New pictures from Oct. 24, 2011!

Brittany with all the other Spanish-speaking female missionaries

Brittany's new house pet

Introducing her companion to frozen yogurt at Yodippity

At the Temple Visitor's Center

The cute "heart attack" Brittany did for her investigator Griselda

Brittany at the church's Trunk or Treat Halloween Party

Letter from Oct. 24, 2011

Hellohellohelloooo,

Hi familia! Thank you for all of your emails and love. And THANK YOU FOR THE PACKAGE!!!!!!! I loved it! Wore the skirt on Sunday. I was amazed at how excited I could get over two new items of clothing. So thank you! And also thanks for your insights and spiritual thoughts and all of that...both Dad and Allison mentioned taking advantage of the primary program, and I think we should definitely implement that.

Allison asked me how the language is coming along. It's definitely improving...it's hard for me to know how much though. But I find myself using a lot of vocabulary I didn't use to know, so I take that as a good sign. I think that having a native comp prevents me from taking as much initiative as I would otherwise, which is something I'm constantly trying to work on. So yeah, it's getting there! I think teaching isn't so much an issue, so much as just normal back-and-forth conversation at a fast pace, ya know? But it's getting better!

Mom asked me about the food I eat. Well we eat lunch at home...and that's normally quesadillas, turkey sandwiches, or leftovers. I allow myself to buy one treat at Walmart a week. I eat lots of granola bars, bananas, peaches...basically the exact same stuff I ate up at school. So I'm lucky about that. When we eat with members, that is just what you would expect...rice, beans, tortillas, chicken. Good mexican food!

Companionship is going well. It's interesting to see how each companionship finds their own little "niche", and it's hard for me to know how I'm doing. With transfers coming up in a week, I'm getting nervous thinking about what will become of me. There is a slight chance that either Sister Lamb or I would be asked to train, because we've used teh new program (even though Sister Tejada and I really haven't haha)...and that scares me half to death. So yeah, I don't know what's going to happen, BAH! But everything happens for a reason.

 
Alrighty...highlights. Trunk or treat was this past week! Haha that was entertaining. Branch president had asked us to do something missionary-esque, so we created this game where they did different missionary activities we had pulled out of the Liahona. Then with their candy we also gave them little missionary tags they could put their names on. BUt we also had investigators there, so we had to abandon our booth at times, and would come back to find it ambushed by the children hahaha. But yes, Dianna and her sisters came to the Halloween party! We walked up and she was sitting there at the table, so that was good. And one of the members invited her to church and was really nice. Then Estefania came! She is the girl that used to be super mean to the missionaries, and then totally changed on us. (I might've called her Roxana in the last letter.) Anywho, so she came to the party, the branch pres gave her some pamphlets and stuff about YW, and then she came to church on Sunday w/ her little brother! That was really good. You could tell she felt really out of her comfort zone, but then in the classes w/ the youth she did really well, was answering questions and all of that. So we're teaching her this Wednesday which I'm excited about. She has a tough exterior, but you can tell that something has switched in her and she is ready to change.

This past week we also had a GREAT lesson with Ana. She told us she wants to be baptized in December, and we're hoping to move that up. It showed me what a difference it makes when there aren't screaming kids in lessons...it's much easier to concentrate. And she just knew all the answers so well, she is so prepared. So that was really good.

We had Sister Romano come for a day with us this past week, as well as Sister Mckee the next day. So that was cool to see how they work and to get ideas from those exchanges. One idea that Sister Romano gave us was to heart attack our investigators! So this Saturday we heart attacked Griselda, because we hadn't seen her in like 2 weeks. So we covered her door w/ hearts and whatnots that had little scripture references and things like that. Then the next day we called and she said she really liked it and we have an appointment for this week! So that was really fun.

This past week we also had a good "following the Spirit" moment...we were planning on visiting Dianna, but then sister tejada felt we should visit Dina, a new investigator. We went by there, and she was sitting outside with an older man. Turns out it was the father of her husband that had passed away, and he had just arrived from new jersey right then. We started talking with him and he told us about how he's been praying for something, looking for something, started to cry, all of that...basicalyl said he's ready to start searching for God. So they are coming to the visitor's center this Tuesday!

