So this week was AWESOME!! A little rough and very exhausting, but awesome!!!
So we got to talk to Tanya, and she brought up the stuff she read on the internet. It was really simple stuff to discuss and resolve, and while it seemed at the beginning of the conversation she was prepared to drop us, she quickly decided that wouldn't be a good idea. She feels so confused, because the internet is saying one thing and we're saying another.
Here's kinda the cool thing, though; the reason she went on the internet hunting for so long and read and watched so much stuff is because she is just SO HUNGRY to know the truth for herself. She's been praying and reading and studying, and she really wants to know which way she's supposed to go. Which is great. We encouraged her to go straight to the horse's mouth and read from teh Book of Mormon, and listen to General Conference.
There's a recen convert (Yoshi) we've been talking to (she's been baptized for like two years now) and we kept getting a prompting to see her....like, everyday. And we started thinking, "alright, is this God telling us to do something, or do we jsut really like to be around her?" But, she needed us everyday that week. Badly.
When we're in a lesson with Tanya, we kept getting the impression, "She needs to be friends with Yoshi." Which, honestly, defied logic for me, because Yoshi talks a lot, and Tanya needs to be listened to. Yoshi was a reverand before she converted and actually joined the Church because she knew the Bible so well, and it was the only religion that had everything the Bible had. She knows everything, and tells us everything and is always explaining scripture and what this prophecy meant and this and that, and we love it, but the last thing we want to do to an investigator is firehose her to bits.
The problem is, Tanya kinda has been wanting to be firehosed. ANd she's been firehosing herself with the wrong stuff. So, as always, turns out God knows better than we do and they hit it off. Yoshi took her and us to the Mesa temple visitor's center. We watched the videos and she talked all about temples and prophets and apostles and the Book of Mormon and everything. Tanya really seemed to enjoy it. She also relates a lot with Yoshi, and they seem to enjoy being together.
Cindy and David loooove going to Church. They absolutely love the Church. They just don't see any reason to be baptized into it, when they can just attend. Haha. Well, it's a start. Sometimes Cindy is hard to teach because she talks so much, and tbh, we can't always tell if she's sober or not, but when she wants to listen, she REALLY listens, and she feels the Spirit, and you can see that she wants to be forgiven and she wants this badly. She struggles with the idea of a Savior, the reason why Christ had to go through what He went through, but while she can't really name that that's what she wants, the way she talks and asks questions, you can see that's exactly what she wants in her life. I love working with these people, so much. I love seeing them grow and watching God's hand work in their life.
Tammy and Talie haven't been coming to church. :C BUT They've been practicing for the cultural celebration (Phoenix temple is opening up soon!!) and they absolute love that!!
It was really fun, we're close friends with the members who divied up the partners. And we were asking who Tammy and Talie's partners were, and also the Amary teenaged girl (She's not a member, but she enjoys mutual). And when we heard, our jaws droped, because THEY WERE SO PERFECT!!!!! And we were jumping and getting all excited, it was just so amazing how they got exactly the kind of partners they needed to make this a good experience for them. So we asked these members how they decided on partners. They said they prayed about it and did it kinda like how they assign Visiting or Home teachers.
Boy, was it clear. It was SO COOL. Only God could make it that perfect.
We ran into an interesting fellow last night. We were walking passed to knowck on a door of a person we were looking for, and he was really warm and friendly and waved. He asked if we were Mormons, and we said we were. Apparently he had met with missionaries about a year and a half ago. He absolutely loved our Church. He loved the Book of Mormon and the doctrines and the standards and the culture, loved everything about it. "If I had the choice between your church and hte one I'm going to know, I'd choose the Mormon Church," he said. Then he gave an apologetic shrug and said, "But....I'm Catholic. Always been, always will be. My whole family's Catholic. My parents are Catholic. My kids will be Catholic."
So we probably won't be able to teach him, which is sad, but we hope to visit him maybe once or twice. He was SO NICE. Maybe next time we have treats to give out, we'll give them to him. So many people I just want to hang out and be friends with and bake treats for htem and their family all the time. I can't wait to have neighbors.
yesterday was the primary program, btw. Merry was told a few days ago that she had the most kids in primary out of the whole ward.
"I don't know if I should laugh or cry," she said. "Can I get a medal or something, at least?" haha.
....I think that's it for the week. More stuff always happens, but that was the main stuff. Thanks for the leters and the prayers! I can feel the prayers, and it's a little crazy and weird, but I really appreciate them!! Thanks for being awesome people!! I love you all!!
-Sister Stratford
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