" Father, Where Shall I Work Today?"

“Father, where shall I work today?”

And my love flowed warm and free.

Then he pointed out a tiny spot

And said, “Tend that for me.”

I answered quickly, “Oh no, not that!

Why, no one would ever see,

No matter how well my work was done.

Not that little place for me.”

And the word he spoke, it was not stern; …

“Art thou working for them or for me?

Nazareth was a little place,

And so was Galilee.”

by Meade MacGuire

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

The Carrollton Ward

Just to warn you, this email is going to be scattered, but I'll try to do headings of some sort to keep it a little organized.  There was just a lot that has happened recently.

A Derecho
For those of you who speak Spanish, you'll know that this means "in a straight line" or something like that.  This is what the news reporters used to describe the storm with hurricane speed winds, the rain/hail, and the non-stop lightning that came through on Friday night.  It knocked over trees as tall as 30 feet, any yard decorations were blown away, and some houses were even punctured and destroyed from the tress falling on them.  In some places in Maryland, people still don't have power.  The VC was down for 3 days, and from what I hear, it was pretty bad.  But I wouldn't really know.....I slept through the whole thing. 

4th of July!
For the first half we were at the VC, then the AP's let us go down to the city to see the fireworks.  They were amazing.  The other amazing part was the number of people there.  It was crazy.
And everyone we stopped to talk to was from a different country: Turkey, Ukraine, Germany, El Salvador...

The Carrollton Ward
This is actually something I've been wanting to do for a while, but haven't been able to with all of the other things going on.  But I wanted to write about some of the people in this ward that I'm going to.  They are incredible and I am learning much more from them than I'm sure they are from me.

Brother F.: He's been a member for almost a year.  His daughter joined first, then was such an example to him that he wanted to have the light she did and was baptized.  At one of our correlation meetings as the ward mission, he was talking about his desire to use the priesthood he had.  He was frustrated because he wasn't getting any training, but here he had God's power and knew he needed to use it to bless lives!  It was such an example to me because I've met many who have the priesthood, but sometimes seem to forget.  Yet Brother F. is desperate to be an instrument, do his home teaching, and use the gift God gave him.

Sister H.: Has 11 kids, including all of her foster children.  The youngest just got married.  She serves in the nursery, feeds us twice a month, has let Edward (who is blind) live with her, and she is wonder woman in real life.


Ema: In her 50's.  Joined the church about a year ago.  Now she's preparing to go to the temple.  She's from Sierra Leon and has been through every trial imaginable in life (husband left her, kids left her, dialysis three times a week, no home, etc) but she's always smiling.  She is a light and the perfect example that material things don't make us happy.  Now, because of her faith, we're going to start teaching her daughter!

Grandma: Sister H's mother-in-law.  She's in her 80's and can reach past her toes.  Ema lives with her.

Edward: From Nigeria.  Joined the church and lost his sight. Always happy.  He bears his testimony every chance he gets and knows who you are even if you don't introduce yourself.  A humble, humble man.

Michael: From Africa as well.  He knows 5 languages, used to be a university professor, then had two strokes and lost his ability to speak.  I gave him a tour at the Visitors' Center, and he joined the church about 9 months ago.  He passes the sacrament with the deacons every week and is one of THE most faithful people I've ever met. 

Brother V.: Got married and graduated from BYU a few years ago.  Now he's working on his PhD, is in his 30's, and is the 1st Counselor in the bishopric.  Gives everything to the Lord and his family.  Truly consecrated.

Sister C.: Has three callings: ward organist, counselor in RS presidency, and Stake YW camp director.  And her husband's the bishop.

Giba: Walks 5 miles to church every Sunday because he doesn't have a car or a phone to find a ride.

And the list goes on and on.  These saints are good people.  The best of the best.  If you can, go onto lds.org and watch Elder Holland's interview.  I say 'Amen' to all that is said there.  The people of Africa, and of the Carrollton ward are teaching me what it means to be close to God and to just trust Him.  He'll give us what is most important, and that's not material things.  It's family, and protection, and the gospel.  And trials are to bring us closer to Him.  I wish you could all just be here and see how glorious these people are! It's a little piece of heaven on earth.