This past Saturday in the VC I was able to teach a guy from Pusan, Korea! He was awesome! Came here with his old ESL teacher who's a member. He's been here since April and we talked a lot about faith and how he can have more of it. He was so sweet...I asked him what things he needs right now that he feels the Savior could give him, and he talked about how he felt like he needed more love for other people...that sometimes when people are rude, it's hard for him to love them, even though he knows he should. It was so great, so the missionaries were lined up to visit him! Woohoo!

Anywhozle, I love you all so much. I've been thinking a lot about how we can understand our Savior's love for us and our Heavenly Father's love for us, and I've been struggling with it recently...knowing when to feel loved, approved, all of that. Then this morning, I realized that the best way I can measure how much my Heavenly Father loves me is thinking about how much my own parents and family love me. So thank you for all of your love and support, because it helps me to realize and understand the love and support I get from my Heavenly Father and Older Brother. So thank you! Have a great week, I love you all. Love, Hermana Fors

Letter from Oct. 18

Hello hello,

So things are goin good in Mesaaa. Before I forget, from now on...if you want you can send snail mail to me at "525 E. Main  St., Mesa, AZ, 85203"...that's the Visitor's Center. That will make it so I can avoid the delay. The only time you wouldn't send it there is if I go fullfield, which would be in January at the earliest probably.

Anywho...thanks for all your emails! Sounds like you're having a good time, and I just love to hear all your words of wisdom and everything. So let's see the highlights.

Well this past week we fasted for new investigators, and they have come! We met one at the first house we were knocking at while we fasted, and it's this 23 year old lady, with 3 kids, whose husband just died of cancer..so sad. So she's Dina and her mom is Rosa. So she is really nice and really wants to learn a lot, so she's new. Then we also have Berenice who was a referral from the Oakland VC, who's 10 year old daughter used to come to church a lot. So she's also new! It's interesting as we're getting more potentials and more new investigators to have to try to discern who is really "prepared" for this unique message that we share. For instance, one 16 year old kid named Miguel told us he wants to learn "historias"...he has lots of great questions, but he mostly just wants information. Then other people want to learn more about God, and so it's a matter of teaching them more about God, but teaching them that this is a unique, fully restored, fullness of his Gospel. Obviously people constantly get us confused with Jehovah's Witnesses and stuff, and it seems like to many it's just that all missionaries do the same job, no matter what religion they affiliate with. So I don't know why I'm telling you that...it's just been interesting to see how to raise their expectations with our expectations.

Oh...we do have one potential that's pretty awesome. I might have told you about him...his name's Jorge, he's 17 years old. He lives next door to a referral, and we got the feeling like we should knock on his door, and we did, and he's read some of the Book of Mormon and all that, and he's awesome. THEN last pday, after emailing we went to walmart. And as we were there pondering over cereals in aisle 12, we hear a "Hey!" and it's JORGE! And he came up and talked to us and was like "I don't know why I keep seeing you guys all over the place, I tell you it's a sign!" and we're like "Yeah....must be!" hahaha. Anyways, so he's awesome, hopefully we can begin teaching him soon.

What else...Jose is having a rough time right now. His baptismal date is long gone, and we're hoping to set another one soon. This past week we had a lesson w/ him and Hmo Garcia, our branch mission leader, and it went really well. Then on Saturday we had a baptism of an 8 year old girl in our ward. Sis Tejada and I sang at it and also had the chance to bear our testimonies, it was a really good event. So Jose came to that with his daughter! But then on Sunday he couldn't come to church. Yesterday we found out that he lost his job, is getting evicted in a few days, all of this...no bueno. So we're trying to figure out how we can help him out. Employment, like in the Tujunga ward, is a big issue here too...not so much w/ members, but w/ a lot of investigators asking if we can help them find work. OH..also, funny thing, Jose texted us on Sunday and goes "hermanas you always ask me if there's anything  you can do for me, and finally there is. Can you loan me $300?" Hahahhaa, oh man. Sticky situation. BUt it worked out. So that's definitely something we have to deal with here too. ANyways, so on Sunday David and Guadalupe came to church! And the ward has definitely just really accepted them, they really get along well. David supposedly loved priesthood and was participating tons, and Guadalupe's going to a RS activity tonight. So that's really good, it makes such a difference with the members involved. And this week one family is gonna go over and invite them to have an FHE at their house with us, which will be great. So that is good news! Also, Ana, who was the one who came last week, went to church w/ her friend at her ward, which was good.

