email of September 13, 2010

Good Monday Afternoon!!!!!

How is my darling family this week?!

Here in sunny So Cal things are going great! We had a good week at church this week -- 3 investigators, and they stayed for all three hours! The best part was that they liked it! Margie, Faustino's wife said that it didn't even feel like 3 hours, and she really enjoyed it. The down side is that we currently have only one investigator with a baptismal date. That is wonderful for him, but not as wonderful for the other 2 who came to church. You see, one thing that we're really encouraged to do is have a baptismal date for each investigator who comes to church, but try as we might, it just doesn't always work out that way. We went over to teach F&M after church, with the intent of teaching them an awesome, spiritually powerful lesson and inviting them to be baptized on Sept 26th.

We did not have an awesome, spiritually powerful lesson wherein they were invited and accepted the invitation to be baptized on Sept. 26th.

It was a really frustrating, difficult, and potentially discouraging lesson.

BUT we press forward, saints! We are NOT discouraged, and DID gain wisdom and understanding in how to handle some of the concerns and challenges that those particular investigators face, but it wasn't quite the way we'd have liked to find it out. I cannot express to you how much I love these people and just want them to be happy, or the frustration that comes when we don't understand each other (due to the spiritual language barrier, not the English-Spanish one), when we as missionaries fail to listen to the Spirit, and they in turn fail to progress the way they could! It's so hard! I just so wish sometimes that I really had the words and the ability to express my feelings and knowledge and desire for their salvation and happiness, but it just doesn't always come out/have the effect the way that I want it to! But it's coming -- I can just feel it!

Anyways, that was just a little challenge that we had yesterday that I thought I'd share with you. Missionary work is wonderful and joyful, but it's really tough sometimes!!!

We found some really great new/potential investigators this week, and I'm really excited to go back, teach them, and help them come unto Jesus Christ through His gospel and baptism!!! It was crazy because one day this week, as we were tracting/street contacting, we ran into 3 people right in a row who were really interested and pretty stinking golden! Right in a row! It was almost too good to be true!

Abraham is doing great -- reading, praying, coming to church, progressing!!!!

I hope that you all have a WONDERFUL week, and I love you and know that the church is true!!! I LOVE the Book of Mormon SO MUCH!!!!!

Oh, by the way, there's flour in my ears because for our zone activity today we played "capture the flag paint ball" with flour-filled nylon (as in old knee-highs) balls instead of paint balls. SO fun!!! You see, there's a new policy out that Sister missionaries are no longer required to wear nylons (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!), so most of us have moved to wearing the little footies instead; that means there is a plethora of unused nylons, which make for really good flour paint balls!

I LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!

I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY!!!!!!!!!

Love,

Hermana Sallie

HURRAH FOR ISRAEL!!!!!!!