Arizona Mesa Mission : What A Week!

Dear MOM and DAD,

What an amazing week!!!! First THANK YOU for the package!!! I LOVED all the wood toys, and everyone I give one to love them too.

My new companion is AMAZING!!!! We've seen so many miracles just this week, it's set a good tone for the rest of the transfer. She is so positive and happy all the time, I find it very infectious and I'm loving the missionary I am as her companion. She is such a good example of humility and kindness towards everyone, she never says a negative word about anyone. My goal this transfer is to be more like her!

Well as you know Christina was going to be baptized this week, the day of her baptism came and we got a call from Brad saying she was gone. Her family said she had run away and they didn't know where she was... talk about panic attack!!! So after our VC shift we went over to her house and got more info from her mom. Apparently the night before her abusive ex-boyfriend had shown up and she got in the car with him and they hadn't seen her since. But they had just got a call from her saying she was okay but that she needed to work some things out with him before she came home. Her mom said she wasn't planning on getting baptized this night. She still wanted to get baptized, it probably just wasn't going to happen tonight. After talking with her mom some more about it being the advisory that was causing all the chaos we told her to tell Christina that she was still getting baptized that night and that the font would be full and ready for her so she better be there at 7 (of course this was all in a very loving way c: ). As we left we called Brad and told him we were going to show God as much faith as we could by filling the font and making sure we did everything in our power to make the baptism happen, he then told us he would go over when he got back into town and feel the situation out. Well to shorten an already long story, Brad called an hour later and said he had Christina and they were on their way... HAPPY DAY!!!!! What a neat blessing to express all the faith we had and working to our fullest extent and then letting God make what He wanted to happen, happen.

Another miracle was at the Visitors' Center, Sister Vause had given me a name of a non member friend she had been thinking about ever since she had called Doug, to call and invite to learn about the gospel. I was very nervous that I would mess it up and that I would disappoint her, but she assured me that she had faith that what ever happened was what the Lord wanted to happen. Well it just so happens that the Lord knew he was ready because when I called he accepted missionaries!!!! It was really cool to be on both ends of giving a name and having them confirm and receiving a name and having them confirm.

So in Sister Everette's last area none of the investigators had been progressing. She had expressed to me she was a curse because nothing had been happening in her area. So I've been praying that during her last transfer, we would see miracles and that it would be her best transfer ever. I really wanted her to see that she was an amazing missionary and that God will bless her with miracles. So one answer to my prayer was Isabel. We were out contacting referrals one night and saw them talking on their front porch, so we started talking to them. We found out she had been praying to be happier and when we walked up she said she felt peace coming from us and that she knew we were the answer to her prayers. We (mostly Sister Everette, because this was someone God knew she could touch) taught the restoration and committed her to baptism for the 22nd of next month. She said that she would because you don't ask God for something and then not listen when he sends it!!!! All this within an hour, how awesome is that??? We had another lesson with her yesterday and she is bring her family to the Visitors' Center to watch General Conference on Saturday!! It really has been an amazing week and I have such gratitude for Heaven Father.

Speaking of General Conference, I think this will be the first big holiday that I'll be sad I'm missing at home. I love Conference so much and I love our family so much and they will all be together (except maybe Kristy... when is she due?). Give everyone my love!!!!

Miss you much, LOVE you more!!!!

D&C 18:38

Love Sister Anderson