600,000 Lights

Another Festival week.  It's been a great one.  I think the sisters are to the point now, where they are really learning how to be themselves when they are talking to people.  I love watching them interact and send the missionaries to these people they meet and testify of the Book of Mormon and just love every minute of this experience.  I'm like a mom.  But I'm really so proud of how these girls/sisters embrace their calling! This is definitely a time for a lot of reflecting, and seeing how good they are really makes me think about how my mission has been.  And I'm grateful there is still time to step it up and be better than I am.

One thing that I love about Festival is the number of international visitors that we've had.  So far I've sent missionaries to someone in Trinidad and Tobago, called someone in Zimbabwe, talked to people from India, South Korea, Vietnam, Puerto Rico, Sierra Leone, Ukraine, and a million other places.  My favorite place to take them is the creche room.  There are creche's from all over the world and it's amazing to see how all of Heavenly Father's children can have the same faith.  And even if the creche includes a turtle and a monkey in the manger scene, Christ is always at the center.  It's so meaningful.  That room has such an incredible spirit that is tangible when I walk inside.  I wish that I could take all of you there! Plus, they put these plug-ins in there that make it smell like Christmas and that definitely adds the magic of it all.

Another miracle we're seeing is that this Saturday, Tevin is getting baptized!  He is ready.  It's incredible.  To me, he is evidence that the study of doctrine changes behavior faster than the study of behavior changes behavior.  He is a miracle.  I'm still amazed at the power of the atonement to change people! At the beginning, Tevin was very angry, and bitter, and confused and I wasn't sure if we were going to make it to a second lesson.  And he had so many concerns with the first lesson, that if we hadn't had the spirit in our planning, we probably would have revisited Lesson 1 over and over again.  But both of us felt like we needed to teach him as if he'd accepted everything and just move forward.  As we did so, his concerns became fewer and fewer, and the light in his face got brighter and brighter, and now he's ready.  Last time we saw him he said that we actually likes church (what 16 year old guy says that?) and he feels ready.  He's happy now.  And it's true.  The gospel changes people!  Bah! I wish you could all see it! This has been one of the most memorable and fulfilling conversion experiences of my mission.  I don't know how to put into words all the feelings of watching Tevin (a 16 year old in the middle of 9 siblings, divorced parents, etc. etc) as he hated the world and all of the unfair treatment he'd received.  He was even called the 'devil child' by members of his family, so of course he had every right to be angry and bitter.  It consumed him.  He never smiled.  His eyes were always squinted just a little so that everyone knew he didn't trust them, and would sit in our lessons and just stare at the table.  But from the beginning, Sister Wankier and I knew when he accepted our message he would be the strongest one in that family.  I'm so grateful that Heavenly Father knew that both of us are the type of people who respond with extra doses of jokes and happiness when people are angry, because that is exactly what Tevin needed.  And Heavenly Father knew that.  We're sure Tevin thought (and probably still thinks) we're crazy as we were burning tea bags on his hand, mixing in ketchup with his ice cream, and doing every ridiculous thing we could think of to teach him the gospel.  The Spirit led, and little by little, he smiled more.  He came to church.  He prayed.  He read his scriptures.  He laughed.  He changed! He's confident in who he is, and he's at peace.  He trusts God and he's happy.  And it's real happiness. There's no way he could pretend to be as genuine as he is now.  Ah, it's amazing.  This is what truth does to people.  

So stay true to those things that are eternal.  I love you all!

-Sister Welch 

Last Weeks Miracles (continued)

To finish up from last week, I'll start with Deedee and Margaret.  Sunday morning (the 4th) Sister Wankier and I had about 2 hours in the area before church started.  We had met our goals for the week, but could still use some new investigators, so we decided to do some finding.  Since we had already visited everyone in the former investigator book, and had checked/called all of our potentials, we were left with tracting.  (Members would be getting ready for church since it was Sunday).  The street we chose was in a well-to-do neighborhood, with beautiful brick mansions, and little families that were all getting ready for church.  None were too interested, or very kind.  We were getting a little discouraged, when we knocked on a door, heard a dog barking as usual, and were surprised to see a woman opening the door and stepping outside to talk to us.  Her name was Deedee and she told us that lately her coworkers had been sharing the book of Mormon with her! She's been looking for a church, and would love to learn more as soon as she finishes the last 5 weeks of her nursing degree, quits one of her 2 full-time jobs, and has a little time.  And she meant it.  She really listened to the message and counted it as a sign from God that we were at her home.  It was such a little tender mercy to have her buried in between these homes of disinterested people. 

But, that was just the beginning.  I think Heavenly Father was preparing us to expect miracles that day, because we needed to have smiles on our faces and we continued to search for those who were prepared.  The next place we went was a little subdivision of town homes.  Everyone we met was either Asian, or from the Middle East.  We were turned away at every door, until we came to one house where a huge golden retriever watched us through the glass storm door, and started to bark.  His owner, a blonde woman in her late 40's, came to the door, saw us, and said, "Wait here! Wait here!  I have to put the dog away!" She dragged the dog over to his kennel, came back to the front door and said, "Come in!" We were shocked, but didn't question, and walked right in.  Now, this is not normal behavior for a blonde, caucasian woman who sees two girls in dresses on her doorstep.  The next thing she said was, "Did Alex send you?" Sister Wankier and I looked at each other, told her, "No..." And I was thinking, "But please don't kick us out," when she said, "Oh.  Really? That's so strange.  Alex is my 18 year old son who joined your church 2 years ago.  This weekend he came home for college to visit, and just last night he said that he was going to send some missionaries over to meet me."  Ahh!!!!!  Things like this don't just happen.  We told her that Alex definitely did not send us, but Heavenly Father had.  We were at her home because he knows her and she needs us.  To make this story even better, Alex is now thinking about serving a mission, and as a single mother who's son had just joined this church 2 years ago, she had a lot of questions.  They were mostly about the logistics of a missionary's life, but we were able to answer all of the questions she had, and bear our testimonies of this great work.  In the meantime, Alex came home after finishing church at the Chinese Branch.  (The boy is 18, fluent in Spanish and English, and is learning Chinese so he went to church there.  Crazy.) Anyway, he comes home and is ecstatic that the missionaries are in his house talking to his mom.  He told her outright that she needs to let us teach her, and that is absolutely our plan as well.  Such a miracle.

