Letter Excerpts from July 25th

Dearest family! Extended and close and far and by association:

I am sorry I haven't written you more faithfully! There is so much energy that goes in to sharing the miracles that happen every moment that usually when I get to Monday and writing time, I fell like I have shared all of the great stories with ward members/other missionaries or in my president's letter. BUT! You are the joy of my life and need to hear some of the things that go on here. SO I will try to do a better job this week.

  My ipod has been broken for months. Well then I lost it. Then I found it! and when I did, I decided to pray over it. please please. and it truly is as miracle! It works now. I know that its because I prayed about it. Heavenly Father is so willing to shower down miracles upon us. There are COUNTLESS scriptural accounts where people beg for things. They ask over and over. Do not even the dogs get some crumbs? I have learned that if you ask Him for everything, pray for everything, you will either end up getting it-or learning what you really need. I love the perfect nature of prayer. You can not go wrong with it! Use it!

bahaha. We came back to our car one day and found a note taped to the window with a pencil:

To the dark haired one and the blond one

Do you like me

 No   [ ]

 Yes [ ]

 Supper yes [ ]

 I don't know you [ ]

Publish number here ________the dark hair one

                              _________the blond one

hahahahaha. Then these 10 yr old boys were trying to tell us things. squishing up their faces and covering them with their hands...embarrassed-yet determined. hahaha. We invited them to dinner-the ward pot luck and the one littler one said "I'll go get my suit"

I've had some well meant questions turn out not like I expected or would have liked. haha.

"Is that Hebrew on your shirt?" -its just a UWS shirt

"Are you the grandma?"  -no I'm the sister

"Ohh are you pregnant?"  -(at an already awkward Unitarian door) No

But I've learned some great pick up lines:

"No I won't say goodbye, I'll say-meet you at the gates of heaven"

"I love you. I'll be your babushka"

all of them need to be said with a Russian accent.

The 24th of July! loved it!I have never realized the 24th in this way but its amazing. The pioneers left everything they knew and faced so much opposition before they were finally able to begin building their permanent city. It was necessary for them to gain sufficient strength and be tried and tested. Well so it is with me here in the mission field. I have left everything I know except for the gospel. I am being refined, taught and proven as all I have to rely on is Charity. What the saints went through prepared them to establish a Zion and raise a city from the dust. What I am going through will too prepare me to establish my Zion and raise His city wherever I go. Lucky me! I missed trek with the ward but I am having the trek of my life.

So we met this lady named Natalie*. I took her on a church tour and it was AMAZING. She was quoting scriptures with me the whole way! The spirit worked on her so much and she desired to be baptized. We went over the next week for an appointment to find her door open with no one answering. Upon encouragement from Nancy Smith the ward member we were with, we went in to find her slumped in her arm chair with a puffy coat on and over her head. Nancy practically jumps out of her skin and turns back around out of the house saying call 911 call 911! So the call is made and then we go in to try and arouse her. We did so after I held her hand and rubbed it. A long hour followed where I tried to be patient. ! She was fine! She just needed to be roused, not revived. But anyway, I guess better safe than sorry. The EMTs were asking us questions...but everything we knew about her wouldn't help them. I could tell them all about her life's spiritual journey but not much else.

 *Names have been changed for privacy

DILIGENCE. The other day sister Lyles and I studied for an hour about how faith relates to diligence. It has impacted my work very much and the next day I came up with this great formula (why am I turning to math???)

Faith # Belief + Action but Faith = Belief * Action 

Lovely. The more actions there are, that builds up the energy stored! Once energy is spent its spent, we have to constantly revisit it, rebuild it. Interesting that WE are always in control of the energy. Yes we get good etc but WHAT a privilege here in mortality, I truly think there is an imbalance as far and energy in and power out. (or at least there CAN be)

We have such a baptism focus and most of the people we see are candidates for that ordinance. However we are to go about doing much good and so we went to see a LA lady,, invite her to church and the pot luck. As we were on the way out of an unsuccessful meeting-a guy living there said "Hey I want to come to church" ...OK? Can we have your number to call  you Sunday morning? No, you can reach me on Marisha's phone.

Sunday morning comes and we call and he comes! Then Marvin who we haven't seen in weeks we go to get him to church and he says nope I'm coming next week, I am relaxing today. But being persistent persuaded him to come! "Only by persuasion and by love unfeigned" YAY!

So sister Lyles and I are living in a new place now. Its with the Dyer family. We sleep on their couches in front of their big screen TV  behind their pool and ping pong tables. They have a pool out of the window. It's a gated community and they are a very well known family in this area. I would rather sleep on the floor than on a couch so I do. One night we left the door open and I woke up in the night with wet things dripping on my arm. Barely aware of what was going on all I knew it that I wanted to go back to sleep-but then I realized there was this small tinkling sound. And it was midge! their weaner dog! DROOLING ON MY ARM! ew ew ew ew ew.

Michael*! Tracting is so important to do with the spirit. I am forever grateful that I have become better at tracting. It is a place where you can truly find people! ask the right question and testify when prompted by the spirit. If we keep ourselves in the spirit of love and teaching, we are able to avoid the darts thrown out at us that would distract us into frustration or defence and focus in on the opportunity. Michael* was a guy whose door was dragging on and went in kind of waves of spiritual and then crash into the opposite,. But The spirit prompted me to go on and even though sister Lyles was long ago done, I listed to the spirit and finished it off how it should go. He came on a tour two weeks later ( rescheduled once, and then we didn't even think he was coming until I called and he said yep I'm in the parking lot...oh! Well we are on our way!) and IS SO COOL! he already believes in the patten if prophets and apostasy. He is reading the book of Mormon and looking to feel gods love in his life.

  Some times I feel overwhelmed. I need laser beam focus. President Bowen talked so much about it. With so many people to teach, we need to have the Lord's help in spending our efforts where they will bring the most fruits. Here is where we baptize. that is all that matters!
*Names have been changed for privacy

The ward's potluck was AMAZING! Never have we had such a great turn out of members and non-members (our 'new friends")

Umm sister Lyles and I are great at running! We run 2 1/2 miles. It is at sea level so that really helps...but I am so happy that I am doing something. Did I tell you family about Entropy? How president Bowen talked about this law of the universe? Well it influences practically everything I think about. I love it. 

love love you family!