email of 12 April 2010

Hello, my beloved family!!!!!

I would like to tell you today about the most exciting phone call I think I have ever received in my entire life. No, seriously.

Wednesday evening, as we were driving home, the phone rang, and it was Patricia (our investigator who we've been teaching almost since I got here to MdR (Marina del Rey), who I love terribly). My companion answered (I'm the driver, hence no phone usage in the car for me), and started talking to her. Patricia said that she had something she wanted to tell us, and she decided this time to tell us right away, instead of keeping us on the edge of our seats for another 3 days (she's done that before..."I have something to tell you!...when you come over on Tuesday." AAAAAAH!). "So I'm just going to tell you, and not make you wait."

Sis Stout turned the phone on speaker, and we both just looked at each other in a sort of excited fear, because our last appointment had been a lot of resolving concerns and helping Patricia feel ok about things, stop freaking out about the idea of baptism (she psyched herself out every time she even thought about setting a date), and know that no, she wasn't wasting our time. So now, we were waiting to hear her "news".

DRUM ROLL PLEASE

"I decided that I want to be baptized on May 16th."

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We were (are) two very excited sister missionaries, doing all in our power to not yell and scream and completely go ballistic with joy as we drove down the 405, let me just tell you! Patricia told us that she'd had a "revelation" last night -- she always does things for everyone else: what's best for her son, what would make her parents happy, what her friends would approve of, etc, etc, etc. Well, it finally occurred to her that if this is what makes her happy, and it's a good thing, and it's what she wants to do, then she ought to just do it!!! She chose May 16th because her birthday is May 18th, and she wants to do it right before her birthday.

Joy of joys as a missionary, to have your investigator, who you've labored over and planned for and prayed and prayed and prayed about, call you and tell you she wants to be baptized and tells you a specific date!!!

I hope that brings all of you at least a little bit of the joy and excitement it brought me.

Thank you so much for all your prayers on my behalf and for our investigators. I can't tell you how much that means to me, and how much the Lord answers them! Now, if you could just pray a little more for us today -- we have a lesson with Patricia tonight, and we're going to see if she's willing to move her date up sooner. She's SO READY right now, and I don't want to run the risk of anything getting in the way of her getting baptized!!!

Oh, I thought you might enjoy knowing too that we met "probably the 3rd hippest person" on the subject of religion a few weeks ago. His name is Lee. We tracted into him, and he told us a few things about what Jesus really meant by certain things in the Bible. He also told us that we should go find others to talk to who needed this more than him, since he was "probably the 3rd hippest person on this subject". Why 3rd? I don't know; that's just what he told us.

We've been trying to work more with the members lately, and have been visiting them, teaching some about the Atonement, and the motivation that our really knowing, understanding, and experiencing the Atonement in our own lives gives us to share that knowledge and assurance with others. Alma 36, Mosiah 28:3.

No time left, but I do love you so much and pray for all of you daily! Remember who you are, choose the right, and keep trying to be like Jesus!!!!!

I Love Being a Missionary, and I Love All of YOU!!!!!!!!!!!

Love,
Hermana Sallie

HURRAH FOR ISRAEL!!!!!