This week has been wonderful as well.  Tevin is making progress (pray for him), and he even told Sister Wankier and I that we're "actually pretty cool."  Coming from a 16 year old black kid, that has to be worth something.  But aside from that, he's reading the Book of Mormon, praying about it, and really searching.  He's finally taking this into his own hands.  He even stayed for all three hours of church.  And the ward was great with him.  I LOVE this ward.  The members are wonderful at missionary work, know their duty when it comes to serving others, and they are excited about the gospel.  I love it! It's such a blessing.

So pray for him, and for Claudia, and Wachen, and Brittany.  They're all so close. 

That's all I have time for today.  I love you all!  Stay true to what's eternal.

-Sister Welch

Happy Halloween

The VC's closed.  And now I appreciate it a whole lot more.  Full-time proselyting is not an easy life, but it's helping me to appreciate the VC and the sisters, and even the area more than I did.  It's been closed since Monday and hopefully it will be open on Friday, but I guess we'll see.  When it does open we'll have new kiosks and almost a completely new visitor's center.  I am so excited to see these new resources! We've had to be so creative with the way that we teach people, and now with the new updated exhibits, teaching investigators will be so much more engaging and involved.  I wish I could tell you what we're going to have, but I'm supposed to wait until it actually gets here, so I'll wait.  But it will be great!

Hmm.  I'm trying to remember what happened in the past week.  Primary Program.  So cute.  We have a new Asian investigator who is hilarious.  He's from Taiwan, but wants to be taught in English, and was so concerned for our safety during the storm.  And the storm.  It was supposed to be a full-blown hurricane and they even made it illegal to drive in Baltimore, but up where we were, it just rained.  Nothing big.  The storm in June was a lot crazier than this, and I slept through that one.  (I slept through this one too...I was just expecting it to be a lot bigger.)  

Exciting moments: We watched "A Book of Mormon Story" Mormon Message with Annsley and her caretaker Brittany (our new investigator) and Brittany was glued to the screen.  After it was over she said, " I need to read this book."  Perfect!  Of course we had one ready for her and she was so excited to have her own free copy.  Also exciting, Claudia, an eternigator (eternal investigator) is ready to get baptized.  We still haven't been able to see her yet, but the elders so kindly went by last night and called to tell us she's ready.  Yep.  We need to get over there.  That's probably the 5th person who's told us.  It's funny though, that every time we go by she's not home, or every time we call she doesn't answer.  I don't quite understand why yet, but it will all work out.  By next week she'll have a date.  Also, exciting: Tevin came to church again and is reading! (Church and reading the scriptures are huge milestones for an investigator, especially a 16 year old) and Tamarye gave it away.  We were teaching Tamarye and actually I think we asked him if Tevin had been reading.  He said, "Yeah, this morning he had his headphones in and was reading like this," as he made an angry/confused face.  I laughed.  Of course Tevin is going to look angry/confused if he's trying to read the scriptures while listening to the music he listens to.  But he's reading.  It's baby steps with him, but he'll make it.

I think it's crazy that so much happens in a week, and then I get here and I can't remember any of it.  This morning we had our Zone Activity where we carved pumpkins, ate some food, and played card games.  Yesterday we saw 4 less actives and a few investigators.  One was 7th Day Adventist and told us that she's only nice because she wants to convert us.  Last night we saw a man who is quite the philosopher and asked us questions like, "How can people believe different things and still have a good life?" "How do you account for people who have a following but don't teach truth?" "How do you KNOW what's true?" and all sorts of things like that.  He never invited us in, but we stood on his doorstep for half an hour listening to him and talking.  They were some interesting questions I spent some time studying them this morning.  Hopefully he takes us seriously, knowing that we took him seriously.  It will be fun to see where this goes because I feel that he's sincere, and even asked us the question Joseph Smith was asking before the first vision.  Curtis is his name.  I'll keep you posted.  (If I remember.)

Well, this week was pretty similar to last.  The work is still great, and hard, and fulfilling, and fun, and exhausting, and enlightening, and good in every way.

I love you all.  Stay true to what's eternal.

-Sister Welch

A Drop for an Act of Kindness

I'm not sure why, but I've had cheesy 90's church music in my head all morning.  I must be a missionary or something.

Anyway, this past week has been incredible.  I'll go backwards starting with yesterday. 

I went on an exchange with Sister Bleazard to the Spanish program!  It was a blast.  I surprised myself by actually understanding most of the lessons.  I think it helped that I know how missionaries teach and that I could probably teach the Restoration lesson is my sleep, so it wasn't too hard to follow.  We had a full day in the area, with no appointments, and we ended up teaching Bairo, Lita, Stephanie and Junior, and Andres.  Amazing.  It was our first lesson with Andres and he wants to be baptized.  Bairo was sitting at the park close to us while we were eating lunch, so we just walked up to him and started talking.  We taught about the Book of Mormon, and after we left, we looked back and he had it open and was reading already.  Lita is Peruvian and we also taught the Restoration with her, and Stephanie is a recent convert (Junior's her husband) that the sisters haven't been able to contact in weeks.  Miracles and miracles.

The day before that was Sunday.  Kadie and Yvonne came to church.  We heart attacked them on Saturday (which by the way, when I said to Sister Lin, "Let's heart attack Kadie!" she was very concerned for both Kadie and me) and they loved it.  They loved church as well and fit in with the ward perfectly.  We had taken a member named Sylvia with us to our last appointment, and that was perfect as well.  It was just what Kadie needed because she was able to open up, and these young moms were able to relate and strengthen each other, so they were excited to be at church together.  This is why we need the members.  They help so much!

On Saturday, we went to check on Blessing, the 17 year old referral that Bishop gave us.  We sit down and the first thing that comes out of her mouth is, "So I've read about 10 chapters from the Book of Mormon and I want to know what the difference is between it and the Bible because they seem like the same thing.  They just talk about Jesus!"  Then five minutes later her next question was, "Why don't any churches today have a prophet and apostles like Jesus' church did?"  I really wanted to ask her, "Who are you?!" No one ever asks questions like that, especially when they're 17.  She is super prepared, and should be getting baptized on the 26th. 

