Sister Inman Letter - May 9, 2016

Rough week, but man does God know me!

Hi family!

Well, this week has been rough, but GUESS WHAT. God supports and sustains His missionaries! I have definitely felt of God's love and support this week, and have felt the promise as contained in the scripture,"And whoso receiveth you, there I will be also, for I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up." Doctrine and Covenants 84:88

On Monday, I had a rough day, but when we went to go get groceries.... a kind man paid for BOTH OF US. I just about cried. It ended up being about $110, and he offered without knowing how much it would be. I hope that God showers a multitude of blessings upon him. He turned out to be a member that wasn't in our ward, but we were so grateful.

Tuesday was a little better! I could feel His love and strength and peace. I have come to understand that when we humble ourselves, that is when the Spirit can be present with us, and guide us and comfort and strengthen us. I was more capable and closer to the Spirit, and was more in tune to the needs of others, which was neat to see. 

Wednesday (May the FOURTH be with you!!!!!) :) Happy Star Wars Day! We had zone meeting which was good!

Thursday was just an awkward day. 

We as a zone are going to sing a musical number at our half-mission conference this week (A member of the 70 is coming! Woo! Elder and Sister Foster). Luckily, most of our zone is willing and can carry a tune :D  We did service at the food bank, which is always fun, I love working there! It is fun to do service with all the other missionaries, because you can work and get to know one another at the same time. :)

Friday was alright. We had interviews with President Passey, and that went well. He was very supportive of me, and had lots of encouraging words, and expressed his full confidence in my abilities, and told me that I have grown so much spiritually, and that he can see great things coming from me. That I am going to continue to grow, and that there is so much success and greatness that awaits me when I do. He said, "You've had quite a few stretching experiences, but I can see you doing great things. Sister Inman, you will go places. I have high hopes for you, and you have pushed through and keep going, despite setbacks and challenges, and I'm going to celebrate that."

I also gained a sister on Friday! Another Inman!!!!! I am so excited that she is part of our family now. I can't wait to meet her finally. I think she belongs in this family. I approve. :) And the reception pictures were beautiful :) You two are so cute.

Saturday was rough. But I got help throughout the day, and got the strength to move forward.

Sunday was AWESOME!!!! Great day. It was Mother's Day. We went to the Pima wards, and RAY and RUDY came!!!!! YAYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!! :D We were so happy. God's tender mercies are the sweetest. Rudy stayed all three hours, because his ride home stayed haha. But he said he enjoyed it! Yayyy! He has experienced a total change of heart, and his whole countenance has changed. He went from Doubting Thomas to a man of great faith. What? Sometimes, you need traumatic experiences to shake you up enough to make a change. And that's just what happened with Rudy.

Ray's baptism is this Saturday! We have been meeting with him about 3 times a week, and have two more lessons with him before his interview! SO EXCITED! Man, it's gonna be one of the coolest baptisms ever. He is so prepared.

I got to Skype home on Sunday! It was kinda weird, because it was only Mom, Dad, and Jesse! But it was nice to see those familiar faces, and we had a good talk. I love my family! Jesse looks so big now...... he's a grown man. :( Is he taller than Jake yet?

Anyway, so that was my week in a nutshell! Nothing too exciting. BUT I am excited for the half mission conference on Thursday! It'll be good. 

A couple more thoughts from Elder Holland and Lynn G. Robbins from the conference:

"This is the most important institution in the world. This is the most important work in the UNIVERSE. And God has left it up to young adults, some of you only 18 years old. You need to take this work SERIOUSLY."

"This is the church of eternal progression. You will not make any U-Turns."

"Do not ever ever EVER walk away from your mission. I can understand the one and the ninety and nine, but I cannot imagine losing a shepherd."

The Discussion

He went over to the whiteboard to start our discussion, and started writing, and said "I write in reformed Egyptian, don't worry about this." haha. His handwriting wasn't too bad. I was looking for different things that Mom looks for in handwriting analysis, but couldn't remember what they meant. Well shoot!

