December 13, 2010

Family!

This past week was AMAZING! I have never seen more miracles in my life! I don't mean to get all exclamation mark crazy, but the Lord is so merciful!

I really don't know where to start. I guess the beginning would be the best.

Remember that long trek out into the snow, in the blizzard? Well, like Sister Allcott said, that definitely was the trial of our faith. As a result of much prayer, goal-setting, and fasting, Sister Muhlestein and I saw so many miracles this past week. Our Zone and mission has a goal to get a baptizm per companionship for the 25th of December. We're all dreaming of a White Christmas, meaning a lot of people in white baptizmal clothes Christmas Day. As of last week, we had no investigators scheduled with a Baptizmal Date for Christmas. But, as of today, we have three baptizmal dates for the 25th! And two of the three, were people we found and met with for the first time only last week. Crazy!

One, is a 30 year lady named Tatiana, who called the Mission Office last week herself, and wanted to hear more about the Church. That like never happens, at least never to me. So, she lives in our area, but because our area is like the size New Mexico (only slightly exaggerating), she lives like 2 hours by bus from our house. But, we head out there, and she pretty much asked us "What do I need to do to be baptized?" She is so golden and prepared. Not gonna lie, she was slightly surprised by how high our standards are. The whole tithing, word of wisdom, law of chastity thing kind of threw her for a bit. But, after promising blessings, she is wanting to really find out for herself if it is true. And, if she finds out by the 25th, she agreed to be baptized! Yay for miracles! I guess she has a boyfriend in Norway that is a member of the Church, and when she went to visit him, she went to a service there. She didn't understand anything because it was in Norwegian, but she said she felt something special, and she really liked all the activities, and the Church's emphasis on families. Not sure if her boyfriend is totally active or not, but she has a sincere desire to see if the Church is true, which is so awesome to see. I know the Lord put her in our path and that she is so prepared.

Two, Vladislav accepted a Baptismal Date for the 25th! It is totally up to his wife's consent, but we know the Lord can make all things happen. He really is wanting to get baptized, and he even fasted on Saturday to see a miracle! He says his wife is already starting to soften up and, he has already been such a miracle to me already, that I really know anything is possible. He is just a completely different person now than when I first met him this past summer. He has so much more of a testimony of our Savior, and he actually is acting and doing things in his life. He evn got a job. He calls us every morning at like 7 am just to wish us a happy day. He is such a nice man, and he is on fire with the Gospel.

Three, a man in our Ward, Uri Popov, called us early one morning, and said that he has a friend that wants to meet with us. We call the friend, and it turns out she is a frmer investigator I met with once in like May, but she really wasn't interested in May when Sister Hanks and I met with her. But, I guess her life got pretty hard since then, and she said that the biggest help for her has been the Book of Mormon. She has been reading it, and she knows it is true. She used to go to Church every Sunday a long time ago, and she says that she recognizes now the Spirit that she felt there, and that she wants that back in her life. She has problems with the Word of Wisdom, and so her getting baptized so soon is going to take a miracle, but, again, anything is possible : )

Please keep these people in your prayers, because they all have hurdles they need to overcome to be ready for the 25th.

Other miracle(s):

We found another family! On our way back from Pday Frisbee, we took a cab back to our area, and the driver was this hilarious man, that had my companion and I laughing so hard. We get into a spiritual discussion with him, and it turns out he has two sons, one of which is handicapped. He and his wife are Evangelical, which is really rare here, adn they go to Church every Sunday. He has already quit drinking and smoking, and when we asked if we could meet with him and share our message with him later, he said that "It sounds like this is something my wife and I should do together, so let me talk to her, and then we can set-up a meeting together." We were so happy, and it turns-out she agreed to meet with us too! I haven't taught anyfamilies my whole mission, and now, after fasting for them, the Lord has given us two. Such a blessing.

Lena is doing so well, and says hi to you all. She came to Church on Sunday, and was put with to other amazing, young, single sisters to do Visiting Teaching. The ward is really trying to do their part in fellowshipping her, and it is very touching to see.

Just random people in our branch keep referring us to friends and family, and Sister Muhlesteing and I just have to much work to do! Really. We ran all over town last week, and we still didn't meet with everyone we need to. It would be nice if we got another companionship here in our area. Maybe I'll pass that along to the Mission President : )

Okay, well, there is a lot more I could write, but that will do it for this week.

Thanks everyone for your support in my decision to stay on the mission 6 weeksd longer. It really helped to hear all your words of support and encouragement. Time flies and I will be home before any of us know it. Hope all is well with you, and thank-you for your prayers, obviously they work!

Love you all,

Sister Hakes