Friday we were at the VC all day.  I met a man who had joined the church 10 years ago after reading the Book of Mormon in 3 days.  He completely changed his life, and he was at the temple to start doing the work for his family.  He was so excited to hear that I could call his family and friends, that he gave me the names of all of his siblings to call and ask if I could send the missionaries to them.  I got a hold of one of his brothers yesterday, and he said that he'd love to have the missionaries stop by.  Ah! I love prepared people! (I wish I could say how exciting it is when miracles like this happen!  I don't know how though.  Do you feel the joy of this missionary work? Sometimes it's so hard to get it across in emails, but this week has been INCREDIBLE!)

Thursday we saw Ike.  He's G.O.L.D.  He asked us when he could be baptized, then if he was getting baptized in a river or if he could be baptized in a church somewhere.  And THEN he asked us how many times he had to come to church before he could be baptized.  Honestly.  Who knows about things like that?!  That whole lesson with him was one of the most spiritual experiences I've had on my mission....mostly thanks to Sister Lin.  She's full of the Spirit, that one is.

Wednesday was our amazing lesson with Kadie and Sylvia (member present).  We brought a shoe covered with mud (because that seems to be an easy thing to find in my closet for some reason) and talked about how our bodies are temples and we need to keep them clean.  Before we taught Kadie's family, I've never been able to think of so many object lessons.  We're teaching her again today about Baptism, Confirmation, and the Word of Wisdom.  Pray for us.

Well, I think I'm caught up on our week.  I want to start including Sister Lin quotes, but I'm out of time for today. 

I love you all!!!

Stay true to what's eternal.

Love, Sister Welch

When you believe...

Jerome is BAPTIZED!!!!!!!   He was all smiles the entire three hours of church, and by the time his baptismal service came he was glowing.  It was incredible.  As soon as he came up out of the water he gave us a huge two thumbs up, and really couldn't stop smiling.  Amazing.  But the best part was that after the service, he came up to Sister Holt and me, and said, "Now you know where you have to help me get to next," as he held up a picture of the temple that the ward had given him.  I almost started crying (big surprise, I know), but to realize that he truly has his sights set on the temple gave me so much peace.  He really is on the right path.  It may have taken 6 sister missionaries, 9 months, and some huge dosages of the Spirit to get him there, but he's there.  And he's there to stay.

Overall, we've had some pretty incredible miracles this week.  Last week we found a girl who had been taught in Rockville, then disappeared from them when she moved to our area.  We were checking on someone that had been taught in her house before, and we almost gave up because we only had half of the address, but we kept trying, and found the right house and then we found her! Then this week we went to check on her, but met her mother who had actually met with missionaries years and years ago, and was even going to be baptized.  But before that happened, she married her 2nd husband (the man she's married to now) who is Catholic, so she started going to church with him.  It was truly miraculous that we found her, and when we gave her a Book of Mormon, she immediately opened and started reading it.  We sat there for about 2 minutes, not knowing what to do (she was reading in her head), but eventually we set up an appointment at the Visitors' Center for this week.  It will be incredible to teach this family!
 

Ah.  So much more to tell.  But my brain is so slow.

Lyzette wants to be baptized!  (She's the one from Cameroon that was basically teaching us how to be missionaries.)  We saw her yesterday and taught the full Restoration lesson.  When we were talking about Christ, we brought up baptism, and authority, and following Christ's example, and immersion, and all of those good things, but she completely disagreed.  She's a devout Catholic, and thinks sprinkiling is okay, and everyone needs to be baptized when they're babies.  We talked a little, trying to explain, but felt like we needed to move on, so we did, and taught the rest of the lesson (Joseph Smith story, BofM, Holy Ghost).  Then, the Spirit was there, and we invited her to be baptized, and she said yes!  Surprising, but not, at the same time.  The Lord works in mysterious ways, and sometimes his children do too.

More good news: Debbie has come to church three times in a row now.  Keep her in your prayers please!

And we haven't met with the King of Cameroon yet this week, but I'll let you know how that goes when we do.

 

Oh my.  I want to tell you about the people in this ward too, because they are incredible, but that will have to wait.  No time.  Maybe you could pray that my fingers will type faster or that time will slow down the next time I have to email.  It goes by sooooo fast.

Okay.  I have to go.  I love you all.  Stay true to what's eternal.

 

Love, Sister Welch

Surprise!

I'm staying on my mission for another transfer!!! 

Maybe that will give me enough time to convince President Matsumori to let me stay a full two years.  What do ya think? 

So, to follow up from last week: Cookie Dough.  I'm doing a much better job at learning to have fun while still working hard, so Sister Holt and I decided to buy a container of Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream (big surprise, right) and eat the whole thing except for the cookie dough.  That, we saved in a bowl until the ice cream was gone.  Our plan was to make cookies with it, but when we were done with the ice cream, we realized there was only enough cookie dough for one cookie.  ONE!  So we baked it anyway and it was gross.  I learned my lesson.  That stuff is definitely supposed to be eaten with the ice cream.  Not as a cookie.  We did eat the whole thing though, just to say we did.  But I'll probably never do that again.

Next story.  Mud.  You can probably guess where this one's going.  About a week or two ago, we were trying to find the address of a referral.  We walked all over this apartment complex and asked everyone we saw where the address was (and if they wanted the gospel).  Ironically, every person we talked to was a different race than the time before, and each person told us to go in the opposite direction than what we were told the time before.  It was hilarious.  So, we were walking along the sidewalk when we noticed this river flooding our path a couple of steps ahead.  Instead of being smart and stepping down off of the pavement like Sister Holt, I decided to take the higher ground and walk on the grass...right where the giant mud puddle was.  It was up to my ankles.  And I was wearing flats.  Brilliant.  At least it was a good conversation starter.  :]

City.  Last week we went to the city.  We wanted to go to the Holocaust Museum, and knew we had to get tickets, so we got there around 8, 8:30 and got in line.  We ended up sitting by Zach, who had just gotten married a couple of months before, and who was in line to get tickets for both himself and his wife (who was at a conference).  He actually started talking to us, which never happens, and that began our hour long conversation about the gospel.  It's crazy how prepared he was.  He'd grown up with some Mormon friends, some of which had gone to BYU, and he and his wife were in the process of moving and looking for a church.  Then he was staying at the Marriott and noticed the Book of Mormon in their room because Brother/Mr. Marriott is so smart and makes sure every room has a copy.  It was great.  He already acted Mormon and didn't really belong to a church, but his beliefs were right in line with ours.  We gave him a mormon.org card with the page number for a chapter, and told him that he was welcome to take that copy of the Book of Mormon from his hotel.  I could tell he was thinking when we left, and hopefully I'll get to hear about his baptism sometime soon.

