!Holla! Ok so we still haven't gotten our call about transfers but we know for sure that Hermana Hanson is sticking with me at least through most of this next transfer. I might be paired up with a mini missionary at some point though so that she can go home in time to go to NY with her family to the Hill Cumorah pageant. Oh did I meniton that her dad is the artistic director for the pageant. So if you happen to make it to it this year she said she'll get you a special tour :) But unfortunately this is his last year. Anyways, we just got the call and we're staying here and staying together for at least most of this transfer. We still don't know when she's going home.
Well, it's been a really up and down week. I'm gonna share about two of our investigators.
The first investigator we set with a baptism date was Esperanza. She'd been taught before but never followed through cause she couldn't attend church on sundays cause of work- this is a very common problem with our invetigators. And sometimes it's hard to ask them to sacrifice it when they are working three jobs just to support their families and pay the rent for their tiny apartments and houses- or garages. The people we teach work so hard and give so much, doing work that never in a million years we could or would do. Anyways, Esperanza's son in law kicked her out so she has to go live with her other daughter who is also a jehovah witness. We caught her as she was packing to leave, sang a hymn, and hugged her goodbye. She said when she gets settled she'll try and call us, but she's worried because if this daughter kicks her out she won't have anywhere to go. They don't like that she listens to us and also resent her for leaving them when they were young to come to America. Her story is incredible and the sacrifice and danger she went through for her family would break your heart. So for now, her baptism is on hold. And I know that I may not see her again for a very long time. The song "God be with you til we meet again" takes on a whole different meaning on the mission.
We are teaching a young woman named Catia in Ojai. She is married and has two small children. Her husband is a member but never comes to church and they live with her mother in law, who is an active member. We actually found her when we went to visit her mom-in-law and didn't even know she wasn't a member until our second visit. She's been progressing since the beginning and Saturday we had an awesome lesson with her. I was feeling pretty sick the whole day but I just needed us to visit our appointments. I would've died to have stayed home when we had so many people we needed to see. So Sat night I prayed in the car the whole way to Ojai to have the strength to teach the lesson, and to have the Spirit touch her heart and testify to her the truth of what we said. When we got there my pain was gone and as we sat in the lesson the Spirit was so strong, I knew what her answer would be. We asked her if she'd be baptized and she said of course and then agreed to work towards June 26th! I love her so much and I'm so excited to help her prepare for this wonderful step. Our next goal is to get her husband to come to church and listen to the lessons with her. It was a very spiritual experience and I feel so grateful to be a part of her life and her process to draw closer to Christ.
I hope that you have a great week. Make sure you are doing all the little things- pray, read your scriptures, go to church. These are the things that keep us close to our Savior and keep us on the path back to Him.
Love you all very much!
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