• Why are we here? Because of the Fall. We brought upon ourselves Physical and Spiritual Death. 2 Nephi 9:6-9 (He asked where we could find that truth, and I knew the answer but chickened out, so he answered it. That was my only regret of that conference. I should have commented. Grrr. Kicking myself in the shins for it. I wish I had participated more. Still can't get over it. -_- )
• Therefore.... We need a Redeemer.

Which brings us to:

The Enabling Power of the Atonement

1. He is our Advocate with the Father

We want to get into the court room, but we cannot even enter or have any say. We NEED the Savior.

2. Plan of Mercy---Satisfies Justice

Only one person has the power of attorney to give you the ability to enter into God's presence. He buys you a chance to repair the damage. He pleads with the Father to hold the axe a little longer, so He/missionaries can plead with people with all of our might to repent. Time is running out, the probation period is almost up.

3. He is the Surrogate for the Father

He is both the Advocate AND the Judge! He can balance the scales because He is the KEEPER of the scales. The only way that the story is fair is if the Judge, NOT the advocate or the person pays the price. Only HE has the power to do this. "God himself shall come down" to atone for the sins of the world.

4. The Gift of the Holy Ghost

The enabling power comes through the visitation of the Holy Ghost which comes after you prepare yourself to exercise divine power. The Holy Ghost cannot dwell where there is sin. You must receive a remission of sins in order to have the Holy Ghost. Christ HAD to leave, and die, so that the Holy Ghost can come. He HAD to atone, so we could receive that enabling power, or he would have no power to give us, because He hadn't performed the Atonement yet.

5. The Priesthood

The Priesthood holds the keys to all of the spiritual blessings of the church. Do you want to be enabled? Have power? Solve a problem bigger than you? Help investigators? Then you need these two things that ONLY our church has: 1)The Gift of the Holy Ghost, and 2) The Priesthood [after the order of the Son of God], which comes only through the Holy Ghost, which is given to man by the priesthood.

Hope you all have a fantastic week! We have one more week as a companionship before Sister Charles goes home. Wow. I will be taking over the area! Four wards! Holy moly! Scary. Anyway, I love you all, and pray for you daily!

Love,

Sister Inman

Pichas!

Our mission with Elder Holland and Elder Robbins! (Can you spot them?) So cool :D

Mi familia! (got to Skype home for Mothers' Day)

Sister Inman Letter - May 2, 2016

SPIRITUAL STEROIDS MUCH?!

Hola Familia!

Sorry, I don't have much time. But I wanted to tell you all of how AWESOME of a week I had! Holy moly! Sorry for the lack of organization.

Tuesday night we drove to Tucson and spent the night at the Vehicle Coordinator's house with the Thatcher Sisters! I also got to see the Phippen's there, the senior couple from my first zone! :)

WEDNESDAY WAS SO AWESOME.

So bright and early on Wednesday, we met at the Tucson North Stake Center, (7:15am)

We took a mission photo with Elder Holland, Elder Lynn G. Robbins, and Elder Heymore and his wife (Area Seventy over the Tucson area). SO COOL. He is a lot more intense in person. But man, when he walked in, the Spirit just flooded the entire gym. Almost like Jesus Himself just stepped into the room. We all got quiet. But he walked right by me! Man. So after the photo, he said, "Let's start the meeting right now. Before we go into the chapel, be reverent, and prepare to be taught by the Spirit. I will be at the door to shake your hand, and I want you to tell me your name, and where you are from."

So we each, individually, were able to look into his eyes, shake his hand, tell him our name, and where we are from. It was my first time meeting an Apostle, and especially Elder Holland, so before I even shook his hand, I was fighting back tears, I was filled with emotion. So I shook his hand, and looked into his eyes (They are a very pretty bright blue color and pierce your soul) and told him my name and where I was from. He said "It is good to have you here." 