Then, we went to a cafe for lunch and a member was there eating so he bought it for us.  Then later that night we didn't have time to make dinner, so we went out again and another member wanted to buy that for us.  We're so spoiled.  (Maybe blessed is a better word...) I love being a missionary.

Well, I just realized that this is not the most spiritual letter, but I still love finding the joy in simple things and hope that it's uplifting anyway.

I love you all.  Stay true to what's eternal.

Love, Sister Welch

Editors Note:  This is the 200th post of Katherine's since the start of the blog.

All right, all right.

I'll send you a real email.  I know that past couple have been quick, but time is such an issue (as well as my scattered missionary brain) so I spent a little time this morning collecting my thoughts, and I brought my journal (which consists of a post-it note on each page reminding my what to write when I have time to catch up) so.........here it goes.

Two weeks ago we saw a miracle with Susan.  I hope she realizes one day how truly blessed she is.  She's great at recognizing it now, but oh my.  What a charmed life.  So, the story goes that when we were teaching her, her only concern was tithing.  She wanted to pay it, but felt that she just wouldn't have the funds.  She calculated all of her spending, and savings, and income, and to her, it just wasn't going to work.  Of course we talked about the blessings, and that we need to take out tithing before any of our other spending, but it was still an issue.  Well, the first or second week after she was baptized, I noticed her paying her tithing. I didn't say anything, but was hopeful that it was a full tithe.  Then two weeks ago, we went over to see her, and before we could teach anything or even ask her how she was doing she said, "You have to look at what I just got in the mail today!"  It was a notice from Pepco, her insurance company, telling her that instead of paying $136.00 every month, she only had to pay $5.00 for the next couple of months.  Amazing.  Heavenly Father knew that she needed that blessing, and now she KNOWS that tithing is a true principle and commandment. 

Gilberto was another miracle.  Remember how I said last week that we thought he disappeared? Well, we were so excited to have him back, that he went to the  VC (visitors center) Saturday night for a concert, church on Sunday morning, and we went over to his house Sunday afternoon for a lesson.  Poor guy.  Maybe we were a little too excited.  But we needed to see him and figure out where he was at.  Church was a little overwhelming too, so we needed to clear up those concerns, and it worked out.  He went to the VC with the Dougalls for a piano concert (Fan-Ya Lin from Weber State) and that really wasn't his type of music, but it's okay.  He's patient.  The Dougalls told us afterward that he'd told them that this gospel is what he'd been looking for for all of his life.  Yes!  And then when we saw him on Sunday, he'd told us that he'd gone to Virginia a week earlier because his cousin was in a car accident.  He said that when he got there, he asked God to make sure his cousin would be all right, and his prayer was answered.  To him, that's the first time he'd really seen a clear answer to his prayer.  He's also been reading the Book of Mormon and praying about that as well.  He likes to open it randomly, and pick a scripture to read, but then comes to us confused, which makes me laugh.  But more importantly, he said that it doesn't matter what he reads, even if he doesn't understand he feels better afterwards.  And it's so true.  I love it when investigators describe the Book of Mormon that way.  It doesn't matter what you read, because it's all true, and the truth will set you free.

In my studies this morning I was reading in Moroni 7.  I don't remember the exact verse, but it says something along the lines of "charity rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth."  I realized that although many people would say a lie is the opposite of truth, iniquity is really the opposite of truth. God is truth, and when we sin, we are removing ourselves from him.  We "oppose" him in a way, because we are not being who we truly are, who he created us to be, but we are becoming the opposite of truth.  It was a good realization for me, and it explains why investigators feel better when they read the Book of Mormon.  They are coming closer to the truth, and to who they really are.

As for this week, there have been A LOT of changes.  Number 1: I was transferred yesterday.  Now I'm in New Carrollton (in Prince George's County.  Probably not a good idea to look up their crime rates...) and I'm with Sister Holt.  I don't know what I did to deserve this, but when she came out in November, we were instant friends.  She's one of those people that I'll probably live with when we go back to school.  This transfer is going to be so much fun.  Number 2: My schedule at the VC changed.  Now, instead of being there 3 time a week, I'll be there 5 or 6.  Number 3: President Matsumori asked me to play the piano for a tri-mission conference.  Baltimore, DC-South, and our mission are all meeting at the Visitors' Center to be taught and trained during a three-hour meeting.  Now, normally I wouldn't be nervous to play for such an event, but there just so happens to be a guest speaker named Elder David Bednar who is coming.  Yep.  I'm nervous.  Number 4: Night of Music and Inspiration is two weeks away!  Yikes! I'm behind.  These next couple of weeks are going to be an adventure.

Another miracle I just remembered.  Sister Gros and I were checking on formers (people that had investigated previously) that lived in a little townhouse subdivision.  We had about 5 people to check on, and there was a group of guys hanging out by their car in the middle of this circle of townhouses.  We noticed them, and they started honking the horn to try and get our attention, but we ignored them for a minute to finish checking on these people.  Before we left, however, we decided to talk to them.  When they saw us walking over there, they got quiet, and looked like they were a little scared (because two white girls in skirts can be very intimidating, I know). One of them, even "walked" away, but there were two that stayed, and one that was brave enough to really talk to us.  He was probably 17 or 18, maybe 19, and when we told him who we were, he started getting really defensive. I don't know what's so scary about missionaries, but we started to explain more, and that we were paying our own way, and we were just doing this to give people second chances, and bring them closer to Christ.  Then he just blurted out that, "This is so weird!" And we asked, "What's weird?" He said, "I just threw away my wicken books yesterday because I realized they weren't getting me anywhere.  Then I prayed to God to put me on the right path, then you show up.  This is so weird!" I think I was smiling pretty big (I couldn't help it) and we asked him what he's looking for out of life.  He wanted peace, and power to do what he wants with his life.  We talked a little about the Book of Mormon how it shows us where to find true peace and power, and gave him one, and he took it very carefully.  His friend finally decided to talk, but it was just to ask him, "Are you really freaked out?" and he said, "Yeah! This is seriously freaking me out!  This is weird."  So, we bore out testimonies, and decided to leave. We didn't want to scare him anymore, but he is going to be golden.  Hopefully I'll still get the updates from Sister Gros and be able to tell you about him.