Stay true to what's eternal.  It's the only to be happy.

I love you all,
Sister Welch

Camerooooooon.

I told President Matsumori today that sometimes I wish my brain worked just a little bit faster, but when it doesn't, there's usually a good story involved.

And that's exactly what happened this Tuesday. 

In the morning we had district meeting, then lunch, and we had about 30 minutes before we needed to go up to the Visitors' Center for shift.  We checked on some potentials that said they'd be home, but who weren't there, so we went to Elvis St.--a street we'd started to tract a few days before.  We came to one house that looked very normal, and after we knocked on the door, a little African girl and her brother opened it.  We asked to speak with their parents, and so she went to get her Dad, who came to the door looking like he had just woken up from a nap.  As we talked to him, we heard a woman upstairs yelling for him to close the door, but he listened and when we told him that we had a message from God centered on families he actually let us in!

We went inside and as we looked up, Sister Holt and I noticed a younger African man dressed in white robes and a red hat who was sitting in a chair in the living room.  When we walked in, he got up from the chair  and headed upstairs.  I was thinking that we didn't want to let him get away, so I quickly said, "Oh, I like your hat." But he just smiled and kept walking upstairs.  The man who had come to the front door (his name was Akem) brought us into his living room, had us sit down on the couch, and he sat across from us on the smaller couch.  We started to get to know him and he said that he had four children, and the woman upstairs was his mother.  He also said that we were very fortunate to come to his home at this time, because he was blessed to be hosting the king of his country.  "Actually," he said, "the man you just met was the king." 

My response: "Oh....what country are you from...?"
Akem: "Cameroon."
Me: "Oh....." 
Then in my head I realized, "I just told the King of Cameroon that I like his hat!"  Oh my.

He never came back downstairs for the lesson, but we did teach the entire Restoration lesson to Akem and his children, and he'd like us to come back next week to answer his "questions of the soul."  I wish we'd had more time to learn the situation and reason for a king of Cameroon to be in Lanham, Maryland, but we had limited time and wanted to be tactful.  However, after relating this story to Elder Cardall, he did some research and learned that kings in Cameroon are simply tribal leaders, and that presently there are three of them in Maryland right now. 

And I told one of them that I like his hat.  Good grief. I hope that Cameroon still lets missionaries into the country.  If they don't, this blog post is probably getting deleted.  :]


As for the rest of the week, we had another miracle this past Monday, with a girl that was teaching US how to be missionaries.  Before we left she said, "Well, are we going to say a prayer?" then after the prayer, "Okay, so what chapter do you want me to read from this book before you come back?" Amazing.  She is so prepared and will be an incredible missionary herself one day. 

And we're still working with the ward.  The song "Onward Christian Soldiers" always comes to mind when I think of them.  One of these days I want to write a post dedicated to them and their incredible faith and testimonies.  Amazing, amazing people.  I'm always humbled with them, whether it be my own choice, or because I'm compelled (ahem...forced) to be.  I think when my time is through here, I may love this ward more than any other I've been in.

Oh!  I just remembered another story.  I don't have much time, so this will be quick, but we went to visit Betty, our new investigator, last week.  She was the one that left Reid Temple (the mega church) to come to our smaller church across the street.  Well, last week we learned that she speaks in tongues, receives prophecy, and pray-sings with the angels.  It was quite the experience, let me tell you.  She told us that people are usually scared of her, but she doesn't understand why.  I didn't exactly know what to say to that...   I think I ended up telling her that she has a beautiful voice and should do a musical number in church sometime.  By the way, her singing prayer was two words, 'oh lord' and it sounded like something the medieval monks would sing.  I kept my head bowed very low and only peaked twice during the prayer.  And yep, it really happened.  It was real.  But she's a sweet, sweet lady and wants to make this new religion a part of her life, only she wants to do it on her own time frame and in her own way.  I'll keep you posted on her.

