"Hello and good morning! I am very happy today. It has been a good morning and a very good week actually! We have been able to meet a lot of people who actually want to set up a return! Everything has been really smooth and after the transfer, we are still together in this area so thats makes for a very happy Hermana Stevens. Obviously I will go where he wants me to go but I was hoping to stay because we are in a really good spot right now. We are really working with quite a few people now! Here are some updates on our investigators;
E. E is doing SO good! He could not come to church on sunday because his mom and his girlfriend were needing his help but he was, like last week, all dressed and ready to go. He is really wanting to come but things keep coming up. We really just have to start pushing more the importance of coming to church so that he can see when things "come up" they can usually wait because church is more important. We went by this week and while we were there, he walked away for a minute and his moms friend came in. I started talking to her and she asked which church we were from. I told her "we are from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints." She went on to tell me that she doesn't really go to church and so I said "you should join us one Sunday!" then E's mom said "You should! These sisters have been visiting with E for about 4 weeks now and we have all been able to see a change in him." He has told us that he prays all the time now. Like whenever they get into the car to leave, he tells his girlfriend that they have to say a prayer. It is amazing to see how others can literally see the change. We have been able too as well. he just seems overall happier. He is more willing to learn and listen and actually pray about the things we teach. We love meeting with E!
O. O is progressing. We invited her to baptism last week and she said the usual "I've already been baptized" we explained the importance of her actually being baptized by priesthood authority and she understood it. She is progressing but kind of slowly.
J and A. They are a miracle couple! The spanish elders gave us their information as a referral because the elders helped them push their car. Talk about being in the right place at the right time! We went by and they let us in. We showed them "Hallelujah" and talked about church and J. They told us that they are somewhat religious but they don't really have a religion. They actually just moved here from Oakland and so they are looking for a church! We later went back and taught them the restoration. We used the promise in the introduction of The Book of Mormon to explain that if they know The Book of Mormon is true, they can know that this is Gods true church! They understood it perfectly and we are really excited to go back and meet with them again. They are so kind and willing to learn!
G. G is another miracle investigator. Sunday evening, we went to our dinner appointment. Our member was showing us her garden in her back yard and her back door neighbor came over. She invited him over so that we could share our message with him. We all ate dinner and shared a brief but very powerful message about the atonement. He seems so ready! The spirit was so strong and he was very willing to act on our message. We were able to set up another appointment with him in the members home. Member missionary work is so much more effective! What a blessing!
Over all, this week has been a very good one. We have been able to get to know our members better and find many new prepared people. I am so thankful for this time to be a missionary here in Sacramento California. I just love being able to teach the greatest message in the world full time! I have already seen myself grow so much and I am thankful I get to share that with others!
sorry its kid of short but im about to flood the pictures from the last 2 weeks! :)
Hermana Stevens"
April 18, 2016
"Well, its been a good one. We have a solid group of investigators and a bunch of potentials! Everything is going really well. I will tell you a little bit about the progress of our investigators;
E. We were supposed to go to the temple with E and his family this Saturday but it fell through because his cousin passed away on Friday night. We went by on Saturday to see how they were doing and share a message and he seemed to be doing okay. We shared a message and asked if we could leave him with a prayer and he said yes. After the prayer, he asked us if we were still going to go to the temple. We said "Don't you want to be with your family?" and he said "well... I really wanted to go to the temple... will they do the tour again?" and so we made an appointment to go for this Saturday. We just love teaching E. He is such a great man. It is amazing because i have really been able to feel my strength in the atonement because he has told us where he has been and the things he has been through and I have full confidence in the fact that he can live a completely different life and become a new person. God really knows how to make us the best we can be we just have to allow it!
M. We had a lesson with M and a member. It went pretty well and she seems to have real intent even though she didn't come to church this week... We have invited her to be baptized but she feels like she needs to learn more. We have an appointment with her today and we are really hoping that she read.
N. We met N a few weeks back when we were on exchanges. We were biking and we ran into her and her brother outside. She told us that she goes to church but that we can come by another time and "if she is home, we can talk". We were finally able to make it back and visit with her. We knocked and she answered and Hermana Torres asked if we could sit outside and talk about the gospel for a minute and she said yes! We had given her a Book of Mormon when we contacted her and she was really curious about it! We explained what it is and she said "I have always wondered about the other countries and continents during the time of Christ." We told her to read it and pray about it and she will get an answer so I am really excited for her.
We have been trying to do better with our contacting. To go more out of our way even when we are tired or when it seems awkward. Obviously it has proved to reap many blessings! We have a lot of potential investigators and families so it should be another exciting week.
Something I have been reflecting on this week is my progression. What a blessing it is to change! I was telling my companions about when I was a new missionary and how my poor companion had to teach the lessons alone because I didn't know what to say let alone what was being said! She always gave me opportunities to talk I just didn't know. Not only with that but with my knowledge of gospel principles. I am so thankful for the blessing of being able to serve a mission. Easily my best decision thus far. Everyone should serve missions! Its fun! I know that the Lord has shaped me to be who I am and I still have a while to go but I'm willing to learn! Thank you all for everything! much love!
Hermana Stevens"
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