That's all I have time for.  Stay true to what's eternal.

Love, Sister Welch

Happy Day, All is Well . . .

I cannot believe it is possible to be this happy!!!

Audrey was baptized on Saturday and it honestly was one of the happiest days of my mission and one of the most fulfilling days of my life.  She was glowing.  Sister Hazen and I went back together and it felt almost like we were going home.  Neither of us had been back since we served there together and then here we were, companions again, going back to Olney.  When we walked into the church, John was the first person we saw and he was almost glowing as much as Audrey was.  We asked him how he was and he said, "Wonderful.  I couldn't be happier for her."  He then told us that he'd been trying for months to get her baptized and he was glad that she finally had listened to him.

 It makes me laugh to know that John was on our side the whole time and I know he'll come along soon.  What a day that will be when he is baptized and when we can come back and go to their sealing!

The program at the baptism was beautiful.  We probably had half the ward packed into the gym and I smiled thinking, "This is how it should be."  Sister Corina Miller, one of Audrey's fellowshippers and a convert herself, said the opening prayer, and then Sister Chris Willis (the friend/neighbor to introduce her to the church) spoke about baptism.  Then Brother Willis performed the baptism.  Words cannot express how joyful that moment was when I watched Audrey make that covenant.  She finally did it! I wish I could put into words all of the prayers, and studies, and thoughts, and notes, and lessons, and encouragement that we gave to her so that you could understand how miraculous this day was.  But there's just no way to say how much Audrey means to me and how much it meant to see her "enter in at the gate."  Oh my.  Happy, happy day.

And on that same day I got to see Erin.  She was the little miracle I had during festival of lights that just walked up to me and asked if we could talk.  She's 18 and is dating the RM and was taking the lessons.  Well, now she's getting baptized too!

Sabir=Incredible.  Here are some Sabir quotes:

"The Book of Mormon is amazing."

and

"I told my brother we're like Nephi and Sam in our family."

and

"I already repent daily."

and

"I gave up coffee a long time ago and I'm so much happier now."

and many more.  Sometimes I don't think this is real life.  But it is!

And Sabir introduced us to his brother Quadir (they're twins, hence the names), and Quadir is just as golden as his brother.  Pray that they'll both be ready for the 10th of March.  We're sure they will be!

And Susan is Susan. Which means she's wonderful and happy and has so much faith!

And Tracy.  Wow.  I don't know where to start with this one.  We have had quite the week with Tracy.  I sadly don't have time to go into details, but I know without any doubt that Heavenly Father loves His children and notices even the details of our lives and our needs.

Tracy is evidence of this.  I have never felt Heavenly Father's love for someone so powerfully as I've felt it for Tracy.  She has, by far, the most excruciating challenges and life I've ever heard of, but Heavenly Father knows her, and loves her, and wants her to succeed and she WILL.  Please keep her and Anthony in your prayers.  She needs to feel those angels around her.

Oh, and one last thing.  I saw Sheri!!!  The Elders brought her to the VC and that woman is amazing too.  After her knee surgery she wasn't supposed to walk for a few months, but she had so much faith in her blessing that she's walking all over the place now.  Wow.  Her baptism is the 4th of March.

Miracles, miracles.

The Church is true.

Stay true to what's eternal.

Love, Sister Welch

P.S. Mom, could you send me the instructions on how to fix dry wall?

One of our investigators had a little accident that resulted in a giant hole in their dining room wall.  Oops...  Thank you!

Festival of Trees: Week Three

What a week! I know I need to write so that the rest of the family and friends can have the stories, but right now, I just want to hold off until Christmas when I can actually tell them to you!

But here's one of my favorites.  A few days ago, there was a special needs group that came in.  There were 5 adults, all with disabilities, and two chaperons.  The 5 with disabilities all seemed a little bit scared, and wary of the new place they were in, but Sister Gordon played the Christus narration for them, then came to get me to take them on a little tour.  We talked about Christ's love for them, and how he knows each of them by name.  It was interesting for me to say those words to them, after having said them so many times to so many others, but to feel like I was saying it for the first time.  Every person in this little group, seemed to be listening a little better and feel a little more comfortable after we talked about our Savior.  

We went into the international nativity exhibit next and one man with special needs was adamant about standing right next to me.  His name was Earl, and he couldn't talk to tell me what he was feeling, but he just grabbed my hand and stood there with a huge grin on his face.  He just needed to be close to someone.  It was so simple, but beautiful for me to see how that was all it took to make him happy.  It was the sweetest experience to be there with them, as each person found "another baby Jesus!" and as I saw their countenances change from frowns to smiles. 

We walked around the rest of the Visitors' Center and talked about the Book of Mormon a little bit, then the group decided to watch a movie.  I suggested Nora's Christmas Gift (about the woman who loses her vision), and set them up in a little theater.  Susan, an older woman who wasn't able to speak, was sitting in the back.  Throughout the tour, she'd made noises, but nothing coherent enough to understand as a word or sentence.  As I was introducing the movie, I heard myself talking about the resurrection.  It wasn't something I'd planned on, but as I was saying it, I realized that it was a message that everyone in that room definitely needed to hear.  As I promised them that one day, each of them would have perfect bodies like our Savior, I was interrupted by a voice in the back which said clear-as-day, "Jesus?!"  I looked to Susan, realizing that it was her who had asked the question, and answered, "Yes!"  Then she looked surprised, but asked, "ME...?!" And I said, "Yes! Even you Susan."  I watched quietly as the childlike disbelief in her face turned into pure joy and she just started to laugh.  She was SO happy. 

This is what the gospel does for people.  It heals them.  It touches their spirit because it's true!