We then shook all of the other general authorities' hands, and the Passey's.

Due to lack of time, I will just share a few of my favorite parts:

First off, I was sitting on the front row. (Right? So lucky!) But he came down with a clip on microphone and walked around. He said "I don't normally do this, but I am going to today."

"I wouldn't miss this opportunity for anything. Aside from my family, of all of the places and people I would rather be with in the whole world, I would choose to be with missionaries."

"My mission was everything to me. I had a thousand reasons not to go. I have thought about my mission every day for 54 years. It should mean EVERYTHING to you. 50 years from now, still testify of the same Gospel the way you do now. That is how I am able to testify with such great conviction today. When you get home, don't get up there are tell jokes. Don't tell about the time when you pulled a prank on your companion, or the funny stories. You TESTIFY OF THE GOSPEL and ACT LIKE A MISSIONARY. There will be younger kids there, where you might be the very thing that gets them to go on a mission. Be the missionary that will inspire my grandchildren to look up at you and think, 'Wow, I want to be like that."

"YOU determine what the church looks like. YOU represent the church. You do not have the RIGHT to break and destroy the trust that the Church and its leaders and people place in you. They think we are perfect. I do not have the RIGHT to destroy that image. You and I have the exact same assignment. You are apostolic! The work we do is the same. We are witnesses of this sacred message."

"Do not miss ONE SECOND of this opportunity. You will NEVER get it again. Except for cases like me, where I have to die to be released, you will not have this opportunity ever again."

"I can't always yell and scream from the pulpit, but that's another reason I love being with missionaries, because I can." :)

"My future as an Apostle rests in your hands. The future of this Church rests on how well you represent it."

"YOU NEED TO TAKE. THIS. SERIOUSLY." (pounds his hand on the podium)

The second part of his conference was like a classroom almost. He used a whiteboard, we studied the scriptures together, and we came to understand the Enabling power of the Atonement better, as taught by an Apostle, through the Holy Ghost. Wow. We had participation from different missionaries, too.

He also told us, "Do you know why we shake your hands and look into your eyes individually? Because the eyes are the window to the soul, and it allows us to interview you. Do we really care to know where you are from? We looked into ever one of your eyes, and I can tell that you have some amazing missionaries here. Not perfect, none of us are." (He then made eye contact with me and said "We all have imperfections, don't we?" Ha! talk about scary. I shook my head yesss. He then said, "I do know that about 3 of you Elders are struggling. You can work through this."

But he interviewed each of us and listened for the Spirit to know who we are on the inside. Maybe that's why he seemed sort of in a daze? So cool. I wonder what he saw in me...? 

Then after his discussion, he had to leave early to catch a flight, but he pushed back his plans to make sure to be here with us. Super honored.

We then were instructed by Elder Robbins, and that was SO COOL. Exactly what I needed, and everything that was said this day changed me. I'll tell you more about it next week. 

Well, that's all I have time for. We had lots of miracles this weekend, and I know that the Lord prepares His children in ways that we don't always understand!

Stay strong, I love you all! I am excited for Chauncey to join our family, and I am so proud of you all for all of your accomplishments and successes I hear about!

Have a great week, and I will SEE you next week! (Skype)

Sister Inman

The Gila Valley Temple

I saw Hna. Adams!

The sunsets were super pretty!

Sister Inman Letter - April 25, 2016

Sick all this week, but STOKED for next week!

HELLO FROM PIMA!

Well, here's another boring email. Sorry. I have been sick alllllll week long. So I am super behind on my journal entries, and they would most likely be something like, "Day 4, Still stick. Threw up. Did nothing else all day."

