Catch-up

Here are the miracles from the past 2 weeks:

July 20 - Members at lessons with investigators.  Drew Richardson, our ward mission leader, came to our lesson with Ishmael tonight and it was exactly what Ishmael (and his friends) needed.

July 21 - Peg. (See July 12) Obviously, we didn't go back the following day, but we found her again today (such a blessing), taught her, and invited her to read.  Oh, and we gave her some zucchini bread a member made for us to give away, and that softened her heart.

July 22 - The Dyers.  This was incredible.  We both felt inspired to go see them, and they were home, in between vacations.  (I think I wrote about this last time, so, I'll keep this short.)  She asked us to come teach her and I can't wait.  We're already planning on talking about the baptismal interview questions to show her how READY she is and how strong her testimony already is.

July 23 - Member referrals. These are miracles because the people members refer are so prepared and so willing.  The Dyers are member referrals and Malea, a woman we taught today is a member referral.  Malea, I'm sure, is going to be baptized before the end of the transfer.

July 24 - Rebecca is reading the Book of Mormon! And understanding it.  She had some great questions for us and I love teaching her.

July 25 - Laughter.  This is the medicine that cures everything.  Frustration, pain, everything.  Sister Hazen and I laughed so much today.  Just as a reminder to self: birthday, Italian man, rain, and Mama Lucia's.  (If you want to hear these hilarious stories, you'll have to write me and ask for them.  They are SO funny.)

July 26 - When I commit to do something for the Lord, He commits to be right there with me.  Even if it's little things like getting a referral at the Visitors' Center.

July 27 - At 8:30 tonight, we knocked on a door to meet a referral, but it was the wrong address.  However, Richard, the man we met asked us if we could come back! People usually don't do that, especially in D.C., so that's the miracle for today.

July 28 - Teaching by the Spirit.  I've had so many miracles with Ishmael, and here is yet another.  This was our last time meeting with him, and I knew that I had to get him to read the Book of Mormon because he hadn't done it yet.  I prayed for inspiration one night, and it came quickly, so I wrote it down.  I was prepared when we met, and as we were nearing the end of the lesson, my heart started pounding.  I knew what I had to say, without a doubt, so I took a deep breath, interrupted Drew, and said, "I have a question for all of you.  Do you have enough confidence in yourself to recognize the words of God when you read them?"  Usually I try to steer clear of yes or no questions, but I felt like I needed to ask this, and they all said yes.  Then I said, "Then you need to read this book.  When we came tonight and I learned that none of you had read I was devastated! You gave us your word that you would read, and you haven't.  Now, I don't care if you read the Book of Mormon as just a book, and not scripture because you don't have a testimony of it yet, I promise you that you will recognize this book as the Word of God because that's what it is.  So, I'm asking you again, will you read the Book of Mormon?"  They all said yes, (and looked a little embarrassed) but their answer was said in a much different way than they had previously said yes.  I know they'll read now, and I hope that I can know of the time when they're converted because I have faith that they will be!

July 29 - Dolly.  She's a convert, the primary president, in her 50's, single, and one of the most charitable people I've met.  She's so down to earth, funny, and best of all - herself.  People follow her example because she loves them unconditionally. She's a missionary in the best way - through love.

July 30 - Malea's lesson at the VC.  We planned a tour, then prayed for the Spirit and ended up doing something completely different than what we had planned.  And there "just so happened" to be a baptism at the church next door, which was perfect timing, so we took her to that.  It was amazing.  She belongs to the White Oak sisters now because she's not in our area, but President Matsumori gave us advance permission to go to her baptism.

July 31 - We went to see Isaac. (convert, 60's, Liberian, single, spoke in Stake Conference).  He hasn't been to church lately, but Drew and the Bishop were inspired to tell us to go see him.  And we felt strongly like we needed to do that since he wouldn't answer our calls, so we went, and after praying very fervently that he would answer the door, his brother came, invited us in, and Isaac was home.  He said he'd been running away from the church because his Baptist father told Isaac that he was breaking his heart.  Isaac still knows that it's true, and the miracle for us is that we were able to see him, and start him on that path to reading the scriptures and coming back to church again.  Pray for him!

August 1 - Zone Conference.  Wayne.  And Teddy.  Wayne- we found him while tracting.  We almost went to go see a less active, but felt like we should tract instead.  Wayne is at a difficult place in his life, and really opened up to us.  He invited us to come back when he and his wife could listen to our message.  So exciting! Teddy works at 7-11.  We went to get slurpies, talked to him, and he asked us for a Book of Mormon.  

August 2 - When I prayerfully set goals, Heavenly Father helps me to achieve them.  This applies to the Visitors' Center, my area, and everything about my mission.  Specifically tours at the VC, though.

Wow.  Okay, there are all the miracles.  It's amazing that there is so much that can happen in 2 weeks.  And this was only part of it.  The most important things I learned this week are to keep doing the simple things: praying every day, reading the scriptures every day, and going to church every week.  It's amazing to see the difference in the lives of people who do the simple things, and people who don't.  Those seminary answers ARE the answers to so many problems in life.

Also, I wanted to tell you that I feel like I'm on three missions here: 1. My Area, 2. The Visitors' Center, 3. Chatting on Mormon.org.  I'm not sure if I've told you about the chatting experience, but it's awesome, and so entertaining sometimes.  We chat every other day, and people can be so funny.  I love it.  

And I love all of you! I hope this letters lift your spirits and give you a little taste of what it is to be a missionary.  Basically, it's a miracle. 

-Sister Welch