And the best for last: JEROME'S GETTING BAPTIZED!!!!!!   Wahhhhhh!  He's been taught since September and this is so huge for so many sisters.  He's been through 6 or 7 of us.  I'm so excited for him!  More to come on that, too.

"Well, dat's all 4 today" as our Ghanian investigator Theo (said Tee-Oh) would say.


Stay true to what's eternal.


Love you all,

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.

The Tree

This past week we've had some INCREDIBLE experiences. 

First, we met Herb.  Because we live in our area, sometimes we just walk around our complex to meet people outside and to talk to them.  We were doing that sometime last week when we met Herb.  He looked like he was in his 70's and he had a cane that blind people use, so it would have been easy to walk right by without even letting him know we were there, but something pushed us to talk to him, so we went up and introduced ourselves.  We told him who we were, and what we did, and then we got into a discussion of why bad things happen to good people.  He actually broke down and started sobbing to us about the challenges he's had: PTSD from the Vietnam War, marital problems, a son that was rebellious, no money, ...and the list kept going.  We were able to cry a little with him, remind him that God was aware and wanted him to reach out for help, and then he had to go.  We set another appointment (for yesterday), so again we met him outside.  He started the conversation this time by telling us that the day we met him, he'd been waiting for a taxi to come pick him up to go to a bar where he'd drink and gamble the night away to numb the pain.  But after we left, he'd felt so good, that he said he didn't want to ever go again.  He just stayed at home that night and thought about life.  Amazing. He has a lot of wounds and memories to work through, but he's ready for this happy message.

Then there was Ricky.  Sister Holt and I were driving down Washington Ave. (just a local street) to go check on a less active, when we drove by a little house with a young man sitting on the front porch.  We felt like we should go back, and I honestly thought is was going to be a teenager from South America, or somewhere, and that we'd just be sending a referral to the Spanish sisters, but when we pulled up, we realized he was Indian (from India, not a Native American).  We started talking to him, and he made us guess his age, and it turned out he was 35.  He was a partner in a landscaping business that did some of the landscaping for the Marriott hotels, and he was just on his porch enjoying the evening.  It seemed pretty normal, but we were determined to find out why we felt like we should talk to him, so we kept asking questions and getting to know him.  He said he was Hindu, but had been exposed to a lot of different religions because his family had converted to different sects of Christianity, the Muslim faith, and some other religions.  We asked him his philosophy on life and the after life, and this is when it started getting crazy.  He said that after we die, we're going to be in a place where we wait before we're judged. Then when we're judged we'll sit down with God and the apostles and watch the "DVD of our life".  (Those were the exact words he used.)  We looked at him with a look of "stop making fun of us" but then he looked confused and we asked, "Do you realize that what you just said is such a Mormon joke?"  He said, "Really?" but just explained that he was joking a little, but thought there would be some type of review of our life.  Then we'd be judged and go to the place God chose for us.  Oh, and by the way, he thinks there are going to be different levels of where we can go, like an upper, middle, and lower.  Crazy!!!  Plus he talked about how he believes in getting married once, and making it last for eternity.  And he believes in taking care of our bodies by not drinking, and staying pure, and just remembering who we are.  Everything he said was doctrinally sound.  It was incredible to see how his spirit had recognized all of those truths from different religions, or from things he had just felt in his own life.  He never really had Mormon friends, or studied the religion, but here he was, just waiting for us.  So pray for Ricky to realize that he's not too busy to meet with us.

Another amazing experience we had happened this Sunday.  For the past two weeks we've been cleaning our apartment, rearranging furniture, and just trying to take care of things.  In our living room, we have a LOVELY pink leather couch, with one little picture hanging above it.  (And it happens to be the only picture in a frame in our whole apartment). Well, I was looking at it one day and said to Sister Holt, "It would be so nice to just have one of those fake trees that they have at the church to put by the couch."  She laughed at me, and then we didn't think anything more of it.  Well on Sunday, we were coming back for lunch, and I went to park but there was trash in the spot, so Sister Holt jumped out to pick the trash up and throw it away.  As she was walking back from the dumpster she had this strange look on her face and I just asked her, "What?"  She smiled and stated, "I found a tree."  "What?!"  "I found a tree!  By the dumpster."  I ran over to the dumpster, and sure enough, there was the tree I had envisioned just sitting there, waiting for me.  So I may have gone dumpster-diving, and it may be sitting in our apartment right at this moment, but I promise I cleaned it up, and it actually fits very nicely with the pink leather.  Just what I'd imagined.  I still laugh when I think about it.  Things like this don't even matter! But it was nice to be humored and know that Heavenly Father's aware of my little quirks.

