Hola Everyone!
This week was probably one of the best ones of my whole
mission! I feel like I say that every week, but my life is just so full of
miracles.
On Monday evening, we went to the Jones family home after
Sister Jones called us during the day. She said that she felt uneasy in her
home and that her and her husband wanted someone to come and dedicate the home.
We called Brother Ennis and he went with us. After Brother Ennis dedicated the
home, he asked Natalie what prompted them to desire to have this done. She
opened up a lot and went into a whole explanation about how they lost their
faith, but they recently realized that they didn't want their kids to be in the
same situation when they got older. They want them to have a strong
relationship with Heavenly Father. She also said that their marriage has been
getting a lot better now that they've decided to start coming back to church.
We went back later this week to have a lesson with Christopher and Justin who,
until we recently found out that Stake Conference was going to be on the 9th
and 10th of August, were going to be baptized then. (We're going to change
their date this week when we go back.) The lesson was on the Plan of Salvation.
The boys had a lot of really good questions and were really good at paying
attention. At the end of the lesson, Natalie and Chris (her husband), made some
really good comments that helped them strengthen their own testimony of the
Plan. We're still trying to work on getting the family into other members'
homes for the lessons. We ended up stopping by their home again the next day to
drop off a triple combination that they asked for and when we walked in the
door, the boys immediately turned off the TV thinking that we were going to
have another lesson. They were pretty bummed out when we told them that we were
just stopping in for a few minutes before another appointment that we had. I
love this family so much! They're really showing a sincere desire to want to
come back into the fold.
Eusevia is progressing fairly well. We had another lesson
with her this week where we taught the Plan of Salvation. We were unable to get
a member there, but we were able to commit her to be baptized on the 16th of
August! She told us that she's always wanted to know what her mom believes in
and what made her want to convert. She had a lot of good questions as to why we
don't believe in Saints and worship them and so forth. She totally understands
the importance of praying to Heavenly Father directly. She wasn't at church
this Sunday, unfortunately, but we have another lesson tomorrow with her.
Vanessa is doing so great too! We were able to go by with
the Relief Society president this week and introduce her. We retaught the
Restoration because it had been a while and she totally gets it! She told us
that she really wants to raise her soon to be newborn daughter in the gospel
and help her have strong faith from the beginning. She still knows that the
only thing holding her back from getting baptized is the fact that she and her
boyfriend are still living together. We committed her to talk to him and decide
what they need to do so that they can achieve the maximum amount of happiness
in their lives. I can tell that she really does want it and wants her family to
have it. We briefly brought up eternal families and it's definitely something
that she wants. She's already had the chance to visit the temple and could feel
the spirit so strong while she was there.
Finding Monique was such a miracle this week! On Saturday,
we went to visit a potential who we hadn't seen in a while. She invited us in
to share a brief message, but before we could share anything, Monique, her
daughter, came into the room and asked who we were. We introduced ourselves and
then she asked us what sets us apart from other churches. Of course, we started
to teach the Restoration and as we did so, she sat down and became super
attentive. She asked amazing questions and she totally gets the Apostasy and
the need for the priesthood here on earth. She got the chills when Hermana
Wallace recited the First Vision. She's had a rough past and wants to be able
to feel forgiven of her sins. We talked about how through baptism by someone
who has that proper authority she can attain this. She got super excited and
then proceeded to tell us that on Sunday she was going to visit another church,
but was having second thoughts about it right before we knocked on the door.
She took it to be a sign and told us she was going to go to church with us the
next day before we could even invite her to come. We walked out of that lesson
amazed at how the Lord prepares His children. Sure enough the next day, she
came to church and she absolutely loved it! She told us that she had some
doubts about whether she would fit in or not, but they all disappeared as soon
as she entered the doors. She's coming to the Pioneer Day Activity that we have
on Wednesday night and to the baptism that the other Hermanas have on Saturday.
She is so absolutely amazing!
Juan is starting to slip away a little. We weren't able to
have a lesson with him this week because he kept postponing because something
else came up. I think he still has a sincere desire to learn and get baptized,
but he's not putting forth all the of the effort that he needs to. We pray for
him everyday multiple times, so I know he'll come around in the Lord's
time.
Garrett is doing absolutely amazing still! He got back from
Scout Camp this week and he loved it! I'm glad he got that chance to go
directly after his baptism, so he could spend a whole week with other young men
in the church. We were able to do some role plays on Saturday when we had
dinner with him and his family to help them see how easy it is to share the
gospel with those around us. He's a natural and loves talking about it with
others. We're going to start doing his followup lessons this week now that
things have settled down a little.
So, President Felix and his wife came to Sacrament Meeting
this week in Santa Paula! It was really neat for all the members to be
able to meet them and see how amazing they are. It was great that they
came, but it was even better that they came on a week where we had four
investigators in Sacrament Meeting!
I absolutely love the work and I'm so grateful for
everything that you all do to support me!
Con amor,
Hermana Halliday
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