Hmm...what else. VC is going well. It's interesting that I was so unsure about the VC when I got my call, and now I can't imagine anything else...I LOVE working in the visitor's center, meant to be. A few days ago I confirmed a call for a guy who's at Camp Pendleton Marine Base, who's getting deployed in a few months to Afghanistan. That was a cool experience.

I had one crazy experience this past week. Last last friday we had prep meeting, and there one of teh sister's, Sister Hansen, who works in the VC but has been fullfield for 3 transfers (so I barely know her), bore her testimony. There were a lot of things in there that struck me about it...particularly, she talked about how she's come to have "conversations with God" when she prays, and that was somehting that really influenced me. Then,this past week, she was here and she pulls me aside and goes "I want to ask if my testimony meant anything to you?" and I said yes, and she told me that that night she had prayed to know who her testimony was for, and my face came to her mind. And we don't even know eachother that well! And then I started thinking about it, and I realized that the entire week I had been thinking TONS about a lot of things she had said...about forgiveness, praying, opening your heart, everything. What's more, I asked my comp about it, adn she told me that to her and some other sisters Sister Hansen's testimony didn't make any sense at all...while to me it was just what I needed. Crazy, no? God definitely works through people.

Anyways, I must be off. I love you all so so so much, thanks for all your support. Keep praying and reading...I've realized that miracles are awesome, they're exciting and motivating, but that's not what has converted me...it's the amount of time I devote to studying and praying each day. So there you have it! I love you all!

Love, Hermana Fors

Letter from Oct. 10

Hellohellohello familyy!

Glad to hear you're all doing well and going to all sorts of different places. I loved hearing about the sealing that mom and dad went to! As a missionary, you just gotta keep your sights set on that goal, and realize that even if it's 1 in a million, it makes all the work worth it. I also loved all your ideas for activities, getting people to church, etc. You guys are just great!

Okayo anyways!  Soooo this week was a good one! I kinda feel like I'm finally getting into the swing of things. But, I did read a scripture the other day that said "Wo unto him that is at ease in Zion"...so, I definitely can't be at ease. A big theme at the VC is being "zealous", so I'm trying to have lots of zeal both in the VC and the area.

Well, I guess I'll begin with Wednesday...which is when we had zone development meeting/interviews. It was a really good day, I learned lots and lots. I was lucky enough that I was the first one interviewed by the president out of the whole mission! So I got him when his mind was fresh haha :) But that was a really good interview, he gave me a few scriptures that I really needed...I'll tell you them, and you can look them up for yourselves :) Words of Mormon 1:7, 1 Nephi 18:3, D&C 123:17, Ether 12, Mosiah 26:29, and Proverbs 3:5-6. He just like spouted off scriptures, he's definitely inspired. So that was good, since the interview I'm trying to focus more on going up unto the mount to pray unto the Lord, and to cheerfully do all things which lie in my power.

