"We see miracle after miracle. I have never been so happy."

Here is this weeks letter from Morgan - it is long, but it is good. Lots of happy stories with her investigators! As always, my questions are in green, her answers are in red!  Here is the only photo from this week!

 I think this is like the first time I've ever really been sunburned...

and I think it was just because it hasn't been sunny for agesss here!

Okay, so I am SOOO happy you got your package.  You didn't mention the pop rocks, or the beef jerky some guy wanted there, and what about the awesome scrubbie sponge and scrub brush...did you get all of it?? If you got the shoes, I assume it was all there, but I just had to ask. You said shoes and tootsie rolls (a lot of them I might add) and the chocolate from Sis. VanderLinden, but what about those other things????? Just curious!!

All of it!! Thank you!

I forwarded a photo from Morgan Evans from your email. He's is finished in August.  His dad will pick him up and they will travel through Romania home and they have permission for lunch or dinner with Spencer who will be there by then.  That's is cool.  Mike Dial is home in August, and Adelide Christensen is then end of a September.  Emily Burgoyne is September, Christine Alley and Andrew Dunford, too!!!  It is crazy.  All at once and SOOO many it seems like.  I hope you get to read the ward newsletter, I hope you get it still.  It is amazing, the messages are so good.  This one for JULY you will have to be sure and read.  The messages, to me, are great. And if you ever want to write your own note to the ward, please do and I will use it FOR SURE.   This month, July, we have Henry Christensen, Tyler Bodily, and Paul Schwartz from our ward going out--Spencer Evans left last week!

So crazyyy. Time FLIES! Literally..Becca gets home end of November....what! SO WEIRD!

Sis. Peterson came to me today and asked how you are doing.  I told her awesome!!
Thanks for the fun pics last week.  I LOVE pics.  I even put the dirty feet one on your blog.  Eeeww!  Dirty!

HAHAHA SO FUNNY!

Ashley is in Ogden this week.  She is going to help Heidi with her kids so she invited her to come up last Friday and stay til probably Saturday or whatever. She stays with Justin's niece Friday through Monday, and then Heidi needs her Tues, Wed, and Thurs.  She gets to ride horses, babysit Heidi's cute kids, and she just loves it!  We may never get her home either.  You and her love your new surroundings so much.  Makes me happy that you're both happy though.

I cant even explain how much I love this area and my investigators. LOVE EVERYTHING!!

I need to tell you a story...I will try to hurry!  After Alex finished in the temple, my brother Steve's friend from high school took us "behind the scenes" in the temple.  A teeny tiny bit like what Keith Jensen did for us---by the way Keith and Shelley just got called for an inner city mission--anyway, at the end of "looking around", Jed said to Alex, the most important thing you can do for your investigators is focus on the temple. Tell them "that is their goal" and baptism is just a step in the right direction to being sealed together as a family FOREVER.  I wanted to tell you that, I know you know, but I really liked that thought.  If they want to be a forever family, they must get baptized and work toward worthiness to enter into the temple and be sealed as a family.  Loved that!

So true! Too many people get baptized and think that's it...but that's not even close! We are working with a lot of in-actives who think that.  MAGDA CAME TO CHURCH SUNDAY!! Remember her...Maria and Douglas...well Magda came with her kids to church Sunday...MIRACLE!!! We had 5 investigators in church Sunday. I can't tell you how happy it makes me too see them in church!!

DID YOU GET GMA AND GPAS package yet? 

No not yet!

Your bus story last week! Funny, BUT, we (well me only maybe) are waiting for the end of the story.  How did you catch them, or did they stop, or what??  I hope your leg/knee is doing okay while your out chasing buses in Guatemala.  How about the rest of you?  All is well??  The dog story I didn't like as much!  Glad for that backpack that saved you though!!

So funny, the bus stopped finally, but it was just so FUNNY! My knee is great. Haven't had problems. I am so grateful.  We have funny stories every week. Some I wont tell for a couple months :) and some more I will tell you later on in the letter!! HAHAHA I loveeeee the mission!

So the picture of the baptism you sent last week...I'm not sure who that was??  Do you remember?

Well I sent one with Cristian and one with Edgar...Cristian has the glasses and Edgar is younger!

What else is happening with your other investigators?

Are you still in the house with Amy and Sis Yepez? According to Laurie Funk, you ended up going with Hepmana Yepez last week...I bet that was SOOO fun!

It was so fun!! I loved it!! We found this way cool family...but yes we are still in the same house. Speaking of the house, we now have a swimming pool in our study area..we have water seeping up through the tile floor! HAHAHAHA WE DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO! It is pretty funny.

Did Dennis change his study time to be able to come to church yet?

How is Rocio doing.  You didn't mention her? Arjona, Sergio?
I loved the little boys comment about the video...so touching.  The Stake Conference Singer story is funny too!  Poor guy!  You only write in Spanish the name of the video...I don't know what to look up!

Gracias a el is thanks to him....but I don't know what its called in English for real...look up gracias a el...it might come up in English!! (I couldn't find it, if anyone can, let me know!)

Tell us all about your week.  I love you so much.  We pray for you every prayer.

