Mountains and Miracles

Mis queridos,   I love my new companion!!! Sister Garbett is from Alabama and has been out for around the same amount of time as I have been. This is the first time that I haven't been in training or training someone else so it's a little different! But I love feeling like we both decently know what we're doing. I feel like I'm getting a break since training was pretty stressful for me. I learned some humility though, so that's good. I've had some sweet experiences with being led by the Spirit. I've finally figured out that companionship unity and following the Spirit are always more important than what I think. Still working on completely applying that knowledge, but it's pretty cool. Yesterday we were headed to an apartment and then I had an impression to change plans and go somewhere else. We ended up finding someone at home with their member brother there which opened the opportunity for us to go in! And another time we contacted a lady and found...

Ok Fam!   First, I'm sorry my last two letters have been lame and short and if I seemed kind of bummed out. I want my letters to encourage and uplift all of you! Of course missionary life isn't easy and I won't pretend it is, but still. This week has been very very eventful! First things, transfer calls!! And....I'M STAYING. Against everything I thought would happen Hermana Coleman is the one getting transferred and I'm staying in my first area! Let's go 6 months in my first area what?! I've been preparing myself to leave but it was not to be. Time to trust God that He has more for me to do here!    My companion was super sad though, this weekend has been full of crying with our investigators and members. Ok I didn't give myself a lot of time again so I'll try to give some highlights from the week. First, we had exchanges with the Sister Training Leaders at the beginning of the week and it changed my life literally. I just had a lot of good reali...

My favorite people, Naturally in the course of missionary life, a really amazing week is followed by a pretty hard one. So that's what happened this week.    Allow me to introduce our investigator [L]. We had the most difficult lesson with her this week. She is from Puerto Rico and from and Evangelical family and knows the Bible well. We tried to teach her about the premortal life this week but she had doubts and then got back on the topic of some of her concerns about women in the church and the lesson just felt contentious. I was trying so hard to salvage the Spirit and trying to teach her something but she was going off and just wouldn't listen! At one point in the lesson I looked at her and said, [L], are you happy? She said well no, but I feel happy when I read the Bible. I tried to promise her more happiness when she read the Book of Mormon, but she said she didn't believe in it. I just wanted so bad for her to open her heart to the love God has for her but I coul...

Mi querida familia y amados amigos,   It was a pretty amazing week actually! Too much to tell but wow, what a time to be a missionary to say the least. Our dear prophet President Monson has reunited with his Savior. My companion and I could barely plan the morning afterwards because we were crying, but mostly I'm filled with a reverant respect for this dear man. Not every missionary goes through a change of the prophet on their mission. We will be testifying soon that someone new is the Lord's mouthpiece on the earth in these latter-days. I invite you all to learn for yourself through prayer about the divine calling of God's new prophet. This is an important thing for all of us to do. Favorite quote: "May we ever choose the harder right instead of the easier wrong."    My companion and I had the privilege of going to temple square that very night. (You know you're in Utah when you see billboards saying "In Loving Memory" of President Monson) ...

Feliz Año Nuevo a mis queridos!!   I didn't give myself a lot of time today so just a couple things. It's been a good week, we had exchanges and miracles and lessons and door knocks and a hearty toast of sparkling juice counting down to missionary bedtime :) Most exciting, [A] got baptized!! I'm not sure how much I've talked about her before but she basically found the missionaries. She speaks English, but she wanted Sisters so that's why we've been teaching her. Just an example of how prepared she was, a couple days before her baptism we were planning on teaching her about fasting but she brought it up first and said, you know I think I want to fast before my baptism. Like who says that? She is so great. She has great faith and it was a good reminder for me to remember that baptism is only the first step, or the gun going off in our race for eternal life. She was concerned about not knowing everything, but we assured her she knows enough. In a talk from Eld...