Wellll...one crazy thing that's happened this past week is PHONECALLING in the VC. So, if you'll remember, how I didn't confirm any phonecalls (meaning noone that I talked to accepted to have missionaries visit them) for the first like 6 weeks of my mission. Well, since October 1st, I've confirmed TEN! So, it's been pretty awesome. But it's really cool, Elder White was just like "it's that irrevocable law", that if you work hard and work diligently, the Lord makes it happen. So, I've had some really good conversations over the phone. ONe was with a lady that was recently diagnosed with cancer, and she sounded really weak over the phone. So she accepted to have missionaries come over, and I just tried to be as comforting and hopeful as possible. Then, when I called the member to let them know, I found out that the lady I had just called had recently found out that her 6 month old baby has cancer as well. Oh my goodness...so man, I just realized how much she is in desperate need of comfort right now. I also spoke with several ladies who were recently divorced and/or separated. Also, I was able to confirm a phonecall of this random cab driver! A less active man came into the VC, and he was like "well...i could refer the guy who was driving the cab I was just in" So random! But he did, and I got a hold of Gary the Cab Driver, and Gary accepted missionaries. Crazy. Hahaha. So yeah, that's been really awesome...I'm very grateful to just see the Lord's hand. He always provides the people who are ready! We just have to do our part.

Well, in other VC news, I had a pretty incredible experience with this one visitor last week, one that I will not soon forget. So I'm in the exhibit, and this guy is looking at this picture of Christ, and he just looks really beat up. And so I start trying to have a conversation with him. He's about like 35, a member, totally normal/sharp guy. I start talking with him, and he proceeds to tell me that on September 18th, his birthday, he found out his wife had been cheating on him with a guy she met on Facebook. since then, they've split up, she took their 4 kids with her, and now he is completely, completely alone. The guy had at one point before been Elders Quorum President, but leading up to the split he had been going kind of inactive, and he was just completely blaming himself for the entire situation. So anyways, I'm talking to this guy who is just in the lowest of all lows, and I'm like...how in the world could I possibly do anything to help him. He described his feelings like this: "I feel like I'm in a pitch black field. For a long time, I was walking through the field, seeing a little bit because I was holding a flashlight that the devil had given me. Now, the flashlight is gone, and I'm standing, all alone, waiting for the sun to rise." So basically, we had this incredible conversation, that was just completely spirit driven. All of these metaphors and thoughts popped into my head that I had never before thought of, and we just talked all about the Atonement. So yeah, it was one of those just awe-inspiring conversations. We talked for probably 45 minutes, then he had to go, but he said he'd come back. Then...on Saturday, he came back! And I saw him and I was like "HOW ARE YOU?" and he was just like "So much better." and he just talked about how he felt very literally like a burden had been lifted off his shoulders, that chains had been broken, that he had been filled, like all the muck in his mind was taken away. It was incredible. It's just crazy...this man was completely HEALED. And I feel like I've been able to witness several instances of that before, of just the Atonement completely healing someone, and you can't mistake it for anything else. It's like comparing band-aids to surgery, you can recognize the difference between true healing and just a quick fix. So, it was pretty incredible. Just like "what just happened?" And people always talk about how you feel "humbled" when you see that you've taken part in something so incredible, but it's true. He told me how grateful he was for me, and all I could feel was humbled...I had really become a small tool in the Lord's hands to help bring a small part of that miracle to pass. So yeah...awesome experience of the week!

So...to sum up everything else! Haha the area is going well, we had 4 investigators at church! 3 of them were like under the age of 13, but that's okay hahaha. One was a lady named ana. Sister Tejada had the feeling that we should visit her...she's an old investigator that they could never find. So we went to her house, and she was sitting out on the porch. She proceeded to tell us that she had gone up to UTAH for conference with her LDS friend, and that she had loved it! And wanted to come to church on Sunday! So...she came! And testimony meeting (my 1st one in the mission field...hahaha it was funny) was really good! Her firend bore her testimony, and a recent convert, 22 yr old Lupe, bore her testimony of missionary work, because she had gone up to conference too. Those two testimonies were perfect. So, I have high hopes for Ana. She already knows several people in the ward, and a lot of people greeted her there. We also were able to serve the members more and work with them more in church yesterday. We covered primary so a lady could go to the mormon.org training, and we covered the library for the 3rd hour so the president's wife could go to sunday school with him. So that was good. So yes, things are goin welllllllllll! I had planned to send you pictures, but I'm running out of time. I'll send some next week...they're not too exciting. Mostly they're just like pictures of gross insects we've found in our apartment or doing something that mildly resembles normal life on a pday hahaha. But I love you all! Thanks for all of your support, have a great week!