So I will spare you the details, because there aren't many to report :)

MONDAY: We had P-day, I don't really remember what happened, because I got sick that night. BUT, before that, we did an FHE with the Ashenbremers. We were teaching them about charity and service, so we did a little activity with them. We did a little service scavenger hunt, Team Mom and Team Dad, and they had to find different acts of service they could do around the house. For example, find one bed that is not your own, and make it. Pick up two toys that are not yours. Put away any clothes that aren't your own. Hug your teammate. Draw a picture for someone on the other team and write one nice thing about them. And they had about 3 minutes to do it, and they had fun! We always have a hard time keeping their attention, (especially the kids') but it was good! And at the end we had each of them draw a name (It was their "secret mission") and they had to do something every day to serve that person in their family. But they had to do it as a secret. So, for fun, we gave each of them these goofy glasses to wear as a disguise so no one could tell it was them doing service. I'd say it was rather clever. :) (Thanks, Spirit!) That night I got very sick, it seemed like food poisoning from lunch... yeah...

TUESDAY: Woke up in the middle of the night, sick again. We texted Sister Passey about what to do, and she texted back, "Go back to bed. There is a nasty stomach flu going around that lasts about 24 hours. Drink lots of clear fluids and sleep as much as you can." She said to stay in until I can keep down food and don't feel nauseous anymore. So, I did, and we ended up having to cancel all of our appointments for the day... I didn't get better like I was hoping. But my stomach started feeling better by the night time, but then my head was on fire. So I was in great shape.

WEDNESDAY morning, we went to a funeral for Peggy's daughter Brandy's Father-in-law. Very somber, very sad. There were a lot of rough-around-the-edges people there, some of which from Brandy and Mike's biker gang (it's a good gang that protects abused and neglected children). It was really neat to see these big, tatted up guys go up to Mike's mom and give her a big hug and a kiss on the cheek. Very sad for the family.

Right afterwards, we went to zone breakout before district meeting. We talked about zone goals for this month. Then, we talked about preparing for Elder Holland to come this week. ON WEDNESDAY!!!! SUUper excited for that! We each get to meet him and shake his hand. We will also get a mission photo, probably with him, as well as Lynn G. Robbins of the presidency of the 70, and their wives. Sister Charles is saying the closing prayer for the meeting and is super nervous haha.

THURSDAY we went to the temple, and did an endowment session. I took a family name! Yay! I love the temple. This time, I actually went in with a specific set of questions, and pondered about them beforehand. Then my mind was opened and I remembered some more questions that I had! My mind was enlightened. I still don't have very many answers, but hopefully one day I will. :) I was still sick, but Heavenly Father blessed me to be able to do and enjoy the whole session!!! God is a God of miracles.

FRIDAY we drove all the way to Tucson because we both had Doctor's appointments! That was a disaster. Tucson traffic and drivers are terrible. They honk at you when you barely got a green light, and are not very nice. On our way back, we got lost for about an hour and a half, in Tucson, then got stuck in rush hour traffic for a while, then drove through Benson, got something to eat really quick, because we hadn't eaten all day, then I started feeling really sick again. And we finally made it back home close to curfew. It was bad.

SATURDAY we had comp. study with the Thatcher sisters, then went to the farm for service! We got to work in the greenhouse, to pot tomatoes. Sister McCombie and I were in charge of keeping the soil wet. I love her. Essentially we got to play with mud and it was okay to do so. :) 

We had another lesson with Race, and he opened up and talked more! We were so excited, because he normally doesn't say much. Apparently he was really sad when we had to cancel the other day. He's a cute kid. 

SUNDAY, church was really good! Lots of things that I needed to hear, and very cool insights I gained!

Something that I learned that was really cool, when we do work for the dead, we then give our dead the power and ability to influence their descendants, even those in other countries who have not yet accepted the gospel. The power of those on the other side of the veil is more powerful than we think it is! Maybe we won't send missionaries to all of the countries throughout the world right away, but the power than comes from our ancestors can soften hearts faster than we can. Pretty neat. :)

We had a missionary meeting for the Pima Stake, which includes two sets of missionaries for 7 wards..... and the high priest over missionary work. We are going to get things moving in ALL of our wards!!!