I love you all.  Stay true to what's eternal.  Merry Christmas!

-Sister Welch

Festival of Lights; Week One

To start off with, I just want to tell you how incredible Sheri is!  Before we could even ask her to come to church last week she said, "I want to go to church.  I'm going to ask my boss for Sunday's off."  So she asked her boss, and lost her job! There were other things involved, of course, but that was the type of thing they were waiting for to let her go.  And instead of getting mad and blaming us, she took it as a sign that this is right for her.  Oh happy day! She's amazing.

And now for two stories from Festival.  The first one happened on Saturday.  At the beginning of the evening I was thinking about numbers and about how many "Message of Love" I needed to get...even though I knew better.  This is about the people and their eternal welfare, not numbers.  But I'm human, and it's hard to make a connection, invite, strengthen their faith, really listen to them, keep focused, and help them want to share the gospel all in two minutes.  And yes, sometimes I think too much, but Heavenly Father is good to me, and let me meet my goal so that when I met Erik, I could be prepared to be a true instrument.

Erik was in the house with his two little girls (about 6 and 3 years old) when I started talking to him.  I know this was a Spirit-led conversation because I honestly cannot remember what I said.  But I do remember that Erik started talking about the temple.  He said he's come to the open house when we was four, and it had made such an impression on him, that he still remembered it.  I asked him if he'd like to see pictures of the inside, and he looked surprised, a look of "Is that allowed?" but took no time to say "yes".  I just glanced down at my watch and it just so happened to be time for me to go up to the front where the temple pictures were.  That was a little tender mercy in this huge miracle.

So we went up to the front, and as we were walking up there, he mentioned that the temple is such a landmark for him, because he grew up next to it. He said it's such a crazy world we live in, that he wants his girls to have something to keep them grounded.  I don't remember what I said or what we were talking about that would lead him to say that, but wow.  He's a seeker.  When we got to the front, we looked at the temple and the pictures.  Erik's girls loved them, and he just looked like he was in awe.We talked about eternal families, and his six-year old told us she wants to be married in the temple.  And, it gets better.  He asked me who the man was on the top of the temple which just led perfectly into testifying of the Book of Mormon.  I could not believe how smoothly this whole conversation was going!  I mean, I could believe it, but a miracle, nonetheless.  It just all fell into place.  Heavenly Father knew he was ready.  When I asked him if he wanted a Book of Mormon, he didn't even have time to respond.  His six year old just yelled, "Yes!"   We laughed and he said, "I think we need to take one, then."  It was a beautiful experience for me and the perfect reminder I needed that this work is in the Lord's hands.  He knows who he wants in this church, and we just get to be the instruments.

The next night, I was standing in front of the Christus when I heard someone say, "Sister Welch!" I turned around and there was a family standing there that I recognized.  The Mom said, "So you remember us?" and I said, "Of course!" and gave her a huge hug.  She looked so happy to be at the Visitors' Center and to see me that I was surprised for what she told me nest.  She said she had some news, and pulled out her camera.  Then she showed me this picture of an older woman in a wheel chair, and asked, "Do you remember her?"  It was her mother-in-law that had come with them to the Visitors' Center a couple of months before, and she was one of those people that I will never forget.  Everyone in the little family, (Mom, Dad, and two boys) were members, but the woman in the wheel chair (the Dad's mother) was not.  When they were here before, I was able to take her on a little tour about the temple, and offered to send missionaries, to which she accepted.  Then this sweet lady that had come back with her family to see me went on to say, "Well, she was baptized! And four days after her baptism, she passed away."

Oh my goodness.  I didn't know how to respond, and all I told her was, "That just makes me want to cry!" as I felt my eyes start to water. Then tears started falling down her face and she said, "It's okay to cry. We cried a lot when she was gone, but mostly because we were so happy that she had been able to accept the gospel before she left."

I know that this is Heavenly Father's work.  He knows who is prepared, and I am more grateful than I can even put into words that I get to be His servant.  This is real joy.  And this is what life is for: to learn, and serve, and live up to the glorious beings that he sees us as capable of becoming.

I love you all! Stay true to what you know is eternal.

-Sister Welch

Faith is Real!

So, just to start off with, I have the most amazing story for you!!!  Last Thursday or Friday, Sister Hazen and I were at Taco Bell and we started talking to this older couple, Paul and Nancy.  They had just lost everything with the economy crash, and Paul is in his 80's and had to go back to work.  They were at ground zero, and pretty humble, and we just happened to run into them.  :]  They were so interested in what we do as missionaries, and they told us they'd come to the visitors' center on Saturday.  We asked them where they lived, and talked some more, then left and planned to see them on Saturday.  Well, they didn't come, so yesterday we planned to visit them.  I was driving, and when we got up to their street, I heard Sister Hazen gasp.  She's like, "We didn't get their address."  I just laughed, because here we were, only with the street name.  But we pulled over and I'm like, "Here's what we're going to do.  We'll just pray and drive down the street until we feel like we should stop."  So Sister Hazen prayed and asked for us to be guided according to our faith.  Once she said Amen, I knew exactly where to go.  It was amazing!!  We stopped in front of their house, walked up to the door, knocked, and who opened it?  Nancy.  Sister Hazen was speechless and I just started laughing.  And to make it better, Nancy acted like it was perfectly normal that we were there.  She was about to leave though, so we didn't get to talk to her, but we'll go back soon.  Wow.  That made my night. 

 

As for the rest of the week before this experience, it's been great.  We've seen a real change in Ralph (from Ghana).  Did I tell you he has a baptismal date for August 28th?  Pray for him!!!  We taught the word of wisdom last time we met, and instead of trying to teach us, or just listening apathetically, he was taking notes! And writing down everything he needed to work on. He hasn't had any alcohol since we taught him, but he's still struggling with the coffee because he wakes up at 4am to go to work and feels like he needs it.  Sad.  But I know once he really commits to live it, he'll be given the strength he needs.  And he's reading the Book of Mormon, and praying, and he's been to church 3 times in a row, and to the Visitors' Center once.  It's incredible to see the change in his countenance, and behavior.  He's going to make it!  We're teaching him tomorrow and hopefully he'll come to the "Why I Believe" program.  Ah!  He's so great.