Love,

Hermana Fors

Letter from Oct. 4

Hi Family!

Thanks for all of the emails and letters and everything and just ongoing support. I love getting the pictures you guys send too! Looks like everyone is having fun and it makes me happy that even though we're all split up now that you guys still get to see eachother pretty often

Well, things are goinnnn here in Mesa. WASN'T CONFERENCE GREAT?! It was great. I got to see the first three sessions in our stake center, and then the last session I saw in the visitors center. I didn't get to catch all of that one because we still had visitors coming in, so I missed the one about missionaries, but I'll have to watch it soon. But I loved it all, it was just such a reaffirmation to me that everyone needs this gospel and that we really are led by a living prophet who is inspired! Well, and also...sidenote...PROVO TABERNACLE! I totally freaked out when I heard that, I wonder if people in Provo are going crazy...I was pretty shocked. Anyways, that'll be pretty awesome. But yeah, so I loved every message, and I thought a couple times about how you were all taking each of the messages (i.e. the one about having kids hahaha :)). Or also just the one about being a good father to your daughters (cough cough...Eric) and that talk also made me just want to express to you all how grateful I am that the Priesthood has played such an important role in my life! Thank you for being worthy holders of the priesthood and exercising it to bless the lives of others so much. For instance, Dad, I thought about the blessing that you gave me before my mission, and just how I remember specifically feeling the Spirit really strongly during that blessing, so, thank you :)

Anyways, so there was a lot that I got out of conference, but I'll give the highlights. I loved how it talked a lot about the Book of Mormon and the scriptures, and for me I just want to make sure that every day I am FEASTING on the Book of Mormon. I've definitely seen how when you read it and truly study it you just get a sense of conviction that it really contains the fullness of the Gospel, that it is the most correct book, as Joseph Smith said. And I really believe that having that sense of conviction will make my teaching and testifying more powerful. I just saw after conference that I was just that much more sure of the testimony that I was sharing, there was more of a sense of urgency and true conviction in the message I was sharing.

I also enjoyed the talk by Elder Hales on waiting upon the Lord, and the talk on managin time by Elder Ian S Arden. There were so many things I liked just about all of conference...it reminded me that perfect love casteth out fear, to not let my bad habits become my master, that whom the Lord loveth, he correcteth, all of that. I think overall I just really appreciated all the testimonies that God loves us and is mindful of us. That's something that I want to continue to learn and remember...that God loves all of us perfectly, He is always there. Oh, I also thought that Elder Bednar's talk on youth doing family history work was really cool...it felt very prophetic, no? So yes, all in all, I hope you enjoyed conference and each got the personal message that you needed.

So things are goin gooood in the missionary work. This past week I saw lots of mini miracles in the VC. THe end of the month was nearing so I was working extra hard to make sure that I met all of my goals, and it's cool to see how the Lord always provides a way. This was one of the coolest...so, last Friday was September 30th, and we were workign in the VC and I was trying to make calls to try to confirm some, but wasn't having any luck...but I was like "Oh, it's okay, tomorrow's September 31st, I still have one more day." And then, right when our shift ended, Sister Tejada reminded me that there is no september 31st! Ahhh! I wasn't going to meet my goal! So, it was 3 pm, our shift had ended, and she went to enter a name in the computer really quick. So I was like, ok, i have 2 minutes, what the heck. So I made 2 phone calls, the first one didn't answer and the 2nd one did, it was this man that I've talked to a bunch before, but he's always at work and can't talk. So he tells me he's at work, next to a mormon coworker of his. And so I'm like "okkk well i guess i'll call you after work" and he was like "yeah call me after 5". Then he says "wait...my coworker says you can come to my lunchbreak and teach me then or something." and I said "well, I can't, but I know some missionaries who can!" and then he quickly gave me his address, then had to get back to work. So, in a matter of like 1.5 minutes, I had confirmed! It was just really cool, if you just go even the tiniest extra mile, the Lord provides. Its funny to tell you guys all of these mini VC miracles, because they probably do seem really small, but something about being in the VC just shows how God can be so specific with the blessings he provides. Because here we're so much at the will and mercy of just whoever walks in the door, whoever decides to answer the phone, you really do see that it's all in the Lord's hands. So that was cool. There were just a lot of instances of that this last week...I saw a lot of referrals, "top boxes", all of that. One guy came in wtih his family and it turns out he was the 2nd oldest child of the Jones family in La Crescenta! So that was cool, and he gave me a referral.