At dinner, we had homemade sorbet for dessert. They made a ton and gave us the leftovers, like half a gallon! YES!!!! :D

Anyway, I'm sorry for the supah lame email this week. I've got some pictures, so I hope it makes up for it! I got Jake and Chauncey's wedding invite! They're so cute. That's so awesome you could do a temple session with them! I want to meet her! She sounds like she will be a fantastic addition to our family, and that makes me happy! :) We're getting another Inman!

I love you all and hope you have a wonderful week!

Love,

Sister Inman

The Seesters

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The Ashenbremer's

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​Fabulous disguises

Our district minus one set of Elders

L to R: Elder Phillips, Elder Farnsworth (DL), me, Sister Brown, Sister McCombie, and Sister Charles

Hna's Anderson and Garcia, then at the end is Sisters Steele and Dunn

Almost turned Right!!! I miss it!

Went to eegee's!!!

Yet another selfie (sorry)

The Farm and our crew feat. Max, the guy in charge

Sister McCombie and I

Stopped to smell the...roses?

The Farm

We got to stop by the temple while we were in Tucson! It is coming along so fast! It is ancicipated that it will be finished and dedicated in March of next year. :)

Kindred Spirits

Strictly Business

Sister Inman Letter - April 18, 2016

Well, another week down! Now if time could slow down, that'd be great.

Hello family and friends!

Sorry, this letter will probably be kind of boring, as I don't have much time left, and there is not a ton to report on! We have been EXTREMELY BUSY, to the point that we would need to go on splits several times per week to even be able to just SEE the people we are working with and need to get ahold of this week. It's a good problem to have, I suppose, it means we are working hard and trying to get things done, but as of now, we have ONE hour of open time in the entire week where we can choose one person to try. Every other time slot is filled with something else.

But anyway,

Monday for the end of P-day, we went bowling as a zone! They gave us a good deal on the games, and we were pretty much the only people there. So that was fun!

On Wednesday, we did commodities before district meeting. We stood out in the sun for a couple hours, bagged up food, and gave them to the cars as they lined up. I remembered to put on sunscreen on my face, but neglected to put it on the back of my neck....... and it turned beet red, hurts a ton, and is now peeling. Glorious.

After district meeting, I went to the dentist because I was super worried about something that caused me trouble before my mission, and was given the best possible news, that everything is okay, and there is nothing to worry about. :)

Thursday night, Sister Charles almost died. We were eating at a member's home, and she felt like wiping the condensation off of her glass of water, and kept turning the glass around, and then let out the biggest gasp I've ever heard. She turned her glass around to show a scorpion in her water. It was a baby one, maybe an inch and a half long, alive and well in her glass... yep. Maybe it got in there when they put the ice in? Who knows. It was pretty crazy though.

Friday, we set a baptismal date for Race! May 21st! He is a super sweet kid. That night, we met a guy named Michael that is friends with another man in our ward. He was in town for the triathlon that happened on Saturday, and was staying with them for the night. He is currently on a quest for truth and answers, and is studying a wide variety of religions, and is very objective about things. He was confirmed Lutheran, but is searching for answers to his questions in a variety of places. Some of his primary concerns were: I know that Christ apparently died for my sins and all, but 1) Why does dying do anything, especially when he knew he was going to live again? 2) Why is His death so special, when many people died before him? 3) Why is He so important? 4) What about the sins of those people who were before Him? etc. Really good questions. We had a neat conversation. Unfortunately, he lives in San Carlos, way out of our area.

