MIRACLE Week!

Lorena got baptized and confirmed!!! That is the best news of the week. We talked to her Sunday night after her confirmation and she was just so happy. Now she has entered in by the gate and she'll have the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost as well as a supportive ward. I'm so excited for her.

Here is another story for the week. We met Debbie and Robert a week ago on Monday. They were standing in front of the Brigham Young display in the South Visitors' Center and as missionaries do, we stopped to talk with them. I could tell right away that Debbie was interested, Robert less so, but we offered to show them around and Debbie was excited for it and Robert was being a supportive husband. As we talked with them we found out that Debbie had met with the missionaries about 12 years ago for a period of two years. That's a super long time to meet with the missionaries. At first she wouldn't even read the Book of Mormon, but as the missionaries started to show her how they teach the same doctrine she started to soften up to the idea. Well, now Debbie and Robert are retired and full-time RV-ers. They have been on the road since about March of last year going from grocery store food sampling job to grocery store food sampling job all around the country. They are originally from Illinois and they have family back there, but they haven't been back since they left. So that's their background story.

We took them to the Assembly Hall, the Tabernacle and last of all (my favorite miracle spot) the Conference Center. We first went to the Book of Mormon gallery to give Debbie a refresher course and to give Robert an introduction. The history of it and how it came to be made lots of sense to them. Usually that is a good sign. We took them right in front of the HUGE picture of Christ visiting the Americas, the one that you find in the front of cheap copies of the Book of Mormon, and read 3 Nephi 11:14-15 with them. The Spirit was definitely there. After that we went down to the auditorium. Just as we walked in and stood in front of the first row of chairs, knowing that they were feeling the Spirit, I asked them how they felt. They used lots of words to describe the warm comfort that that was there in that room. I love the auditorium of the Conference Center. There have been so many heavenly messages shared in there that it would be hard not to recognized the change in feeling coming in from the street. I told them that what they were feeling is called the Spirit. 

Since they are traveling around so much I wasn't quite sure if they would be able to be taught by the missionaries because I think they were only planning on being here for about three weeks. I offered the missionaries anyways and they really wanted to meet with them. So I got the address of their RV park and sent of the referral that same day with a note alerting the missionaries that they were only going to be in Salt Lake for a limited time. I also got their email address because they were just such a great couple that I wanted to be able to keep in touch with them (they don't really like phones much). A few days ago we sent them an email only half-heartedly expecting a response back because about 98% of the time we don't hear back. BUT they were so sweet and they sent us a reply! They told us that the missionaries had called them that night that we sent the referral and left a voice message. Then they met the next day and had met with the missionaries THREE times! AND they were planning on going to church this Sunday! They even really like these Elders too! Way to go Elders! We're probably going to meet them again this week with their missionaries here on Temple Square. I just love when these things work out.

Another miracle this week happened when I called Angela. She called in for a Bible back from mid-June. She was looking for a free Bible because she really wanted to make changes in her life and she knew that Christ could help. I found out that she is the mother of three children and she has a few mental health issues that she is working with. I offered her the missionaries and the chance to find out how the restored gospel of Jesus Christ could really help her make those changes that she wanted to make. We had tried to call to teach her over the phone a few times, but she didn't answer. This past Thursday I tried calling again and she answered! Well, she has met with the missionaries quite a few times, gone to church, AND she has a baptismal date for July 21! She says that she is really enjoying what she is learning and has even made some friends at church (I don't think she really had friends before). She told me that as she has been learning she has noticed an improvement in her mental health, she can be her self more which is absolutely great. The gospel of Jesus Christ really can change us into the kind of people that we want to be.

As for Independence Day. We had a usual day until about 8:00. We had a hotdog and then we went to the 26th floor of the Church Office Building. We had a music program where we sang hymns and patriotic songs. The most popular song of the night was "Scripture Power"--a Primary song. We had a good time with that one. Then when it was dark enough we watched the fireworks from up there. I learned that fireworks are really best viewed from the ground, but it was good. 

This past Sunday I also announced after Music and the Spoken Word in the Conference Center. That is where a bunch of Sisters announce for tours in their language. Since there are so many English-speaking sisters it has taken this long for my turn to roll around...it was the last time I could have possibly done it. It was kind of fun. We got a tour after that.

One more week...it's going to be great!