 

Audrey Dyer is also incredible.  And unreal.  Our last lesson she was asking us to explain the large and small plates of Nephi!  Honestly, what investigator does that? She keeps us on our toes, that's for sure.  And her questions.  So, the first two principles in the Restoration lesson are "God is Our Loving Heavenly Father" and "The Gospel Blesses Families".  We were planning on incorporating prayer into every principle and so we start by asking her how her relationship with God has changed over the years and she goes right into prayer.  Then to tie the principles together, we were going to invite her to pray with John, but no need, because she starts talking about how she wishes that John would pray with her.  Wow.  It's so funny to plan lessons for her because she answers almost like it's on cue.  Oh!  And this was funny too.  We want her to read the Book of Mormon daily, and we knew she was somewhere in 2 Nephi.  We were going to have her read starting with 2 Nephi 25 to the end of 2 Nephi.  When we asked her where she was in her reading, she opened up to her bookmark, and it was at 2 Nephi 25.  Crazy. 

 

I've had some amazing things happen at the VC as well.  On chat, we met Paul, a 55 year old Methodist who is SO excited to read the Book of Mormon.  In his words, "A book about people that lived in America hundreds of years ago?  Wow!  That is something I have to read!"  So exciting.  We have a chat appointment with him for next week.  It's so neat that we can teach people over the internet.  I love seeing how the Lord uses technology to accomplish his purposes.  I really believe that he allowed technology to be created so that his purposes could be fulfilled more effectively.  It's amazing.

 

Well, it's already time to go.  Pray for Ralph, and Audrey and John.  We have a good friendship with John, but he hasn't sat in on any of our lessons with Audrey yet. 

 

One more thought I had.  I gave the spiritual thought in District Meeting, and it was on faith, something I've been thinking about a lot lately.  And I realized this: We need to have faith in faith.  It's real.  I'll let you think about that thought, since I don't have time to explain it.  But some great scriptures: 1 Nephi 7:12, Moroni 7:33, Alma 7: 17-18.

 

I love you all and I pray for you.  It's so good to hear how you're doing, both friends and family.  Thank you for your faith and prayers.  I'll be sending blessings your way.  :]

 

-Sister Welch

Busy!!

What a whirlwind week this has been!!  I just have two stories that I want to tell you that are incredible.

The first one happened on Friday.  As a quick side note, Sister Hazen and I don't have much time in our area.  On the days we're at the Visitors' Center we only have about 2 hours because we do companionship study and dinner with a member.  The other days we have district meeting, or weekly planning, or it's p-day, or we have church and all of those meetings.  So we don't have a lot of time.  But it's AMAZING to see how the Lord makes our time effective when we are in our area.  Here's the story. 

On Friday, we did all of our weekly planning, and organized our car book (with all of the maps, and member's numbers/addresses) and then left our apartment to go to our area.  On our way down the stairs we ran into Tite, the man from Camaroon that we had met the first week I was here, and given a Book of Mormon to.  We talked to him a little bit, then went to check on some formers.  Molly wouldn't talk to us, but as we were about to climb in our car, Don (a man we'd met a week ago, gave a Book of Mormon to, and had a good talk with) pulled up in his truck.  We talked with him some more, found out that he was recovering from a motorcycle accident, and had a prosthetic leg.  There's this "I'm A Mormon" commercial I'd just watched about Jarem Frye and so I was able to share that with him...and I wrote that on the back of a Restoration Pamphlet, which we invited him to read.  He wouldn't set up an appointment with us, but just the fact that we were able to run into him was a blessing. 

Then we were going to check on Bethany, a 14 year old the spanish elders found.  She wasn't home, but her Mom was.  We found out her Mom knows the Bishop and his wife, and is interested in the church! How awesome would it be to teach a family!  Then we went tracting and met a lady who told us she was atheist, but as we listened to her, and responded to her cynicism with a message of hope and peace and family, she just broke down and started crying about how she needs that comfort in her life.  Miraculous. 

Next we went to check on a referral, but he wasn't home.  But...we ran into an old investigator who had dropped us, and a less active member who had divorced his wife and left the church.  I know those people were placed in our path, or we were placed in theirs, and it was like Heavenly Father just wanted them to have that little reminder. 

We also met this couple, Barb and Mike, who work at a nursing home and we shared Mosiah 2:19 with them.  And there's more.  (This was such a crazy day!  Everywhere we went we were able to talk to people who were open and ready!)

After Barb and Mike, we felt like we should check on some of our potentials. We had met Nancy a week ago, as she was out walking her dog, but she was not open.  However, when we pulled up to her house, she was out watering the flowers and we just started talking to her.  I could tell that something was a little off, and although I'm not usually pushy or intrusive, I kept asking her about her day.  Surprisingly, it didn't really take her long to open up.  (Mom and Dad, you'll appreciate this: Nancy's a nurse, and her husband is an engineer.  Haha.)  So she'd just had a really long two days at the hospital, and Mitch (her husband) was recovering from surgery.  We kept talking to her, and eventually our conversation transitioned perfectly into church.  She'd been raised Catholic, joined the presbyterian church, and wasn't happy with either.  I felt inspired to tell her about home and visiting teaching, and just as I was about to do so, I heard those words coming out of Sister Hazen's mouth.  It is so exciting to know that our companionship is unified! We led into the message of the restoration, and she was so attentive.  After we told her the Joseph Smith story, we had her read Moroni's promise and as she did so, she just started to cry.  She said that was exactly what she needed to hear. It was such a special experience for all of us.  She had read the whole pamphlet we left with her the week before and we learned before we left that she knew a family in the ward! It worked out so perfectly.  We're going back to teach her soon. Pray for her!!!