Saturday, we volunteered at the Triathlon! For like 5 hours -_-. We were pretty much voluntold without our consent, but whatever, it was a good! We had to get up at 5:15am or so, then had to go over to the meeting place. Luckily, it was actually in Pima! We got free t-shirts, Woo! Sister Steele and I worked the final stretch before the finish line, and also directed the bikers who were checking in. Essentially, it was our job to direct traffic, including racers. We also took the liberty of cheering on every single racer that ran past us to the finish line. I used my commanding/enthusiastic/loud/cheering voice to cheer everyone on. I said things like "YOU'RE ALMOST THERE! KEEP GOING! THERE'S THE FINISH LINE! YOU GOT THIS! YOU'RE SO CLOSE! THIS IS THE HOME STRETCH! FINISH STRONG! YOU CAN DO THIS! YOU'RE ALMOST DONE! SPRINT TO THE FINISH! GO GO GO GO GO! NO PAIN, NO GAIN! PUT YOUR GAME FACE ON! 100 MORE YARDS TO GO! YOU ARE STRONGER THAN YOU THINK YOU ARE! THERE IT IS, THERE IS IT!!!! FIRST PLACE! YEAAAAHHHHHH!" (Can you picture me yelling encouraging things to everyone? Yup, we literally did that for 5 hours straight. For every single runner.) 

But yeah. It was truly inspirational to see so many people of different backgrounds, shapes, sizes, ages, physical limitations, etc. running the same race. I found that very symbolic. But it was also amazing to see how some people just needed to have someone tell them that they could do it, and that there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and it is so close! There were people of all ages, really little to pretty old, as well as super skinny to heavily overweight. There was a man with prosthetic legs, people who were limping, etc. I got to see groups of young men and young women running slower alongside those other young men or young women who were really struggling, or who obviously were physically /mentally limited. They were cheering them on, and helping them feel like champions. But I think the most inspirational thing I saw all day was that of a younger child, probably 6 or so, with walkers attached to his arms, as his legs did not function. (cerebral palsy of some kind? That's what someone said. Just his legs didn't work). but he had gone the entire race with his walkers. He was trying so hard, and you could tell he was tired. It looked like his older brother was walking next to him the whole time. This little boy was trying so hard, one foot in front of the other, as fast as his arms could pull him forward. But he was determined. i just about cried. But as this little boy got closer, I cheered him on, "You can do it, buddy! You're doing so good! You're almost there, keep going! You see that right ahead? That's the finish line! Sprint to the finish! Go go go go!" As soon as I said this, his face lit up with a big smile, like an "I can do this!" and with an increased determination and enthusiasm, he pushed his legs forward faster and faster. One foot in front of the other, and as he smiled and pulled himself faster with his walkers, and got closer and closer to the finish line, everybody at the end cheered him on. He got faster the harder he tried, and the more people cheered. And he got a medal around his neck as he crossed the finish line. I was so grateful to have witnessed that. 

I actually got a few thank-you's from people after the race. They said that it was just what they needed, because they were dying at the end, and that's what helped them finish strong. Well cool! :)

At the end, Sister Steele and I sprinted to the finish line. People cheered for us "Yeah, go Sisters!", and we got medals, too. Felt good :) I didn't realize how big of an event it was. People from all over come to this. I actually saw Matt (Hilton) there, so that was cool! I think he was there with his Young Men's group? And did the race too. I also saw Michelle Zimmerman, but I don't think she recognized me haha. Anyway.

But yeah, that was pretty much my week! Sorry, kind of a lame email this week!

On the flip side, I get to go to the Temple this week!!!!! YAY! I'm so excited to go. I miss it. I love the temple. Luckily, the temple is not too far away from where I am at. :) I am excited to learn some new things and be filled with that sweet spirit again.

Anyway, I hope you all have a fantastic week, I love you all so much.

Les Quiero Muchos!

Sister Inman

  

I got to hold a baby chick! So cute!

 It made me happy.

We got to go bowling last P-day! :) Super fun!

Las Hermanas

Me and Sister Steele, professional bowlers

Sister Charles decided to make a face out of the pepper that I cut in half, to give Rebecca (the potato) a man. He's kind of creepy.

