32

Thirty-two is a very significant number in my life as a missionary.  At least it is as of right now.  But I'm not going to tell you what it stands for.  You have to guess.  And if you can guess what it represents, you will get a prize.  :]

(Just post your guess as a comment and my Dad will email them to me.)

This week, all is well in Kentlands.  It seems like our purpose here is to teach young women, and we have such a strong group in our ward, that these 3 girls we've started to teach will have a good support system when they come.  Kelly, the Jamaican who had a b-date, is back in touch with us (woooooo!!!!!), and we're really trying to get one of her friends in the ward to invite her to activities and church.  We were going to stop trying to contact her this week, but decided to give it one more try and she was home! I'll take that as a sign.  Then that night, I saw a girl walking to her house and I wanted to talk to her, but it was raining, and she had headphones in, and we were already on Kelly's doorstep, and I didn't want to scare her (excuses, excuses, I know) so we waited as I just watched which house she went into.  (Is that creepy to admit? Sometimes missionaries are really weird, but I probably shouldn't publicly admit everything we do.  Oh well...)  Anyway, after talking to Kelly, we walked a few houses down and met Kifa, the girl with the headphones.  

Meeting her was actually one of my favorite moments of the week, because it was raining, and it was cold, and she didn't want us to come in, so we stood on her doorstep to explain the Book of Mormon.  Then as we handed her a copy, there was a HUGE flash of lightning.  Perfect timing.  God is definitely in control of all of this.  :]  And when we called her a few days ago, she's been reading!!!! which is truly amazing recognizing that she's in high school, AND has a job, AND younger siblings to babysit.  So, pray that her mom's heart is softened and that she lets us come back.  

And then tonight we'll be meeting with a referral from the Elders.  These three would be such a support for each other and it's always interesting to me how Heavenly Father prepares blessings for us even before we make good decisions.  In this case, these three young woman would be on the journey together, rather than alone, which is something that is so important to youth.  I have faith in all three and am excited to see what's in store for them!  

Also, we're trying to teach Tamarye's older brother, Tevin.  He's in high school too, taken the lessons before, but never developed a testimony.  I have a feeling, though, that when he does join the church, he'll be the strongest in that family.  We'll keep you posted on that.

Oh! And this is a good story too.  Today on our way into the zoo, we met an Indian man sitting at the gateway booth who said that he lives close to the 16th Street Chapel and wants to know when services start so that he can go.  (This is the new chapel that was just built and it's beautiful!  Last Saturday they did a day of service in the cultural hall, and free tours to any visitors who walked in.  The mayor came and we got to meet him.  Her tried to give Sister Morotti a hug and that did not go over so well.  :]  Also, I was kidnapped by the Chinese ward to play the piano for a musical number they did during the tour.  Hilarious and fun.  Look up the chapel if you can.)  Okay, back to the Indian man.  We gave him an Article of Faith/Visitor Center card and invited him to Conference as well.  He seemed very interested and said if he couldn't come this weekend, he'd make it a point to come sometime soon.  Then we went into the zoo for a few hours and on the way out, he stopped us again and said he'd read the whole card (meaning every Article of Faith) and he agrees with them.  We don't have a number or address for him; he wasn't quite ready for that, but he promised to come to the VC and to church.  It was great.

That's all my brain can think of for now.  Love you all!  Stay true to what's eternal.

-Sister Welch