I also had a great conversation with this lady that came in a couple days ago to the VC. She was dressed super nice and you could tell she was really well off, and I went to start a video for her. We ended up talking for like 45 minutes, and she tells me about how her husband and her have separated, he and much of her family have gone inactive, some of her kids have landed in jail, all of this stuff. And it was just really cool to talk to her because she had a GREAT attitude, and you never ever ever know what someone is going through...on the outside she led the perfect life, and she acknowledged that, but she had to have so much faith for her internal struggles. She had a great motto that was "The more I know about the plan, the simpler my life will be." Anyways, it was just a great conversation. I love that at the VC, with so many members, I get to teach them, but they also teach me SO much.  

Also, Sunday afternoon conference I learned that sacrifice brings blessings! Because we were watching conference, and then there were some visitors that wanted to see God's plan, so I stopped watching conference so I could visit with them. So, I missed some of the great talks, BUT, I got a top box...the lady wasn't a member, her mom had recently passed away, and we had a great conversation! So, that was cool.

As for the area, well, we continue to see miracles, but it's been hard. We did see one cool miracle last week. We were tracting in one of our favorite apt complexes, and this lady and her sister and their kids were sitting outside, looking super stern. We got the guts to talk to them, even thuogh they seemed not interested at all. Everyone left except for the lady, and we invited her to the VC, asking if she had ever been there before. She said yes, and we asked how she liked it, and she started just crying. She hadn't been there since Christmas time, but she just starts crying and she says that she felt something special there, that she had never felt before. And after all of these months, she still remembered that feeling. And she was just asking questions like "Do you always have that feeling?" "where can i get taht feeling again?" It was pretty incredible. So, that wuol dbe our new investigator---Dianna! Who has a rough life, and she's going through some struggles right now, but we're hoping we can teach her the Gospel to help her with each of those.

So yeah, the area has seem some miracles...we prayed for 2 new investigators last week, and we got them! The other was a referral, the family is Jehovah's Witnesses, so we shall see. But I've been thinking a whole lot about just having the faith to BAPTIZE. According to the president, a successful missionary is either someone who baptizes a lot, or has the faith required to baptize a lot. So, I've been thinking about that...because we have hadsuch a hard time seeing our investigators progress. Discouragement, doubt, stress, all of that creeps in, when you see just how low your numbers are and you don't always know how to fix them! Tomorrow we have zone development meeting and our interviews with the president, so I hope I can get some guidance from that. We got some good guidance from general conference, and we're trying to see some changes. We had a good brief lesson with Jose yesterday. Also, Fernando, the daughter of a recent convert Marta, is starting to take the lessons again. We taught him last week and will again tonight...he's way cool and has every desire to change, so we just gotta help him commit. So things are good. As for the familia baez, we need some INSPIRATION for them. We saw them on the street briefly the other day, and the 2 daughters just said hi briefly then quickyl ran off...things have changed. I realized that there is OPPOSITION. If we just sit by the side, the opposition will take over...we have to be actively fighting for them and their happiness.

So yes, things are good. Thanks for all of your support. Dad, I liked hearing about the nighttime sacrament...I like it! Any other ideas from the elders about how they get people to keep appointments? Or have the elders ever planned activities for the ward? What do they do to find new investigators? Send all ideas this way! I LOVE YOU ALL, thank you for everythinggggggg and for your thoughts and prayers. Have a great week, be happy, know that I love you!