Last night was the infamous "Night of Music and Inspiration."  I'm glad it's over.  It was wonderful, but...I'm glad it's over.  A lot of stress has been lifted.  They made a recording, so I'll send you one as soon as I get one.

Well, nothing else too exciting.  Oh wait, GILBERTO'S GETTING BAPTIZED THIS SATURDAY!!!!!  I get to go back to Quince Orchard for that and I cannot wait.  He is going to be such a blessing to the church.  AH!  So exciting. 

Now I think that's all.  I'll give you more updates when I talk to you this Sunday!

Love you all.  Stay true to what's eternal.

-Sister Welch

Good Luck

There is one thing I know for certain this week, and it's that Heavenly Father has a sense of humor.  This transfer has brought about a lot of good, but crazy changes, including extra responsibility at the Visitors' Center, a new area, a new companion, a new ward, Elder Bednar's coming, the Night of Music and Inspiration that I've been planning happens on Tuesday, and our apartment hasn't decided to turn on the AC yet.  What an adventure! And the way I know Heavenly Father has a sense of humor is that he sent me to an apartment complex on "Good Luck Rd."  Too funny!  Every time we pull in for the night I just have to laugh. 

This past week has been crazy.  We are running into the strangest people! One man recognized us as we were going to talk to his neighbor, and decided it was time to give us a sermon on masonry and Joseph Smith.  A man last night told us that he was Christian, and a minister, and that he had no time to meet with us or read the Book of Mormon, but he'd just finished reading this 800 page book on atheism that we should read sometime.  Weird.  And another man got all riled up and told us that we are going to "this place down south" if we keep believing the Book of Mormon is true.  Then the funny part was that we saw him at the Amish Market today with his wife.  He wasn't too happy to see us, and ran away pretty quickly.  His poor wife looked a little confused when she turned around and he wasn't there.  Oh, and we also met another man who believes the world should be run by women, and was happy to see us doing what the Elders usually do.  Sadly, he doesn't live in our area.  But I'm sure the Elders will enjoy his views on the world.

At the Visitors' Center this past week, we've been seeing so many miracles.  It seems like as election time comes closer, there are more and more people who come in and say, "I'm going to vote for Mitt Romney.  What can you tell me about his church?"  And the sisters are incredible with their responses.  Sometimes it's hard to not feel intimidated when there are so many wonderful people I serve with!  But we lift each other and the work moves forward.  This really is a remarkable place to serve.  It's truly a gateway to the world. 

And again my testimony of prayer has been strengthened.  The adage, "Keep calm and carry on," has proved to be a big help this past week. With all of the changes, I was feeling a little overwhelmed, and scattered, but as I read one of the talks Elder Bednar asked us to study (Ask in Faith) I realized that patient persistence in prayer is Christ-like.  So, I patiently persisted, and a few days ago, I finally had the peace I was searching for, and things began to fall into place.  I know had divine help in accomplishing my to-do list of about 100 items, and everything just worked out.  That's what I love about the gospel: it's simple.  And it's a good thing too, because my weak and simple brain would not be able to handle much else.  But prayer works, and so does patience.  And so does the gospel.

So, stay true to those things that are eternal.  That's where the peace comes from.

I love you all!

-Sister Welch

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

Some Scattered Thoughts

You know how you can feel when change is coming?  That's how I feel right now.  It will be interesting to see what the next week brings.

As for the email, I just want to tell you all again that I'm alive and make it a quick one, but I know that won't go over very well.  So I'll write a real email.

