Christmas Miracles!

Mom!

 

I loved hearing from y'all as well! We had an Amazing week with many miracles! Starting on Wednesday. We went out to work like we do any day, hoping to be let in. We were tracting on Christmas, and so many people before were so shocked that we were going to be knocking doors on Christmas, but we did, and we were blessed so much. We taught three lessons with in two hours, and set up a couple of return appointments. I learned that as we sacrifice to show the Lord we are committed he is going to bless us. And he did. Then talking to y'all was so much fun. It was the fastest 40 minutes of my life, but I loved it. You really don't realize how much you miss your family until you are away from them for six months. It was great! That night we then ate dinner with the Hill family who had invited their non member friends, so even though we were having a great time, we were still able to do missionary work, and hopefully we planted some seeds with that family. I really think that Christmas day was probably the best day of my mission so far, mainly because I was sharing the message of why we celebrate Christmas.

The next day was my six month mark. I can't believe I have already been out for six months, and I have seen myself change so much. I can't wait to see the progression that I will make in the rest of my mission. The mission has been the hardest thing I have ever done by far, but it has also been the most rewarding thing I have ever done. It has gone by fast and slow at the same time, and I plan on making the most of it. That night we also taught Melvin. He is a Pentecostal pastor. We knocked into him awhile ago, and have taught several times. Normally pastors don't want anything to do with the Church, but he is showing a real desire to know if what we are saying is true. We taught him about the Book of Mormon, and he said that if he knew it was true than he would be baptized and come to our church. It was a very spiritual lesson, and the surprising  part came at the end. I don't know why, but randomly at the end of the lesson, Melvin started speaking in tongues. We don't know why, or what he was trying to say, but we did know that the spirit was working on him. It was a great lesson, and if he reads, he will receive his answer.

Friday and Saturday were the two most stressful days of my mission. We had lots of appointments planned, and members to come out with us. There was so much to plan for, and so much going on, that it was so stressful. People were canceling or not home, and other people made us reschedule for other times. It was a hard two days, but in the end we had taught 8 lessons in those two days. Great blessings come when things get hard.

The next day started off stressful as well. We woke up, and I called Luis Gandara who said he would becoming to church. He said he was still coming, so we got ready for church and began our personal study. Half way through our study, we got a call from Luis saying he was at the Church. We hurried there to find him, but he wasn't there. So, we called him and he said he was doing some other things, and then he would come later. It is very hard to understand his Spanish though, so we weren't really sure if he was coming or not. When the meeting started, he wasn't there. To add on to the stress, I was asked to speak last second. That wasn't really a problem, but with the other things going on. After I had given my talk and sat down, Luis came in. He stayed for the rest of Church, and really seemed to enjoy it, or at least we hope so. We had the Spanish group in with the English members for sacrament meeting, so he had to listen to a translation, but I think he still enjoyed it. It was another great miracle for the week.

As well at Church this week, someone brought their friend who he had met two days earlier at the store. This man is really looking for a change in his life, and just so happened to talk to a member of our Ward. His name is David, and we have a lesson with him this week. He has had a rough life, but he is showing a lot of potential. I hope we can help him out. What an amazing miracle!

On top of all of that we taught 20 lessons this week! This has been a goal that we had set when I arrived in Sherman, and we finally taught 20 lessons! The Lord is really blessing us here, and I really don't want to leave. I love this area!

I love you and I hope you have a great New Years!!

Love

Kyle