Love you!
Mom

I hope this week you can copy and paste - this is long!  Sorry!I had to forward this to you.  I am on the iPad and sent it with NO RECIPIENT, duh.  So it goes to me and I have to forward it to you!  At least I didn't loose it all.

Oh, and PINGREE'S get home this week, I think Tuesday.  Forgot to tell you that!

Oh ya!! They did end. So weird.

Ok, ahora para mis amados investigadores. 

This week we found this great kid. His name is Heiyson which is pronounced like Jason He is 13. and he is the cousin of one of our converts. He told us one day he wanted to listen, and we told him we needed permission from his parents. So he said he would talk to them and we could teach him the next day. We taught him the next day and in his prayer at the end he said, Ayudeme que puedo bautizarme porque eso es mi mayor deseo.....aka help me to be baptized because its my greatest desire. WE ARE SO EXCITED FOR HEIYSON. He is such a strong, faithful, young boy. He only is 13 and he asked if he could receive a priesthood blessing for his leg that has been hurting him since he was a kid and had surgery. He has his baptism date for July 13. He has invited his family to church. He asked me if I would baptize him. He doesn't even care if the water is going to be cold. He is going to seminary. HE IS SO COOL!! LOVE THIS KID!!

Dennis went to school Sunday to change his schedule. His director wasn't there!!! I DIED WHEN HE TOLD US! But he is going to see if there is a way to get a hold of them this week. We taught Dennis Word of Wisdom this week and he was so funny. He was like so I cant drink coffee ever? We said no...never. He said not even a little bit?! NO NUNCA!! and he goes, well that's easy I don't even drink coffee....then he goes, wait not even when I'm a grandpa? hahaha this past lesson we had with him he hadn't read in his Book of Mormon and the first thing he said was, you guys are going to get mad....and we said why what happened?  He said well I didn't read...HE FELT SO BAD! hahaha but he promised he would read every day....he prays all the time to be forgiven for not reading...he's so great. We asked him the other day why he wants to go on a mission. He said because I know its the true church and I want to go out like you guys and be a missionary!! HI -- WE WERE SOOO HAPPY! Dennis told us that he sentio frio...aka he felt cold...when he didn't read. He didn't like it, so he said he was going to read every day so he could feel the Spirit more. HE IS TOO AWESOME!

Arjona is too cool. His mom died a couple years ago and we taught the Plan of Salvation and included baptisms for the dead. I wish you all could have seen his face when we explained it. He is too awesome. We asked him what changes he has seen in his life as he started listening to us...he said he has noticed a huge difference in his patience and he feels that this is an answer to his prayers. He is working Sundays but just with his dad so he told us he was going to change it so he could go this week.

We haven't seen Sergio this week very much except for one time.when we miraculously...I cant spell (I fixed it-her spelling is bad now!)...found him sitting outside of his house. Well he is way awesome and has such a deep desire to know the truth. He told us he doesn't like being taught outside so he is going to find somewhere where we can teach him.

We found this great family this week. Yerani and Osmar....Osmar looks just like Peter Pan...the Peter Pan with the real people...he looks just like Jeremy Sumter who plays Peter Pan. Its funny. But Osmar was up on the roof of his house...3 stories...and we just saw him up there and started to contact him...he said they were going to come down and we could teach them. Well he is 18, his wife is 22 and they have a 3 year old daughter Fatima. They are amazing. I have never had a lesson in the street so powerful. They have such a great desire to know the truth. We are super excited about them.  He told us how they met....he said oh...tomando...aka drinking. And he said he has changed and really wants a better life for his family. He loves his family so much. They are just an amazing little family and we cant wait to see them in white!!!

Yesterday we went to Walmart, the mall and Mcdonalds....yes, I ate a McDonalds hamburger, fries, and a Mcflurry of Kit Kat (Spencer is laughing at the way she talks in English now 'McFlurry of Kit Kat')....I will admit it was pretty good..I am shocked as well...the mission has changed me. (When I read that Spencer, said, ya, she can't speak right anymore) I AM STILL FULL THOUGH! It was SO MUCH FOOD!! hahahaha but it was funny. My companion and I were just DYING! Like so full but laughing and it hurt..but so funny! 

I love the opportunity I have to be here. I have realized the importance of obedience and diligence this week. It is something President and Hermana Brough always taught...but I realized it's because without the Spirit we are worthless here...and without diligence and obedience we won't have the Spirit. The Spirit changes people and we have seen that change this week in so many investigators. It is incredible. We see miracle after miracle. I have never been so happy. Alma 29:9-10 explains the mission. The mission is GOZO..aka JOY! I just feel so grateful and so blessed. I hope you are all reading in your Books of Mormon and really studying. It is amazing the power that this little book has. I have never loved it more. I know that is is the word of God and that it contains all that we need. Keep being amazing. Keep serving. Keep learning and growing.  I never realized how much time I wasted before my mission. The whole idea of not being light minded has hit me hard this week. I don't even know why, but it is so easy to fall into that trap of wasting time on things not important at all.

Oh I found this great talk that I think you should read for FHE. It reminded me of the scripture that talks about bearing the cross of Christ. Its from this past conference...Jeffrey R. Holland called The Cost-and Blessings-of Discipleship. (That scripture from a couple letters ago is Jacob 1:8)

Hermana Oliphant