This week, we've realized that Tracey needs some time without us to realize the treasure that she can really have.  We went over to teach her about the covenant she's making when she's baptized, and about the Sabbath Day.  We were very loving, but very clear that she can't get baptized unless she comes to church.  Well, she didn't take that very well, and now she's not very happy with us (i.e. not talking to us or opening her door), but it's what needed to happen.  She needs some time to ponder about whether or not she's ready for this.  So, it's really really sad, but she'll come when she's ready.  I have faith in that.

Gilberto is amazing.  He gave us a good scare because he lost his phone, was never home, and seemed to have disappeared, but we talked to him last night, and he is still invested, 150 percent.  Ah! It was such a joyful moment when he called us and told us, "You sounded so scared, like I was interested, in your message, but no!  I still want to do this!  I want to come to church and read and learn.  When can you come over?"  He's so great.  I hope you can all meet him one day.

Hmmm.  Funny how my mind goes blank when I write these things.

There's a lot of interesting things that happen, I just forget!  Right now I'm thinking of who I need to call when I'm finished emailing, and what I need to plan for "Night of Music and Inspiration" and how we're going to get members for appointments, and wow, I have such a missionary brain right now.

Feel free to ask me questions if you want me to involve certain things in here.  I forget that missionary life is so removed from everyone else, and what I do could probably be interesting to you all, but I'm so used to doing it, I just don't know what to write!

Well, I have to go now, but stay true to what's eternal.

I love you all!

-Sister Welch

Never Have I ...

...slept so well, but still felt this exhausted.

...seen so many pink trees.  Maryland is BEA-U-TIFUL in the spring.

...eaten so much ice cream.  Food is the one area we have to let go on the mission.

...grown tired of seeing the happiness that comes from repentance.

I'll never get tired of that.

...talked to so many French people.  Well, I guess I don't really talk to them...

...been told by a complete stranger, in a southern accent, that I'm a "perfect angel" 20 times in two minutes.

...sneezed so much in my life.  It's the craziest thing.  While we were teaching Susan, I had no problems with her cats, but now that she's baptized, I have sneezing attacks every time we go to her house.

 I guess we need to turn her over to the members.

...felt so bad for going over our allotted miles, again, until we found out that we have 1500, not 1200 miles.  That was a funny moment.

...loved conference this much.

...sung three solos in two months.  And never will I ever do that again.

...been this happy.  The mission's incredible.

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

Love, Sister Welch

Lamanites vs Nephites

Now that's a missionary title if I've ever heard one.  Lamanites vs. Nephites.  That's the game we played today for our Zone Activity and it really shows what nerdy missionaries we are.  Our Zone Leaders must have spent hours and hours putting it together, but it was a huge success.  So much fun.  I don't have time to explain the whole thing, but basically, we had to get the brass plates from one base (The Land of Helam) to the other base (The Land of Zarahemla) without being killed (by a flour bomb or pool noodle.)  So funny, and so much fun.  At one point in the game I was even offered as a ransom to the Lamanites.  They said they needed someone, "young and innocent" of which I am neither, but I guess I qualified more than the Elders did.

Also, this Zone Activity carried on the tradition of hitting Sister Welch in the head with something, but this time it was only a soccer ball and didn't hurt as bad as the flour bombs..or the Frisbee...or the football.  Haha.

As for the rest of the week, we've seen quite a few unexpected miracles.  My personal favorite happened on Sunday.  A couple of days before Sunday even came, we were checking on a less active, but he wasn't home, so as we were walking back to the car, we saw two Latinos talking by their car.  We thought it would be a good chance to practice our Spanish and they looked like they needed the gospel, (well, I guess everyone looks like that to me) so we went over to talk to them and discovered that they both spoke English very well.  They opened up pretty easily, and we asked them if they'd ever had questions about life that hadn't been answered.  Pedro pointed to his friend, Gilberto, and said, "He does.  He has lots of questions."

