February Has Arrived!

This last week was good. We have been really getting ready for M's baptism! And by that we mean that we have been teaching her a lot this week.

Monday night we had a crazy dinner! Mostly just by the amount of people that were there. So we had dinner with the family of 5 (the Ls) that we normally eat with on Monday (recently because they have been super good fellowshippers for M!) and then also there was all four missionaries, M, and another family of 5 (the Ws) that are also really awesome friends of M. It was a pretty exciting dinner! And then we had a really good lesson with her! It was super spiritual!

This was the first of many lessons we had with M this week. Some of the other lessons we had:

After district meeting this week us and the Sisters invited M to come to lunch, so us and all the other missionaries in the district went to Costco. Then afterwards the Sisters and us planned on having a lesson with M at the church, but then the Sisters realized they had an appointment. So us and M went to the L's and had another lesson there.

On Thursday we had a lesson with D and M again (recap, D is the roommate of M's father). And we took the Bishop there for that to meet D. It was a good lesson as well (I have trouble remembering what we taught at all of these by the way as we had a lot of lessons, so sorry for not saying the lessons). M admitted that she wasn't herself that night because she had been feeling pretty down and felt like something was telling her that she wasn't ready for baptism. But we testified to her that she was ready, and that those feelings came from Satan trying to stop her from this big step in her life. So also that night, after all that conversation, we started working on M's baptismal program!

And then on Saturday we didn't have anything planned at all. And then M called us at some random time during the morning and asked if we wanted to do a lesson that day. So we ended up having a lesson! That is one of my favorite things about M as an investigator, she doesn't wait for us to set up lessons, she sets them up herself!!!

So that wraps up the novel of our lessons with M! Now on to the rest of the week!

On Tuesday we got the chance to go to the temple again! And that was as exciting as ever! It is always so nice to go and relax at the temple. Take a bit of time and step out of your problems and cares in the world for a bit.

Later on Tuesday, (and stop me if this story sounds familiar) we were visiting one of our less active members, and while we were there we started talking to his roommate's daughter, who started participating in the lesson, and then by the end wanted to learn more! Sound familiar? It was pretty much an identical situation to M! Except this girls name is P, and she is 17. At first when we talked to her, she didn't really seem interested in finding out if the church was true, just in learning about other beliefs. But then by the end of a super spiritual lesson, she said that she really wanted to start living in a way that would make her life better! It was amazing! And it was pretty cool because the less active member bore his testimony on a few things that we were talking about.

The next day we had another lesson with her, which was originally going to be a pass-off lesson, because she actually lives in the next ward over (the member we were teaching got special permission to be in our ward). But that ended up not happening, so we instead went to teach her...and her mom yelled at us. Her mom is actually a less active member that wants nothing to do with the church, and so didn't seem too happy that her daughter wanted to learn more about it. But then after her initial yelling, she calmed down, and we ended up having a really good conversation, and got P to Young Womens, which she really enjoyed!

So that about sums up this week. Sorry it is so long this time! My scripture thought will be short. But based off of what I saw from P, T (P's mom), and a few other experiences, I really believe the promise in Alma 31:5, "And now, as the preaching of the word had a great tendency to lead the people to do that which was just—yea, it had had more powerful effect upon the minds of the people than the sword, or anything else, which had happened unto them—therefore Alma thought it was expedient that they should try the virtue of the word of God." The word of God, and more specifically the Spirit that it brings, really does change people's hearts and attitudes. That is a testimony I have strongly gained.

Love you all!

Love,

Elder Wixom