I guess you could call me a redneck. #toowhiteformyowngood

Sister Inman Letter - April 11, 2016

6 Months and Going Strong!!! (Wait... 6 MONTHS?!)

Holy cow! As of tomorrow, I will have been a set-apart missionary for 6 months. Time goes by so fast, and I know it will continue to go by even faster. I am not ready. I have so much more to do and become, and now I have one year left to do it!!! All the more reason to buckle down and figure things out so I can spend the rest of the limited time I have left to give everything I've got the the Lord's work! Wow. Here we go. Today is also Sister Charles' 17-month mark, which means she goes home in one month! She's a teensy weensy bit stressed about it, but I've been able to help her a little bit.

Anyway, so this week, we have seen a lot of tender mercies and little miracles! Good teaching experiences, and tender moments with investigators. Here are a few from this week:

We set a baptismal date for Ray! (Brother Martinez) May 14th :) He is so solid. He's so ready. We just need to get him to be feeling well enough to come to church! We are hoping that his son can help baptize him. That would be a neat experience. We have had some really neat experiences with their lessons the past week. The Spirit is always so strong when we go over there. 

We had a lesson with Peggy on Tuesday, and we finally taught her the Plan of Salvation, because she finally read in the Book of Moron, so we can move on! She said she will continue to read more. Woo! She had never thought about an life before this, or a life after this. But she thinks it is a beautiful thing, and really loved it. She got a little emotional at the end when she talked about her deceased husband who passed away quite awhile ago. We talked about what happens after death, and how she can be with him again, and ultimately make it to the Celestial Kingdom, through the grace and Atonement of Jesus Christ. She said, "I just want to be wherever he is. I hope it is here." She pointed to the Celestial Kingdom. It was really a good discussion, and the Spirit was there. I invited her to be baptized, because the Spirit told me to, (and we go into each discussion with the intent on inviting them unless otherwise directed by the Spirit). The discussion perfectly led up to the invitation, so I asked her, "Peggy, will you follow the example of Jesus Christ, and be baptized by someone who holds that Priesthood power and authority of God?". She thought, and then said she didn't know. She has received so much pressure from her family (who are all members except her and her grandson) and she told us that she wants to stop her brain from being defiant of that, and make the decision herself if she finds out that it is true. She felt the love that we had for her, and knew that we were not being pushy at all. So it is good that she did not say absolutely not. She loves us going over there, and always gives the sweetest prayers, thanking God for "sending these two beautiful ladies to come and teach me about you. Keep them safe, because I really do love their visits." She will be baptized, the Spirit works miracles, on the Lord's timing. :)

We had zone meeting on Wednesday, and it was super good! The topics were mainly planning, goals & having the Spirit, and Companionship Inventory. Ha. ha. But it was really good!

On Thursday, we tried Minerva and her boyfriend, Noe (No-way). We had an appt. scheduled but they totally forgot, and felt bad, but we talked with them for a little while before they had to leave. Noe is super chill, and they both have had Mormon influences all around them growing up. But we talked a little bit about our purpose as missionaries, what we do, etc. And he asked if we spoke Spanish. I said I understand better than I speak, but I know enough to get by. Almost. I said I could introduce myself in Spanish, and he said, well let's hear it! So I introduced myself and said I was from the LDS Church, then asked him if he had faith in Jesus Christ. He said it was really good and he could understand what I was saying clearly! Woo! Then they said okay, next time you come over, I want you to teach us in Spanish. Minerva was like "yeah, you can only come over if you speak Spanish." So we said okay, we'll work on it. We'll see what we can do. So I will be brushing up on my Spanish this week! Wish me luck! Haha.