Gilberto looked a little sheepish at first, but started telling us some of his questions which all related to the Plan of Salvation.  He was hungry for answers, so we set up an appointment for Sunday, gave him a Plan of Salvation pamphlet, and went on our way.  The rest of the week was difficult because almost all of our appointments with members fell through, Tracey's health is getting worse, and we feel such a responsibility for these people, but we kept going.  Our appointment with Gilberto was for Sunday night at 8: the last appointment of the week.  We had a member from Nicaragua coming with us, and we were both praying that he'd just be there.  Well, he was there.  And he was ready.  He kept telling us, "I want to change.  I need more spiritual change in my life.  I want to change."  We taught him the lesson, which he soaked in like a sponge, and at the end, Sister Gros challenged him to be baptized.  He said, "Yes" without hesitation.  She followed up with the baptismal date commitment and before she could even finish saying, "We're holding a baptismal service on April 28th.  Will you prepare your--" he interrupted, "Yes!  150 percent yes!" It was incredible.  It took everything I had to not start laughing and jumping around and dancing because I was so happy for him.  This gospel is true and I love these ready hearts who recognize the light they feel when they hear the truth.  I am strengthened by them and will always be grateful for these elect souls.

Another part of the week that was more entertaining than anything was our lesson with Anthony.  The Zone Leaders, Elder Rodriquez and Elder Kerby, came with us, because we thought it would be good for Anthony to see what he can become, and because Tracey needed another blessing.

 We had the blessing first, then Tracey went to go lay down and we taught Anthony.  Well, he outsmarted us all.  We were talking about Sabbath day and asked him to name some things he could do on Sunday.  He listed 'pray', 'go to church', and then he said, "Go to school..." and Elder Kerby stopped him and said, "Wait a minute.  You don't have school on Sunday."  Anthony just looked at him and said, "Ya-huh. Sunday School!"  We all laughed pretty hard.  He's too smart.  Later, Tracey told us that her husband was trying to cook dinner that night and went to put olive oil in the salad but Anthony stopped him.  He said, "Dad, you can't do that!  That's what they use to bless people!"  We'll have to clarify that, but at least we know he was listening.

 Well, time to go.  Stay true to what's eternal.  I love you all.

-Sister Welch

Sakura

Cherry Blossoms!!!  I've heard about this ever since I knew I was coming to DC but what I saw today exceeded my expectations.  It was just a little piece of heaven on earth! One of the funniest parts of the day was when I turned around only to see a little Asian man with his camera lens aimed right at me.  I made a face (probably a surprised one), he took a picture, then we just started laughing.  He pointed at me in my pink skirt and white shirt and said "cherry blossom!" then went on his merry way.  Too cute.  It still makes me smile thinking about it.

The rest of the week has been wonderful.  We have no worries about Sabir and Susan.  We went to review the Restoration with Susan, to see how she was doing at the end of her first week as a member of the Church, and we didn't even have to ask how her reading was going.  She just started into a story about how she liked a verse we read from D&C 6, so she decided to read the whole chapter.  And it was a complete answer to prayer for her.  That whole section was written to solve all of her concerns.  It brought me so much peace to know that Susan is still seeking revelation and receiving answers to her questions without us.  It's nice to feel needed, yes, but it is so much more rewarding to see Susan building this relationship with her Savior on her own.

And Sabir.  We were going to talk about the priesthood and before we even mention the word he says, "So this past week I was reading in Abraham and Moses about the priesthood...." and goes on to tell us everything he learned.  We were so excited for him, but could not remember giving him a Pearl of Great Price so we asked, "Did we...give you...a Pearl of Great Price and Doctrine and Covenants?"

He said, "No.  But I just asked Jake and he got one for me."  Sheesh.

He's amazing.  And way to go members.  That was super exciting for us as well to know that he's being taken care of.  And he's also receiving answers to his prayers and has started giving us the names of all of his friends as referrals.  YES! He's going to be an incredible missionary one day.

Well, that's about all I have time for.

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

Love, Sister Welch

P.S. Mom-I got the St. Patrick's day package right on St. Patrick's day.  And it was a good thing too, because Tracey's Irish and she was proud of us for wearing the little pins and our green shirts.

