Week 13

This week was amazing!  Of course we faced trials yet again, but we are finding that as we do everything that we possibly can, we find many miracles along the way.  Monday we just had a couple of lessons with Recent Converts, one of them just recently baptized, and she is awesome!  She is so enthusiastic about the church and loves having us come over to teach her more about the gospel!  Tuesday we had our regular studies, then we had to get the oil changed in our car so we ended up at the car shop for about an hour and a half sitting outside reading our Book of Mormon and trying to talk to anyone who would listen!  Which was no one, but it was nice to spend some time outside which is rare since we are in a car!  Then we went to the temple with two investigators!  We rode with one investigator and two members and the other investigator was taken by his roommate who is a member!  The investigator in our car asked a lot of different questions and the driver answered them so well and connected very well with our investigator which is sooo wonderful!  We can only do so much as missionaries, so having members that are friendly and open with our investigators is golden!  She also loved the temple and has since called the member who answered her questions a few times to talk to her!  Then Wednesday we went to the temple with the Petersons who are a less-active couple in our ward that we love so very much!  We had a wonderful time with them!  Then Thursday we found a new investigator!  His name is Danny and we found him while trying to contact a less-active and part-member family in our ward!  He was outside washing his car, so we walked up and started talking to him.  We invited him to the temple, but at first rejected because he is Greek Orthodox.  But as we kept talking to him and he was telling us his story about his sister has recently passed away and his wife left him a while ago, he said he thought he should take one of our invitations.  So we talked some more then he wanted us to talk to his mom about what we had told him about the plan of salvation and the restoration because she was struggling as well.  We had a wonderful discussion and hope that we can see him again soon!  We have tried twice without success, but hopefully we will see him again soon and bring him the wonderful news and hope of the gospel!  Then Friday we planned and studied most of the day, then we visited a Ward Missionary to thank her for taking us to the temple on Tuesday and were able to help her feel appreciated and had a wonderful conversation!  Than Saturday we had a lesson with a member with the Hankins family, and are praying that she soon gets an answer about being baptized because we are hoping to see them be baptized in March!  That is our goal for them so please pray for the Hankins family!  Then Saturday night we had dinner with an investigator named Christie who is actually moving to another ward, so we just helped her pack up her kitchen, and she said she will come again to Arcadia before starting at the Coronado ward, but is sad to leave our ward, even though she isn't a member...yet!  So Saturday was very good!  Sunday, none of our investigators came to church, but we did have less-active members come and recent converts come that have a hard time coming sometimes.  So that was good and we also had a wonderful Ward Council that was very productive and many of the auxiliaries are ready to jump on board with our efforts of missionary work in our ward!  Then we went out last night with a recent convert to contact people!  He got a taste of what it is like to be a missionary and face much rejection!  But it was so fun to have him join us and we were able to help him feel wanted and needed in the ward!  So, lesson learned on patience and doing your very best.  I am also learning more about how to apply the Atonement of Jesus Christ in our lives as we face hard trials in our lives!  I hope you will all continue to strive to be ward missionaries in this wonderful cause!  I love you all!!

 Arizona Beautiful Sunsets!

 Gilbert Temple at night

Gilbert open house with the Petersons