  

And the other story.  This happened yesterday and it's experiences like this that make all the work and heartache worth it!  I was in the Visitors' Center, and I was suppoed to be doing my New Sister Training, but this family walked in and I felt like I should talk to them.  So naturally, I did.  :]  I found out they (all 7 of them) were from France, and their beautiful family was just on vacation, actually on their way to the airport when they saw the temple.  They understood English, but didn't speak very well.  Fortunately the VC has a ton of resources in French.  And we went to all of them.  I wish I had more time to go into detail, but basically, here's what I showed them: Christus with the narration in French.  The Book of Mormon exhibit and I had them read the promise in French.  One of them asked, "Don't you have a prophet?" So I showed them President Monson's testimony.  Then I remembered an "I'm a Mormon" commercial that was in French (The Babins, in case you want to watch it), so I showed that to them, all the while bearing testimony of the things I was showing them and praying that the Spirit would speak to them becuase I wasn't abe to.  After the "I'm a Mormon" commercial, the Mom said, "I have two question.  One, how do I become a Mormon?"  AHHH!!!  I almost started crying.  She filled out a referral card and later that day I sent the missionaries to their family.  Her second question was worded like this, "In you church, one man, many women?"  Hahaha.  I'm glad I got to clear that up before they left: one man, one woman.  Now go be baptized!

I love you all so much!!!  I pray for you often.

-Sister Welch

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

Have a Blessed Day

That is something that EVERYONE says here.  I love it.  We talk to people and before we walk away, even if they weren't the kindest to us, or wouldn't listen, they are sure to tell us to "have a blessed day" before they walk away or close the door.  It's kind of a joke among the missionaries and a lot of them say it in their phone's voicemail.  It might be one of the things I pick up from D.C.  :]

So, I forgot to bring the paper with all of the miracles from last week, so you'll just have to wait for those again, but I have some good news: we got 10 new investigators last week!!!!  Which in the English program here, is unheard of.  It's been quite the week.  I'll try to remember everything, but you may get some repeats when I write my email next week and include all of the blessings I wrote down every day.

We've had some GREAT lessons.  We taught Ishmael and brought our ward mission leader, Drew Richardson, who got home from his mission about 2-3 years ago, so he was great to have.  Ishmael's two friends were there as well and their names were Jonathan and L.J., which I kid you not, stands for Little John.  I tried not to, but I laughed so hard when he told me that.  I didn't think he was being serious!  But he was.  And his name's Little John.  Anyway, we taught the first half of the Plan of Salvation, and it took over an hour because they kept asking so many great questions! We used a lot of scriptures from both the Bible and the Book of Mormon to show how they complement each other and how both are the word of God.  We also spent a lot of time explaining authority and how baptism is a necessary saving ordinance, not just an optional way to show our faith.  All three of them were having a hard time understanding that, which is interesting to me because it's right there in the Bible, but I think at this school they're attending, the professors are teaching them a little differently.  We also committed all three of them to read and pray to know that it's true.  It makes me laugh sometimes, how simple the gospel is, and how simple it is to follow, but people just refuse to do themselves a favor and read the Book of Mormon and pray about it.  So if you would, pray for Ishmael and his friends.  They need a little push in their lives.

Another great lesson we had was with the Dyers.  They are the type of people I thought I'd be teaching when I heard Washington D.C.: white, wealthy, high class, educated, etc.  (They're also in their early 60's, just for future reference)  They've been coming to church for months with their neighbors, the Willis', but the Willis' didn't want the missionaries to teach them, for whatever reason.  But, on Friday night, both Sister Hazen and I felt like we should visit them, so we went over, and they were home (between their vacations to Costa Rica and Alaska) and they invited us in.  We'd met them before, and they are very gracious people, but we spent the first five minutes getting to know them until Audrey Dyer just asked, "Could you teach me?  We'll do a weekly thing for about an hour every week and could you just answer my questions and come teach me?"  AHHHHH!!!  Of course we can!!!  But then it gets better.  She said, "I really want to be baptized and join your church.  I just have a few concerns."  Which ended up being that her sister-in-law owns a coffee plantation and she's worried about what her friends might think.  And she's afraid she doesn't know enough.  Those are her concerns.  She's already living the Word of Wisdom (except for coffee), she gets the Ensign mailed to her, she's consistent at church, she's reading the Book of Mormon, and she's so ready!  She said her husband is on this journey with her as well, but he's just moving at a little slower pace. I have faith though, that they'll be baptized before the end of the transfer.  And they'll be solid when they do join.  She said that herself.  She said, "I just want to make sure I'm ready when I do this because it will be a commitment I make for the rest of my life."  And eternity, I thought, but she'll come to understand that.  Ah!  I'm so excited to teach them.  I'll keep you updated.

Rebecca (Giovana's little sister) is also doing great.  She read Alma 40 in the Book of Mormon, and we had a good lesson with her.  She's not scared of asking questions, and she has her own way of thinking, but she's open with us, so teaching her is a treat.  Giovana isn't as committed, but she's a single Mom, works all the time, and just has a crazy schedule, so it's harder.  But both are really interested and will hopefully be coming to church soon.

Mr. Ralphy

Malea was another miracle.  And a member referral.  She's so prepared and told us she wants to join the church, but she's sadly not in our area.  Her member friend is in our ward, but Malea's in a completely different stake, so we gave her up to another set of sisters.  They were ecstatic and I'm really excited for them.  Malea is wonderful.

A little story before I go.  A couple nights ago, our power was out when we got home.  And it was a pitch black, humid, 90 degrees in our apartment.  Bleh.  We luckily had a 72 hour kit with glow sticks and a flashlight, so we did our planning by the light of two glow sticks, got ready for bed, and then just laid there on our blankets, sweating.  It was SO HOT.  And I really am not complaining, by the way.  I have no right to when there are missionaries across the world who never have air conditioning.  But I was just laying there laughing at the situation when Sister Hazen ran into the kitchen, and came back with all of these packages of frozen food.  It was going to thaw out anyway, so why not use it, right?  But then I really couldn't get to sleep because Sister Hazen had a bag of burritos on her head, and I had a package of vegetables on my stomach, and it was hilarious.  Maybe you would have had to be there to think it's funny, but just imagine us laying there with frozen food all over, trying to cool us down.  Funny.

And I know I probably say this every time, but Sister Hazen is so great!  We just laugh all the time and we have such a strong companionship.  It's amazing what can happen when there's unity and love.  10 new investigators, for example.  And as a side note, they're all a different race.  I love it.  Brazilian, Filipino, African, Caucasian, Hispanic, etc.  It really is a different country here and I'm loving every minute.  

I hope all is going well for you and I love hearing from you all. I'll try to respond to your letters as soon as I can, but know that I pray for you (family and friends) often.  Have a blessed day!

-Sister Welch