Going from Being Discouraged to Seeing Miracles

On p-day last week, I was feeling a little discouraged - I felt like I'd done all I could do  and out of ideas. But the Lord lifted my spirits that night in a miraculous way.  We got a call from a set of English sisters saying that one of their members had set up a lesson with a young woman from Ecuador for that night. That was all we knew when we showed up (with the English sisters, since we weren't sure what language she'd want to be taught in). Turns out this girl, had called her friend that afternoon at 3 ... And told her she wanted to be BAPTIZED.  She's never come to church. Never read the Book of Mormon. Never met with missionaries. In fact, she told us that she'd turned away the elders in her area over and over again. But she shared how she'd slowly come to feel the spirit tell her this was the path the Lord wanted for her, how she'd already talked to her mom and gotten permission, and how she was prepared to do whatever it took to accomplish that goal.  The spirit was incredibly strong, and the English sisters put her on date for the 27th. She was ecstatic. She kept telling us she had chills and just knew this was right.  We won't be the ones teaching her, but I needed that experience that night. I've never seen someone so prepared, and it was inspiring. Not only that, but as she expressed how sorry she was for turning away so many missionaries before, I thought of how many people I talk to each day and how what they say about planting seeds is really true - and I got to see the fruits of that.

 And the miracles of the week didn't stop there. We made a goal to find 5 new investigators, but when Friday rolled around we'd only found 1. Elder Welch, our district leader, promised us that if we focused on our goals we'd find a new investigator that day ... And we didn't. But we had faith that the next day that promise would be realized.  The second door we knocked on Saturday was a man who immediately came out and talked to us, and told us how he hadn't found a church that felt right, that he was frustrated by the corruption of men. We read the end of the introduction to the Book of Mormon with him, and the spirit was so strong. Afterwards, he was quiet for a minute and said, "If you don't mind me asking, where did your religion come from?"  We taught him about Joseph Smith and the restoration. The spirit was overwhelming, and he immediately said he'd read and pray about the Book of Mormon. We made a return appointment, and left his porch beaming from ear to ear. It was amazing to see that promise from our district leader realized as we really strove to focus on our goals and be the best missionaries we could be.

 Another fruit of our labors we were able to see was Rossy and Kimmy's baptism. I've never taught

them personally, but all the other sisters have. 5 years ago, their aunt joined the church, and she's slowly been followed by the majority of her family members - They're the ones who I got to see sealed back in July. Well, the other sisters have been teaching these two girls and their mother for months now, and the girls finally decided to get baptized. Their parents are incredibly supportive and come to church each week, it was tender to see the excitement in that room, the majority of the ward was there because these girls have already been a part of the ward family, and it was very emotional.

 Perhaps the biggest miracle of the week happened yesterday. With the new year, our ward now starts at 2, which gives us the entire morning to go around and invite people to church. Well, yesterday we went to a part member family's house, who we've been trying to get to church forever - since before I was in the area. The mother is really nervous to go back to church, but the two daughters wanted to go, and she let us find them a ride last minute so they could come. When Sister Showalter saw them there, she flipped out! It was such an incredible miracle, and we went around and introduced them to people in the ward. At the end of the meetings we asked them what they thought, and they both LOVED it!!  One of the best parts of the miracle was that right after church another one of the young women called us asking for the daughter's number so she could invite her to an activity! Fellowship is SO essential, and it was amazing to see things falling into place!

 So this week I went from being discouraged and tired to being shown that the Lord truly does work miracles, and even people who haven't shown progress in the past can begin to progress with continuing work and support.

 Another cool thing - we started temple prep classes for recent converts and people who have just been reactivated. Missionary work doesn't end after baptism - people need continuing support to endure to the end and receive the ordinances of salvation. It's humbling to be the smallest part of helping them get there.

Love,
Hermana Garner