Thank you for your emails! It sounds like you're all doing well. Allison's still going to the beach, Dad's still going to fashion shows, and Darron's still hanging out with his high school friends...so it sounds like not much has changed :) Just kidding. But it sounds like you're all doing really well! The pictures of Jake are super cute.
Soooo this week has been a good one! More and more I feel myself getting into the hang of this whole mission thing, you think I would've adjusted by now. But this week has been great, with lots of happy moments. I just love the pure joy that comes from doing this work. Sooo what do I have to report? Where to begin?
Well Sister Cottrell is doing really well. She is really easy to get along with, so we do just fine. I haven't been nearly as stressed out as I was the first time I was training, which is such a blessing. It makes me think about how the Lord commands us to work hard, and he commands us to be obedient, but I think he also commands us to find joy in the work...so if you're doing the first two, but not the last one, then you gotta adjust something. So, I've been trying to adjust, and it's allowed me to focus more on the work I think. So things are good!
So our area is doing good. We had a great week, we had 8 lessons with members and we got FIVE new investigators...which was awesome. Again, the Spirit helps so much. So I think I already told you about how we met those former investigators, Dora and Salvador. Then we went back one night with some members. The members hit it off really well with them, and they were joking around and all that. And actually Dora and Salvador had to leave for like 20 minutes, and so they told us to just wait there with their sons for a bit. So we got to know their sons, who are 19 and 21 and just got here from Guatemala, and they were awesome! Really mature guys, and so we're excited to start teaching the whole family. We also found another new investigator whose name is Ana. We had met her and her husband a few weeks ago, and I felt like we should go back and visit her. So we did, and we knocked on her door and she welcomed us right in. We just started teaching her and she just kept saying about how she's looking for something new, she wants to stop feeling anger in her heart, all of that. So good. So she has a less-active lady that lives right across from her, so we're going to try to get the two of them to start coming to church together.
So, I will tell you of a weird day that I had this past week. Alright, so, if you'll recall, we're teaching this 17 year old girl named Diana. We've been teaching her for about a month now, probably like once a week. She's super sweet, suuperr shy, you can kind of tell she's had a rough life. Every time we talk to her she just looks like she's hungry for the gospel! But we couldn't really get through to her, know what she wanted. So she's 17, but she looks like she's like 13, no exaggeration, probably like 95 pounds. Anyways, so we went to teach her this past week. Right before we knocked on the door, I said a quick prayer that we would be able to know her needs, understand why she was talking to us. We were chatting with her mom, and we were like "Is Diana coming?" and she goes "Yeah, shes coming out of her room right now." So she comes out, and she's holding this little baby girl that I've never seen before. And so I go "Ella es su hermanita?" and she goes "No...mi bebe." Whaaaaaaat?! Somehow we had managed to teach her for like a month, and she had somehow managed to hide the fact that she has an 8 month old daughter from us! So crazy. It was the weirdest moment, and none of us knew how to react. So I was just like "ooooh no sabia que tiene una bebe, que linda!" hahaha. It was really interesting. It was funny, because the Lord answered my prayer...he showed me what her need is, she's trying to be a teenage mom! And she had been keeping it on the down low from us for the whole time, and she finally decided to let it be in the open. (Or at least that's how I interpret it) So, really shocking, but...I guess now we know which path to take. That day we had planned to talk about faith, repentance, and starting a new life, and I think it was teh perfect message for her. Unfortunately, I invited her mom to listen in, and her mom kind of dominated the conversation with her ideas and stuff, but it'll turn out okay. So that's that...crazy no?
Another weird/really really sad piece of news I got on that same night was about my recent convert Ana from Mesa Grande. I don't know if I mentioned this, but right as I was leaving Mesa Grande Ana's friend Lucy called us up and told us that Ana had gone to Venezuela. We were all like "whaat?" and really confused because we had just talked to her about how she hadn't been there for like 10 years, and she didn't know when she'd go back. But Lucy told us she'd tell us when she comes back, so it was all good. Then I came to Liahona 1st, and didn't think about it much. This past week, teh sisters that are in Mesa Grande now were talking to the RS pres, who tells them "Hermanas, Ana isn't in VEnezuela. She's here in Arizona." and they go "Okay, where?" and she goes "En la carcel" Ana is in JAIL! This is Ana, my golden of all golden investigators who is 60 years old and has been in the United States for like 30 years. The LAST person I would expect in jail. So, basically they still don't really know all the details, but they're pretty sure she's in the process of getting deported. AHH! She always told us she had papers and everything. We're not sure what happened. But I was So shocked, I still can't wrap my head around it and it breaks my heart so much. Right after she got baptized, she was on cloud nine, the happiest she's ever been, and she and her boyfriend had just gotten engaged. And like a month and a half later, this happens. Craziness. So weird to think how sometimes we will have hardships and trials just totally blindside us. So, we're hopefully going to be able to send her some letters. But keep her in your prayers! I just hope and pray that she'll be able to stay strong through all of this.
Anyways, what else. Yesterday (Sunday) Ramiro was able to come to church! As we were leaving his house a few days earlier, he goes "Look, you told me that you'd pray that I'd get Sundays off, and my boss just gave me this Sunday off!" So he's recognizing that prayers work! And we're not sure, but we think he might have all Sundays off, which would be so golden. Then last night we had the mission president's charla fogonera at our ward! So Hno Laguna (Ward mission leader) spoke, plus 2 recent converts. Ramiro came to that too. It was SO good. Hermano Laguna is an incredible man. He is the perfect example of someone who has magnified their calling and really poured their heart into it. He said in his testimony about how these past few months as WML have been the happiest of his life because of all the blessings that have come from it. He also said in his testimony that yesterday he dropped off Cesar after church (the 9 year old), and Cesar said "My teacher told me that Christ is going to come again, is that true?" and Hno Laguna goes "yes" and he says "Cool, because I would really like to see him." Which just made me SO happy because Cesar has been really struggling. His mom is still discouraging him and he hadn't come to church for like 2 weeks. So that made me so happy. Anyways, I will end it on that note. I am so grateful to be on a mission. I'm so grateful for the joy that comes from the Gospel and from the Spirit. This type of joy really is a gift that God just bestows upon us when we're trying to do what's right. There's happiness that comes from happenings, and joy which comes from God. Anyways, so I am grateful! Also, Easter Pageant is quickly approaching, which will be full of miracles. So, I love you all so much, thanks for your great examples, and have a great week! Love, Sister Fors
At the farewell for Sis. Vause at the Visitor Center
Sister Vause
Carne Asada Night
Carne Asada Night
Sis. Cottrell
Carne Asada Night
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