Love,

Hermana Fors

Letter from Sept. 26

Hi Familia,

Wellps another week has passed by, and this one definitely had its share of good progress/miracles happen in it. Things are going well, I'm learning lotsandlotsandlots and we're learning lots together about how to just make things happen! So, I will give you just a little blow-by-blow of some of the things that happened this week.

So, Tuesday night, I think I mentioned to you that our ward mission leader planned this last-minute branch trip to the VC. We invited as many investigators as we could, and none of them showed. We were super nervous, because for the first like 15 minutes only the ward mission leader and his family was there, and we were bummed because it was a great opportunity to gain more trust of the members, and we thought it would be a total flop! But then, more people came. Definitely not the whole branch, there were like 3 or 4 of the main families that came. But it went really well! The President pulled me aside in the middle of it and was like "hermana fors, this is a GREAT activity". We have an activity about the armor of god here in the VC, where we read the passage in ephesians and have a real suit of armor, and we put it on someone to demonstrate the different parts. So we did that, adn they totally loved it and were all taking pictures with their cellphones. Then at the end of the activity, the president said that they had all come to the VC many times before, but he didn't think they had ever enjoyed it as much as they did that night. So it went really well!! It was really a miracle that things just turned out like that.

Then, the following night, we had volleyball. We were also nervous about this one, because they changed it from thursday to wednesday, and we weren't even sure if it was going to happen. And we had an investigator, David, whos way into volleyball and he was all stoked for it, "yo les PROMETO que voy a venir", and then we were scared no one would be there! So then we get to the chapel, and its filled with cars of the people in the english wards...we forgot it was mutual night. So we walk towards the cultural hall, hearing the basketball bouncing, and we're thinking its gonna be covered with a bunch of american deacons, and we won't be able to play. Then we open the door, and its our branch! And they said they thought that the scouts would be needing the cultural hall, so we wouldn't be able to set up a net, but we went and asked and it was all good. Anyways, so yeah lots of little things like that kept happening, but in the end, david AND his whole family came, and there were TONS of people who played volleyball...like 3 times as much as before. Including people from other spanish wards! So it was SO good! So those were 2 nights in a row where we really got to know the ward better, and both of those instances turned out so well against all odds...so it was way good.

Ok, another miracle. So we were knocking on doors at this apartment complex where we have a couple of potentials, and we knock on this native american's door. Here in arizona, the whole native american/hispanic thing can cause some funny moments for missionaries...they open the door and we're always like "...hoolllaaa????" not knowing if theyre mexican or just navajo hahaha. Anyways, so we said "hola??" and turns out he was native american haha. But we startd talking to him, his name's cali, about 30 years old, speaks like 8 languages, knows every type of martial arts, etc etc, and just moved here and is completely miserable. And he talked about how he wants to start introducing God back into his life. And then he says "Ya, I saw you guys around here a couple days ago talking to those people down there, and I just thought to myself how much I wish you guys would come and talk to me. And then I opened the door right now, and you guys were standing here, and it was so incredible. I was so blown away that you were here, you guys are like two angels." !!!!!! Ahhhhh so we just kept talking to him, and we set up an appointment for the next day. But, he is english, and he's a guy, so we needed to get an english speaking sister to come with us...so we called a few people and got this girl from the english ward whose hoping to go on a mission pretty soon. So she came with us the next day, we taught him, and it was so good. He just kept being like "I don't know, I've always had that question." and stuff like that. It was good experience to teach the first lesson in English. So then at the end I just kept feeling like I should commit him to baptism, so I just did it, even though we hadn't planned for it. And he paused, and I was like "bahhhh! what's going to happen??" and he just goes "Definitely. Definitely." And I couldn't stop smiling! So it was SO good. So, now we just have to pass him off to the English elders :) 3 of our investigators with the most potential are all going to end up going to wards other than our own :(..hahaha that is a problem. Anyways, so this tuesday we're gonna teach him with the english elders and kind of "hand him off" to them. So it'll be really good.

Also, this past week we had this guy that we know from the english ward tell us that a new hispanic family just moved in to their neighborhood. So then we went and stopped by and visited them, and they're all really nice...a family with 4 kids from ages 7-15. So we're hoping we can turn them into new investigators! And they need lots of help moving in and stuff. That was really cool.

