Hello everyone! So this week has been a roller coaster of good and bad. But I have come to realize that everything is from God, even the not-so-happy things.
Well it started off with exchanges, and Hermana McAffe came to my area for the day. We talked about dropping some of the investigators we had who aren't really committed I order to make time to find the ones who really were. It was sad thinking about it, but I knew I had to drop some people that I loved seeing because they just weren't progressing.
One investigator, Vanessa, was one that was progressing and we weren't going to drop because she had a baptismal date! Hermana McAffe and I visited her and talked to her about some questions she had and things
that she learned by looking us up on the Internet. We suggested that she just use Mormon.org for her research and set up a Book of Mormon reading appointment with her for the next day.
Well the next day, Thursday, is planning day, where we spend most morning hours after studies to plan for the next week. In the middle of planning, Vanessa texted us saying that she wanted to stay with her beliefs and basically said goodbye. We were shocked! Sister LeDoux and I didn't know what to do, so right then and there we prayed for guidance and then we both immediately felt like we needed to pack up everything and drive to her house. So that's what we did, but she ended up "not being home." We were both devastated. We didn't know what to do, so we just picked a street and tracted because we wanted to show Satan that this wouldn't get us down, even though it really had.
A couple appointments we had planned after that also fell through, and then Vanessa texted us to let us know she didn't want to see us any more. So right now the roller coaster is all downhill. But it starts picking back up when we had a lesson with the Cohen's! So Tamir and Cade are the ones with baptism dates on the 22nd and their mom is Claudia, a returning less-active member. So those three were there, along with Maceo, Claudia's boyfriend, and Brooklyn (15) and Nathan (12), Maceo's kids. They all listened as we taught about the
importance of the Book of Mormon and they all committed to go to church on Sunday! They are all amazing and so fun! We had a great time and they asked so many good questions. That night Maceo, Brooklyn, and
Nathan all became new investigators!
So even though it was sad to see Vanessa go on unhappy terms, the day ended good with the Cohen's. And we weren't planning on dropping Vanessa, so it was God just letting us know that she wasn't ready and
we shouldn't waste are time with her either, even though I love her and miss her tons already. But if she wasn't ready, she wasn't ready, and there was nothing sister LeDoux and I could've done. But the same day we dropped Vanessa, we got 3 more new ones, so I guess it's God telling us that it was worth it and that He's got it covered.
The next day we tracted and we found Daisy, a mom who was watching her kids play outside. We talked to her about what we do as missionaries. She asked us a lot of good questions, which eventually led to a mini
restoration lesson! She said she'd pray about Joseph Smith and said we could come back, so we are so excited to see her again! We set up a return appointment and got another new investigator :)
On Saturday, the Peccole Ranch community was having a community wide garage sale and Sister LeDoux and I went around from garage to garage passing out donation flyers for Deseret Industries. It was good because so many people were outside who normally aren't and they were able to see us and know that we are in the area. No return appointments came from it, but a lot of missionary talk and invitations to church :)
Sunday, all the Cohen's came to church!! It was a little hectic because the. Butch was PACKED because there was a senior missionary farewell, a baby blessing, and three baptisms occurred the day before, but we managed to shift around and move chairs in the middle of the meeting and all of us were able to sit in the same row in the back eventually. It was fantastic! Tamir and Cade got permission to come to church, even though they are supposed to be with their dad for the weekend, and Maceo and his kids came! They all said they enjoyed it and Brooklyn even said that she wants to come next week!!! EEEP!! We are so excited for them! We are going to have dinner and a lesson with them this week, so look for an update on them next week!
In my studies this week I have been diving into 1 Nephi in depth and I love it! I'm learning so much that otherwise I wouldn't have thought of. I'm learning to appreciate God's work more and how he works so
much through other people, especially His prophets. The Book of Mormon at first just seems like a bunch of stories, but when you dive into it, you see all the way deeper meanings and how there is spiritual
meaning to every verse! I encourage you all to read the Book of Mormon and don't keep track of how many verses or chapters you read. Just read for 20 minutes and write down the impressions and thought you
have about each verse, even if it's as simple as "and my father dwelt in a tent." You might get through 4, maybe one day 15. But you get way more out of it and you see more clearly how they relate to you and
your life now.
I love you all and I thank you for all your prayers and support! I hope everyone's okay with the hurricane. I don't know anything about it, I just know it exists, so just be safe, k? :) Love you!!
Sister Brown :)
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