Milagros Para Siempre

I guess I am going to have to start getting used to not having very much time to write...

Remember Alejandro*? He has had some lessons with the Vancouver South Elders, Elder Kennedy and Elder K-, and they said he was doing really well. Yesterday in Sacrament Meeting, I looked out the doors, and I'm 98% sure, and 20000% happy, that he was leaving the church with his family! Blessings! He was so willing to try the gospel. Love it!

A couple weeks ago, we had a whole day planned where were just going to be in Burnaby, so in order to spend our time the best, and keep down the amount of Ks we have, we decided to just pack a dinner for us to eat. We were going to a lesson with Rachel, who we found tracting out apartment buildings, and her family, who are First Nations, but they cancelled as we were on their porch. We asked if we could just share a quick scripture and thought, and she said yes. We went in and got to meet her mom, who was visiting, and her sons and daughter. We stayed for 45 minutes. Afterward, we walked to our car and noticed we still had 15 minutes before we planned to eat, but we were both so hungry. Hermana Williamson asked what I wanted to do, and I thought about it for a good while. Then I realized the only reason why it was taking me so long to figure out what to do was because I knew what was the right thing to do, but I wanted to just eat. So I decided that we should go contacting for 15 more minutes. We got out of the car and started talking to everyone. We just kept getting rejected over and over. The last person we talked to told us he just lost his phone, and was going to try to find it, and was waiting for his bus. We got into a good conversation, and asked what his name was. He said Jose*, so we started speaking in Spanish, and HE SPOKE SPANISH! We got to know him a bit more. He is from Peru. We asked him if we could get his number and share a message with him another day. He said we could, and as we walked back to our car, we were just so happy because if we just ate 15 minutes early, we could have just changed our schedule by 15 minutes, but because we stuck to our plan, we were blessed with a miracle. Even though we hadn't even taught him, it was a blessing that we found someone who spoke Spanish.

Jump forward to this week. We called him and he said we could come teach him on Saturday! So we got Luisa to come with us, and on Saturday, we went to his house, and as we were walking up, we saw toys. We were super confused. The way he was talking to us made it seem like he was here alone. We knocked on the door and he let us in. Inside there were toys everywhere! We got super excited! Then hiding on the stairs was his 4 year old son, Juan*. He is the cutest. And the fact that he speaks Spanish makes it that much cuter. Jose told us that his wife was out running errands, but that he also has a daughter, Rosa*, who is...just guess. 8. We taught about how the Gospel blesses families and about the Book of Mormon. He was SUPER accepting! He just believed what we were telling him. He told us that hey went to a Christian church in English, but they were looking for something more, and something in Spanish. We told him that's exactly what we have and that Luisa would actually be Juan's teacher and there is a really great program for children where they learn and do fun activities. We invited them to come with us yesterday. 

They weren't able to make it yesterday, but we are planning on teaching the whole family this week, starting with the Plan of Salvation. We are just super excited to be able to teach a family! We've been praying for one since I've been out, and Hermana Williamson has been since she's been out. We have faith. But Heavenly Father's will be done.

Our investigator Cassandra*, has been coming to church for so long now. She really does have such a strong testimony, but she's really nervous to get baptized. Her mom is a member, but her step-dad is not and is pretty anti. Missionaries have been working with her for over a year, but she's really afraid of what will happen if she does. We had a lesson with her on Thursday about the Atonement (which is what we have taught about in YW for the last two Sundays, so it's been really fresh in her mind) and how we can only access all the blessings of the Atonement through baptism. We asked her about her concerns and talked about how if God is all powerful, he can soften her Dad's heart. We also talked about taking a leap of faith. Often times, we look for a big answer that we should do something. We pray, and while looking for the big answer, we overlook the soft answer that has been there all along. I told the story about when I was deciding to serve a mission or start school. I was praying and fasting, but didn't really feel like I had an answer. Or at least I was afraid to take the one I thought I had received. But it wasn't until after I made a decision, that I felt an overwhelming feeling of peace come that I was supposed to wait to do school, and plan to serve a mission immediately. We explained that she needed to take a step of faith. Pray and tell Heavenly Father that she is going to be baptized, unless she feels otherwise, instead of praying to know if it is the right thing, because she already knows. We committed her to March 29! 

One cool thing I was studying today(?) was that commandments aren't temporal. All the commandments we have are because they help us spiritually! I don't know. It's really cool to think about it that way. 

Last Monday, we went to Stanley Park! We were going to be there with the STLs, Sister Flinders and Sister Rogers, but we weren't able to meet up with them when we got there. But we were with Hermana Lee and Hermana Cobb. It was so fun, even if it was so short. 

Last night we had dinner at la casa de la familia Fajardo. We ate such good food! Hna Fajardo is from Chile and served her mission in Vancouver, English speaking. She made chicken, rice, and a cucumber tomato salad. I ate half a chicken. We all did. I love it. The rice was so good, and of course, the salad. Then, we ate pastel de papa! It was super delicious! She even sent us home some! And then she gave us dessert. It was a peach gelatin, with ice cream and whipped cream on top, and raspberries. It was so good! They have the cutest dog, and get this, a ferret! 

Hermana Williamson and I were studying the other day, and the Spirit totally directed us to something we had to do. And that is find a way to get the members active and involved, especially in missionary work. We have some awesome plans, coming soon! So hold on to your seats everyone! 

Today, we are spending all P day with the other Hermanas! Hermana Lee goes home April 1st, so we are getting in as much bonding time as possible. We are going to have a Restoration party! We are too excited. 

We had Zone Conference on Tuesday and it was awesome! Loving life. 

Have a great week! Do something extraordinary for another child of God who needs it! Everyone needs something! 

Con amor y todo, 

Hermanita Lewis

Reunited at Stanley Park

Totem pole

Water bender?

Beacho the ferret