Whaaaat else. Ok, here is my VC miracle for the week. So, Friday was not my best day in the VC...just calls were not going well, etc. etc. And I still hadn't confirmed any calls...which is no bueno, it's been a really long time. I don't know, something about phones makes it really hard for me to just like be bold and follow the Spirit and go with it. So then Saturday, I was just like "ok...today is the day." Because on Friday, we had a "prep meeting" (which we have every week or every other week or so) and I signed up to give the "miracle moment" for the next week. So, Saturday I'm in the exhibit, and I consider talking to a few people that I see come in, and they just don't seem too interested (it's pretty entertaining being in the VC, where like half of the members really don't feel like talking to you haha). Anyways, so then this older lady walks in and I just immediately stand up to talk to her. And we start talking and she goes "can I tell you something?" and so we sit down, and she tells me that she was just in the temple, and kinda starts crying. And she's having a rough time because her kids are on drugs, etc etc. So she tells me how she just received this total answer to her prayers while she was in the celestial room, and she shares this mini miracle with me. And then she goes "so as I was in the temple, I felt like I had to come to the visitors center to tell someone about this who would understand. So I walked in, not expecting anyone would talk to me, and I was gonna just walk right out, and then you just walked right up to me, and it was a total confirmation to me of this miracle." And she told me that maybe there was someone that I needed to share her story with. And so at the end, I'm like "well do any of your kids (who don't live with her) need a call from a missionary?" And she was like "you can do that?!" and I was like "yes!" and she told me that one of her kids has been trying to meet with missionaries but for some reason the referral never goes through. So she gave me 2 names, and that day I called the one who wants to meet with missionaries, and I confirmed it! Woohooooo! So that experience was just a total lesson to me that the Lord is preparing people, and all we have to do is find them, they're already ready. The Lord is the one that makes the miracles happen, we just have to be in the right place at the right time. So yeah, way cool!

Also that day, one of the senior couples invited me and another sister to start teaching this less active guy that came in that day. He just has a rough life, and wanted to start changing...so we got to teach him and line up a way for his bishop to get a hold of him. So that was cool.

Phones at the VC are so interesting. I had one phone call this past week that lasted liek 45 minutes, with this guy who goes to college here, and is just a total intellectual. I dunno, it was really interseting..I felt like I was following the Spirit while I was talking to him, and I feel like I got him to start considering things. But then at the end when I asked him (several times) if he'd let the missionaries come over, he was just like "no." flat out. Anyways...it just made me thinking if it's posisble for us to soften people's hearts. We know that there are people that are ready for the gospel, but do some of those people take a little bit more effort to get through to them? Idunno, if any of you have insights, let me know.

So yeah, now that I'm writing this I see just how many mini miracles I experienced this past week. At church, we only had one investigator :( Work on sunday is such a roadblock ahhh! But it's all good. Oh, also...we committed Griselda to baptism as well! So she's gonna talk to her husband. So, we're also plnning on committing david and guadalupe to baptism tonight. So, if all things go well, that would mean Jose, Guadalupe, David, and Griselda baptized in october...enough to make up for the months that mesa grande hasn't had a baptism. We shall see. So again, it's good to write this out...it has been a good week. So often during the ups and downs of missionary work I forget just how many miracles I see, it's easy to just get caught up in the moment. I am SO excited for general conference,I'm such a nerd. But I'm so excited, I'm hoping I can really get some good guidance there...things that can help calm my mind during the tough parts of the day. My overanalytical self is definitely my biggest discourager here on the mission, and I hope that this weekend I can figure out more ways to help me stop that from being an issue. So things are really gooooood. I know that miracles come from the Lord, and there's a quote that's in PMG that says that no matter your talents and abilities, without faith you won't be a success...and that is so true. The Lord is the one that really prepares people and puts them in our path, we have nothing to do with that.

So that is that! I love you all, thank you for your support. Also, Wendy and Kevin dropped off a note for me here at the VC! That was cool. Love, Sister Fors