Friday, it rained!!! It was in the 60s. We finally met with Sheryl, our Recent Convert, who has been struggling. We had another lesson with Ray, and the Spirit was so strong! We talked about the commandment to follow the prophet, and reviewed what prophets are, etc. We had a member come with us, Brother Bryce, who is a younger man, in his early 30s, who you could tell was a fantastic missionary. (Members are crucial in missionary work!) But we shared some of the things we learned from conference, and the words of the prophets and apostles, and at the end, Ray said "Man, you all keep saying all of these amazing things that it has done for you and how powerful and great it is... It makes me really want to watch it! I'm gonna set a reminder on my phone, so I can make sure to watch or read it." When we told him that the prophet receives revelation for the whole world, his mouth dropped, and he said "wow, that's a lot of responsibility for one man...". We continued to testifyWhen we would suggest things that have helped us or others better understand the talks, etc. ray would lean over to his wife Debbie and say "We need to do that as a family. That's what we need to do." And he was serious about it! I think that he will be a good spiritual leader in their home. He has come so far, I'm excited for him. :)

On Saturday, we helped put together 1600 packets or so for the contestants for the upcoming triathlon next Saturday. Pretty boring and repetitive, but the whole zone was helping. It took like 3 hours, even with that many missionaries helping. I sat next to Elder Burns (I met him my first transfer, he's been out a transfer longer than I have, and he's super funny) and he said "man, just doing this makes me want to get an education. I could not do something this repetitive  for hours on end every day". I agree. Education is the best!

We talked to Rudy again! He is struggling. We had to be kind of bold with him though. I've been getting better at that! Being bold. It really helps if it is led by the Spirit. We told him that if he wants God to help him and answer his prayers, he needs to make some changes in his life, because God will not just grant you something if you are sitting around waiting for him to do it. He keeps quoting the scripture, "Be still, and know that I am God". He says "If I sit any more still, I'll be dead!" We tried to help him understand that it doesn't mean we sit around waiting for Him to make things happen in his life. Oh Rudy.

Sunday was pretty good once we got past the morning! We taught Elders Quorum about the Rescue-focus plan.

And after church, we met with Rudy again! Outside, in the freezing cold with the rain! Baha. We called him before, and he told us that his cat was stuck in the rafters. Worrying that it would be inside of his house where we would not be able to help him, we prayed to know what to do. We went over there anyway, and it was the rafters outside. Tender mercy! We were able to help him get his cat down, because he could not, because of his stroke that he had. Rudy was so thankful. He called us the Good Samaritans, because we seem to always be there at the perfect time to help him. We told him that it was God showing His hand in his life and that he is watching out for him!

We started to read from the Book of Mormon, out of 3 Nephi 11, and it triggered a very personal, spiritually testing experience that he had many years ago, where forces beyond the physical were combining against him. He related his experience where in time of greatest fear and despair, he cried out to God, "Lord, I don't know what this is, but please, in the name of Jesus, take it away from me!". As he remembered this experience, he was sobbing. He poured out his feelings to us. And we testified that God loved him so much. That He was very aware of him, and that He is all powerful, and can answer our prayers when we ask in faith, just as he did. We just had a tender moment with him, as he opened up his heart to us. We invited him to pray, and he said he would, but that he prays differently than we do. We told him it was okay, and he stood in front of us and held his hands out. (You know where everyone holds hands when they pray), and he proceeded to give one of the most heartfelt and sincere prayers I think I have ever heard. He expressed many thanks to God for sending us there, for his challenges, for his cat, for everything. he pleaded for our safety and blessings. Then he ended, and told us how thankful he was, and shook our hands.

We have seen so many tender mercies and miracles, and every time we do, we look at each other and say, "tender mercy!!!" God loves us so much. Look for those signs in your life! They are there! Even when things are rough, we can see the light shine in the darkness. Which is ironic, because when we were talking to Rudy in the rain, by the end of our discussion, the sun had broken through the clouds and the darkness. God smiled upon us. It is the little things.

I hope you each have a fantastic week, I keep you in my prayers daily. 

I love you!

Sister Inman