We were super confused and he said "Well you guys are Mormons right?" We said yes and he said "Yeah come share the word with me". We found out that we had been texting the wrong Adrian all week!! Turns out he used to talk to missionaries but then lost contact with them. He said that when he got our text message he thought it was a sign from God that he needed to get back into religion. As we asked him to give the closing prayer and were explaining about prayer he said "Well how will I know if God is answering me?" We told him it would be how he felt. We invited and taught him how to pray. He said a very heartfelt prayer and then just stood there silently and then smiled and said "My whole back just relaxed, not only my mind but my whole body!" It was a super cool experience. The Lord works in mysterious ways!
We also had another miracle. Hiro had an appointment with us and just before he text us and told us he would be late because he was bringing his friend Nate. Nate is a non-member that came to his baptism. We had a really good lesson with Nate and he gave us permission to refer him to the Gardena missionaries.
But the miracles don't end there!! This week we received a referral from the Santa Monica YSA. We called the referral and set up an appointment with him. When we showed up at the church for our appointment he was already there. He was super polite and really interested in our message. We invited him to be baptized and he said "The other sisters already asked me but I wasn't sure but with everything I've seen this week- I think I'll say yes!" He is so prepared. His one concern is that he wanted to read the whole Book of Mormon first. I bore my testimony that you don't have to read the whole thing to know if its true. Then we read 1 Nephi Chapter 1 with him. At the end we asked what he thought and he said "I think you are right! I don't need to read the whole thing. I already feel like its speaking to me!" The whole lesson he kept saying "It just feels good and right" He also came to the departing missionary fireside and loved it!! He said that he felt everyone was talking to him. And then randomly President Larson walked up and asked who he was and what ward he was in and Victor said "That was another sign! He didn't talk to anyone but me!" We introduced him my friend Chris, a member from the Hollywood ward and he shared his conversion story with him and it was amazing! Afterward, Victor said "I think he is right, I just need to take the leap of faith and get baptized!" Then at about 9:30 we got a text message asking if we could talk. We called and he told us that he had gone home and talked to his parents about getting baptism and that he didn't get the response he was hoping for. They weren't very happy with him and tried to convince him to stay in the Catholic church. He was very confused because his family said one thing but his heart was saying another. And then I gained a testimony of reading the Book of Mormon during personal study. I had just read a similar story in Alma 20. So we invited him to read it and he said "Ok I will and I will keep praying that my parents will understand" We told him how proud we were of him and he thanked us for calling.
This week has been amazing and what I have written doesn't even scratch the surface!!
Also this week we moved apartments! Our new apartment is one of the best in the mission. There is carpet, tile, working plumbing, overhead light fixtures, air conditioning, and NO ANTS!!!! And our managers last name is Montgomery :)
Also I am realizing that Heavenly Father has answered my prayers in a different way! I prayed that I would get sent far away to another place for my mission but instead he brought the world to me! :) I have had a companion from Mexico and I met someone from almost all the Central American countries. Then I had a Tongan companion. And then a French one. And then I moved to a place where I met people from all over the Middle East. Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, Egypt, Palestine, Pakistan, Georgia, Jordan, etc.... Then I got a companion from Idaho but there are a few stray countries here. And now I am going to have a companion from Brazil. She is a sister from the Visitors Center. But she is taking her turn out! I will be staying here in the YSA and I'm super happy!!
Yesterday was the departing missionary fireside! It was so good!!! And I was able to see a lot of people from Hollywood which made me super duper happy!! And I did see a few from Torrance. I love going to those because the spirit is super strong and its like a big reunion!! There are 26 missionaries going home and there were 1,000 people there!!! It's awesome!!
Also for those of you who are wondering- I didn't make it into the musical performance :( I was a little bummed but it is okay. There will be more opportunities. I think they gave it people who go home sooner than me.
I love you all!
Hermana Montgomery
No comments:
Post a Comment