My Journal Should Be My Area Book

I used to be so good at writing in my journal but that seemed to stop
as soon as I came on a mission.  Hmmm.  Something is not right about
that.  I've thought about it and realized that my time at night is
spent updating teaching and progress records.  And I really have
thought about making copies of them and then gluing them in my journal
so that I remember that I actually did something on my mission, but
we'll see.

Anyway, Quince Orchard, Sister Gros and I are all doing fantastic.
Susan and Sabir are getting baptized this Saturday!!!  Sabir talked to
his Mom last night and told us this morning that she is completely
fine with him making this choice.  It was such a relief to hear,
because when we met with him on Monday, he was extremely nervous
about talking to her, and frankly, we didn't blame him.  It makes me
laugh to think about it now because he was telling us that whenever
they have to have a serious conversation, he likes to stand, but she
wants him to sit close to her, but he gets so nervous that when he
looks at her it's like she's moving farther and farther away, and the
longer he looks at her the smaller her head seems to get.  Poor guy.
He really was nervous.  But because we're nerdy missionaries and know
the best way to help him is to have him practice, we role-played with
him. :]  It certainly was good entertainment for us and good practice
for him.  We asked him if he felt better afterward and he said, "Yeah,
but I just know my mom's head is going to do that shrinking thing
again."  It was REALLY hard not to laugh.  But he did seem to feel
calmer and better prepared.  The rest of the lesson he couldn't stop
smiling and asked us if the interview was going to be serious or if he
could smile during it.  We told him he couldn't smile.  And he got a
really scared look on his face...until we couldn't take it and just
started laughing.  I don't think he would have been able to stop
smiling even if we told him too.

Susan is very excited as well and is more worried about things like
what to wear, who to invite, etc.  She should have some friends coming
that aren't members and we're praying that her parents come as well.

One thing I'm looking forward to is being able to spend two days a
week with Tracy and Anthony.  We haven't had that time to give to them
lately, (it's just been one appointment a week and daily phone calls)
but now that her husband seems to be expressing a little interest, and
they're letting a friend (Brian) stay with them, we should be able to
help them progress more quickly.  They've invited us for dinner
tonight and we're going to go over the Family Proclamation afterwards.
We're excited.

Other funny story.  Last week we met a referral given to us from a
family in our ward.  His name is Josh, he's in his thirties, has two
little boys, is going through a divorce.  He's had a really rough time
lately and told us that he's been questioning the purpose/point to
life and if God is really there and told us that we came at the right
time for him.  He opened up easily and we were just talking to him on
his porch when it starts POURING only like it can in Maryland.  Within
two seconds my shoes/clothes/hair were soaked.  We tried to crowd
under the porch and block it with our umbrellas, but it was coming
down too hard.  But, because we're missionaries, and persistent, we
kept talking so that we could set up an appointment and he just yells
above the rain, "Go home!  We'll talk later! Why are you still here?!"
And we yell back, "Because it's true!"  Then we set up an appointment
really fast and he goes back inside while we dash into the rain.  Now,
to explain the rest of this story: sometimes the "missionary joy" is
just too much to keep inside, and sometimes Sister Welch doesn't watch
where she's running and jumps in a puddle and water goes all the way
up her leg, and sometimes a person just has to scream and laugh.  And
that's what happened.  But that's a normal day, so we just kept
running back to our car, and thought nothing of it.  A couple of days
later however, Josh calls us to reschedule and we talk for a couple of
minutes until he says, "Remember that night when you two came over and
it started raining?  Well, I heard you screaming and laughing as you
were running away and I thought, 'That's what I'm missing!' I need
that back in my life."  Oh boy.  How embarrassing.  I almost told him
that all he needed to do was to jump in an enormous puddle and he'd
feel better, but... I didn't.  Instead I apologized that he had to
hear me acting like a 5 year old and told him we'd talk during our
lesson about how to get that joy back in his life.  That is what the
gospel's about.

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!