Miracles (Email) 02.02.2009

Hola mi familia!

How are you all doing? I hope you´re all doing well. Well, I read parts of the letters that Mom and Dad sent me. I don´t know what to say about Uncle Richard. Wow. Our family is so blessed. I am so grateful that he went to the doctor, that they prevented the heart attack, and that he is recovering from the surgery. I´m grateful that mom could be with aunt Becky up at the hospital, and that Lisa had the opportunity to be his nurse part of the time. A lot of tender mercies. Know that I will be praying for him, and for all of the family. I´m grateful for a loving Heavenly Father, who has a plan for each of us. He takes care of us, and gives us the experiences that we need in order to become more like Him, and His Son, Jesus Christ. It´s amazing how Heavenly Father helps us remember what is most important.

Well, this has been a good week. Dad, you had written me several questions last week, but I´m afraid I forgot to write them down so I´ll have to respond next week. Sorry about that! The one I do remember is how much I see my mission president - or talk to him. I have an interview with him once every transfer, so about every six weeks. Every once in a while he calls to encourage us, etc... as well so that´s nice. We called him last night with some questions about our area, and I really enoyed talking to him. He talked about finding people, exercising our faith, having patience, and being diligent. And he promised me that there are people in my area who are ready to accept and live the Gospel. We just need to find them. I was very grateful for the opportunity to talk to him, and the encouragement he gave me. I needed it.

I am so excited that you made a list of people that you can share the truths of the gospel with! I know that Heavenly Father will answer your prayers and let you know who is prepared to learn about the Gospel. He wants us, His children, to return to live with Him!

How exciting that Nathan got his mission call! Yay! California, spanish speaking. That´s great. Do you know if he ever got the card I sent to him? I hope I used the right address... I was trying to remember from memory and I don´t know if I got it right. Anyway, tell him I´m excited for him, and that he should start studying Preach My Gospel and Spanish! That´ll help a lot in the field. :D

So we´re still getting every figured out. An interesting experience. The other missionaries had been visiting less-active members in the ward, but it turns out that several of them are actually in the Elders area. So we´re working on contacting and finding the less-active members in our area. 

My concern is that the less-active members and the recent converts in the other area aren´t going to understand why we suddenly can´t visit them anymore, unless we´re eating lunch with them. Change can be hard. However, we have to follow the rules. They´re for the good of everyone. If they understand that we´re doing it out of obedience, I pray that they´ll understand.

One man in our ward told us he had talked to the son of a less-active member in the ward, who is one of his relatives, and he said he would like to start going to a church. So he suggested that we stop by. Hermana Ramirez had gone by the house before, and the woman had ZERO interest in talking to the missionaries. But we decided to find the house and pass by again, with the hopes that her son would be there.

So we found the house, and clapped :D. She came out, and we introduced ourselves as normal, and asked what she knows about the church, etc... She said she had a story about the church, and we said that we had time to listen. :D So she let us go in her house, and she then poured her heart out to us with all her problems. As we sang ¨Where Can I Turn For Peace¨ she just cried. I know she felt the Spirit, and that we were supposed to be in her house and that moment. We´re going to go to her house and have FHE Wednesday, and we´re going to teach her and atleast one of her kids. She needs the gospel in her life again.

We eat with the members almost every day of the week. It´s still all getting worked out. But we should have about every day (lunch) from here on out. We´re pretty blessed. And I know that the members will be blessed as well.

I´m going to start teaching English once a week. In the mean time I´m trying to help Hna. Ramirez with English. Who knew that English is so complicated? :o)

We found a couple of new investigators this week. We´re praying that they´ll progress, and that we´ll be able to teach in such a way that they understand the importance of the Gospel, and what a treasure it is. I´m really trying to think about how I can improve my teaching so people can understand.

I love you all so much. I´m so grateful for eternal families. Thank you for your examples. Thank you for teaching me the truths of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. We can live with God, Jesus Christ, and our families forever. I don´t have any doubt. Everything depends on us, our decisions, and our own willingness to repent - to change the things in our lives that aren´t in line with Heavenly Father´s will and teachings. 

I love you!
Hermana Jana Pincock