So we will start out with the details of a MIRACLE that we stumbled across this week! Her name is Dana. And she is a gem. Allow me to elaborate.
This last weekend, a house caught on fire in our sector. The next day, we decided to contact the houses in that area, knowing that someone MUST be pondering the meaning of life after something so sudden and dismal.
And we found her. Her name is Dana. And she is a gem.
Upon sitting in her house and talking and getting to know her, she told us that her neighbor's house fire had really startled her, and that she found herself meditating over how short life is, how quickly it can end, and that maybe, there is something more that she needs to do to. Something more that God has planned for her. I'M NOT EVEN KIDDING. And then she started talking about how she had been praying that our Heavenly Father could help her to know what more she needs to do to do His will.
And who do you think knocked on her door in that PRECISE moment?
I'm. Not. Even. KIDDING.
She's a gem. She was excited about the Book of Mormon, had lots of questions about President Monson, believes that Joesph Smith truly did what he did, and NEARLY came to church on Sunday. One of those investigators that is just ridiculously prepared and ridiculously golden :)
Another great "proud mother" moment that we had this week was with Evelyn and Marcelo. They are a wonderful pair, married and very loving towards their children, surprisingly mature in this aspect despite the fact that they are a pretty young couple. But the thing is, they both said from the very beginning "I don't read." And that makes it a little complicated when the key to knowing if this church is true comes from reading a book. But we challenged them to read it anyway, assigning here a little and there a little. And at first, they never read.
And then, this last Friday, Evelyn was very excited to inform us that she had read up to Joseph Smiths testimony. She was giving us an overview of Angel Moroni, where the plates were, how many times he visited Joseph, the whole spiel. We were pleasantly surprised, and Marcelo kept giving her a hard time, but we smashed his teasing with "Well she read! Now you have to catch up to her!" They called the next day to inform us that they read together up to 1st Nephi. Ugh I just love that.
Also, a great learning moment. We had lunch yesterday with an active member, and she had quite a crowd at her house; us, her brother who is one of our recent converts, three of our investigators that are living at her house, and a friend visiting from out of town. All adding up to a delightfully vast teaching pool and wonderful opportunity to share what we believe. And everyone seemed to enjoy our message, except her friend from out of town, Maria.
She put her guard up as soon as we explained about the Book of Mormon. She kept her lips pursed as we shared a scripture, and when we finished, she said "But aren't you going to share something from the Bible too?" And her eyes were saying "if you even HAVE or BELIEVE in the Bible." It was like a challenge. And for the first time, I was very thankful that my companion always has ALL of her scriptures with her. Yes. That includes the humongous Bible. We shared a scripture from the Bible, and she actually smiled. Said that we must be representatives of God, and said amen at the end.
And then we invited her to say the closing prayer. She smirked a bit and said "Fine, but I'll do it MY way." And sure, it was a different kind of prayer than I have ever heard (and in this year, I have heard a good assortment of prayers), but it was a prayer right from her heart. She respected what we had to share once we found common ground, so of course we are going to respect her and accept what it is that she will give us.
Also, something along those same lines, was when we were knocking doors and we came across a little Jehovah's Witness grandma. She got a huge smile on her face when she saw us and proceeded to tell us that she had just returned from preaching the word, told us to wait so that she could give us pamphlets, and told us where their chapel is and what time their Sunday services start. My companion was rolling her eyes a bit, but look; we knocked HER door to share what we believe with her. She tried to do exactly the same thing that we were doing, and a little patience and listening goes a long way. So we listened to her spiel. You better believe we gave her a pamphlet about the Restoration, but we smiled and listened. Honestly, I have learned that we should do that. We should respect others that are trying to teach what they believe, as we hope that people will listen to what we have to offer. It's good to respect and listen.
Funny moment this week; we were helping a less active sister in our ward make alfahores, they're cookies with usually dulce de leche in the middle and drenched in chocolate. But we invented one that we call The Gringo, because it's a cookie, peanut butter, cookie, jelly, cookie, and all drenched in chocolate. And it's called The Gringo because its like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, which they just don't DO here. I posed the idea, and the sister named it. And it was delicious.
And, to end, another sister in my zone told me this week "Hermana Harkins and smiling just go together. Hermana Harkins and sadness just doesn't work." I just love that :) I mean, come on, we are preaching the gospel! How could I not just be happy ALL THE TIME?! Alright folks, I'm off. Be bold, Stay Rad, and do what you do!
Hermana Harkins
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