Sixty-sixth Week in the Field

Hola Everyone!

So...I'm going back to Oxnard 5th Ward!! Except this time I'm going to be working in the Camarillo part with Hermana White!!! I'll still be a Sister Training Leader, but just a different area! I'm super excited!

The area is doing great! We didn't get to spend that much time proselyting due to Elder Malm  (of the 70) coming, but it was so worth it. The time that we spent in our area was so good and I felt like we were so productive. Here are some of the highlights:

We were able to find a new investigator in Saticoy who's name is Yvette. Hermana Brown and I decided to start knocking Saticoy and literally the first door that we knocked on Yvette answered. We found out that she had just had back surgery two weeks ago and that she's in the recovery process. She's looking for God and wants to make Him more prevalent in her life. She's so prepared. When we gave her a copy of the Book of Mormon, she held it close and sincerely thanked us. The only catch is that she actually lives in Santa Barbara. We referred her to the Hermanas up there, but it was a really neat experience for me to see that Heavenly Father leads us to those that really are prepared.

Raul is doing great! We were able to bring a member with us to the lesson that we had this week and it went pretty well. He's been reading the Book of Mormon and has a lot of really good questions. We'd been questioning whether he has the right intentions towards learning more, but after the lesson we're pretty sure he does want to know more.

Yesterday, we had a miracle member present lesson! A less active member (Hermana Luna) signed up to feed us dinner, but we ended up eating at her husbands home. He's not a member and he was really open to learning more! Their daughter's not a member either, but there's potential there as well. Hermana Luna really wants to come back to church and SHE asked US if we could come by and visit her more often. We're so excited that there's a part member family of "yes-sayers" ready to be taught!
This week I've been able to study a lot in the Book of Mormon in the war chapters. It's been teaching me a lot about what it means to be a strong missionary and to always trust in the Lord. One thing that I loved was that Alma, Moroni, and Helaman were all described in very different ways, but they all were so powerful. I think sometimes, as missionaries, we forget that we're all very different as well and don't give ourselves enough credit because we're too busy comparing ourselves to others.

This week we've been able to do a lot more service than normal! We started helping a less active member clearing out her front yard and she seemed like she opened up a lot more. We've been trying to start teaching her to get her reactivated and I definitely believe that through doing this we'll help her have a stronger desire.

We got to have zone conference with Elder Malm this week!  It was so powerful.  He talked a lot about realizing that we are the elect that have been held back for this time because the Lord trusts us so much.  It was absolutely amazing.  Hermana Brown and I also got to be interviewed by him!  Talk about a once in a lifetime chance!  I felt like I learned so much!

Life is so great!  I'm so grateful for this opportunity to be able to serve the Lord and I'm planning on giving all my heart, might, mind, and strength!

Thanks for all the love and support!

Con amor,

Hermana Halliday

Also, don't send mail to the Ventura address anymore because I'm moving.  I'll let you know my new address next week! :)