This has been such an AMAZING week! We saw so
many miracles! I am soo grateful for the gospel. It is so precious to
me, and this week it's really been put in perspective for me how blessed
I truly am to have it in my life.
I have so
many amazing things to write about! Last Monday we met a Chinese couple
who wants to learn about the gospel! We knocked on the door and tried to
communicate with them (their English is limited) Sister Van Valkenburg
was able to say "I'm a missionary" in Chinese and they immediately
invited us in. We taught them about faith and they got really excited.
They said "you come back and teach us twice a week." We were stunned.
That never happens! It was such a miracle!
After
meeting the Chinese couple we had another miracle that's going to take
some back story. About a month ago the English elders in the Willoughby
ward told us about this lady they had met who wanted to learn about the
gospel. We dropped by her house a couple times and she was either not
home or it wasn't a good time. We didn't really feel like she had a ton
of intent so we decided to not focus on her that much. Flash forward a
couple weeks and we've been having these random moments where we've had
to rush into Walmart really fast and buy something then rush out for one
reason or the other. A couple of times now a certain Salvation Army
bell ringer has gotten really excited to see us. That happened a couple
of times and each time three thoughts crossed my mind 1) "we REALLY need
to talk to that lady" 2) "Ahh but we're really late!" 3) "She's
probably just an excited member of the church anyways" After meeting the
Chinese couple on Monday all of our appointments fell through and for
some weird reason we found ourselves in the Walmart parking lot. Looking
back I can see how much the spirit guided us. Anyways, the same bell
ringer saw us and got really excited. So we started talking to her and
it turns out it was that lady who the elders had told us about! She said
she was hoping that we would come by her house again and was always
really excited to see us at Walmart. She was so grateful that she was
finally able to talk to us. She has a brain injury so talking is hard
and that's why every time we dropped by previously she wasn't able to
let us in, she was just having a hard time with her brain injury. We set
up an appointment to see her and were able to meet her and teach her in
her home. She has had an insanely hard life and told us she thinks
she's going to hell. That broke my heart. Before we even had a chance to
say something she just looked at us and said "I've heard of this
word... repent.. .how do you repent?" I almost started crying. Something
that is so ingrained in me is something that this amazing person has
had to go so long without. We were able to tell her how to repent and
tell her about baptism. She was so excited and happy. Words cannot even
describe the joy I felt. Heavenly Father is so merciful. It is so
apparent to me how much he cares about her. He gave us sooooo many
chances to reach out to her. I'm so grateful. I will never ignore a
prompting again! I'm so grateful for second chances.
Anyways,
the miracles don't end there! We met a 71 year old lady the other day
and were able to teach her in her home. She told us that she has been
searching for a religion her whole life. We taught her about the plan of
Salvation but were only able to teach her about how we lived with God
before we came to earth. We were only able to teach her that one thing
because she got SO EXCITED. She kept saying "Wow! No one has ever told
me about that before!!!" She was so happy and she even thanked God that
someone finally told her about that. It made me soooo happy! I cannot
even describe how amazing it is to watch someone learn about the gospel
for the first time. Words cannot describe the joy. I've known about the
gospel my entire life and it's ingrained into every fiber of my being.
It's so easy to take for granted the simple truths that so many go
without. But it truly is the most amazing on the earth. I am so grateful
for Jesus Christ and His life and love for us. It truly is endless.
This
week we were also able to participate in a choir concert! It was so
amazing! We had hardly no practice but during the performance it felt
like angels were singing with us. I love this ward so much. So much. I'm
so grateful for my chance to be here.
Heavenly
Father loves each of you so much. More than you can even comprehend.
Sometimes it can be hard to feel that. But it's so true, and He will
never give up on you.
2 Nephi 26:24
He
doeth not anything save it be for the benefit of the world; for he
loveth the world, even that he layeth down his own life that he may draw
all men unto him. Wherefore, he commandeth none that they shall not
partake of his salvation
Wow I think this is
the longest email I've ever written! If you've made it this far then
congratulations! Have a great week and a Merry Christmas!
Sister Bloomfield