Tender Mercies!

Familia,

Hermana Training Leaders

This week has been a little bit more difficult for us after a wonderful, successful month of April.  We have been really struggling to find prepared investigators in the past two or three weeks and we are now seeing big changes in our numbers as we don't have many progressing investigators or families coming to church. This past week we had 17 new investigators the majority of which were juntados (unmarried couples living together) and/or children with whom we couldn't set baptismal dates. Right now we are basically starting from ground zero to find God's elect and help them progress until June. We have a few possibilities for this month and I am working to have more faith but right now we are not looking great to reach our goal for May.

I am still searching in my heart and in our work to find what we need to improve. We evaluated our companionship yesterday and set new goals to help us improve in becoming more exactly obedient, using our time in more effective ways and in becoming better teachers. I am still continuing to learn and develop more faith and humility personally as well.

Hermanas Millet and Miller

Despite our difficulties this week we did have some wonderful tender mercies. Two of these experiences came with less actives. On Sunday we were on our way to contact a few references when we passed the home of a woman that I knew was less active with a non member husband. I didn't know her very well but felt that we should stop by and try to talk to her and her husband. Her husband wasn't home so I knew we only had 15 minutes to get to know her and find out how to help her family. As we asked her about her history and why she became inactive, I began telling her how we had felt prompted to come to her because Heavenly Father knows her and loves her and wants her to come back. She took my hand and began to cry and told me how she has had the desire for months to come back to church and how grateful she was that we had come by. Those words were not mine and I know it was the spirit who spoke directly to her heart. It was such a miraculous little moment to be a part of the answer to her prayer. We have an appointment to meet with her and her husband, who has expressed interest in the church to her, this week.

Another of these experiences occurred one morning as we were looking for a few other references. We didn't have plans to visit this area until later but found ourselves nearby. We stopped by one home to ask if they knew the reference and after talking to this woman for a few minutes she told us that she is a member. We asked if we could share a message with her and her two children who are not members. As we began talking something similar happened again. She began to cry and told us how she has felt so alone and needed the help of her Heavenly Father. She told us that she had seen us before and said she knew in seeing us in the street that I was going to help her. I don't ever remember seeing her but I know that the Lord does. He leads us to those who need us.

As President Monson once said, "The best feeling in the world is to follow the promptings of the spirit and later learn that it was the answer to someone's prayer." This week I was disappointed and saddened by our results but as I sat in sacrament meeting yesterday contemplating our week I realized that despite our lack of success we have had wonderful spiritual experiences in which we were able to help God`s children. I am still devoted to improving and finding more success but I am not going to dwell on what we didn't accomplish. Instead, I am going to be grateful for each sacred experience and enjoy the small moments of joy I experience each day.

One more wonderful experience I wanted to share about following the spirit occurred on Tuesday afternoon. Our plans changed a little during the day and we found ourselves in the street trying to decide where Heavenly Father needed us to go. We said a prayer and both of us felt two different directions so after looking at our planner we decided to pray one more time. Trying to look at both options equally I thought of two different names, a member reference named Stella in Ameghino and a contact named Eduardo in Lanusse. We decided to head to Ameghino and found Stella at home. We had a wonderful lesson about repentance and set a baptismal date with her! After working a little more we headed back to Lanusse and miraculously found Eduardo's wife just pulling into the driveway. She invited us in and we taught them both. Later that night I realized that both of the names I had in my head during our prayer were the two lessons which we had that evening.

I am so grateful for a Heavenly Father who guides our lives if we are just willing to ask and listen. I know he will continue to guide us to find prepared people this week as I strive to be worthy of and listen to his spirit in every moment.

Please keep praying for me to have more faith and to find out what I need to improve this week. We have a pretty stressful week this week with divisions Tuesday and Wednesday, more training on Thursday and an Hermanas Conference on Saturday in which we have been asked to talk to all the Hermanas about obedience, so I won't be in my area to work from Tuesday until Friday. We also have been assigned to teach Relief Society on Sunday. Needless to say we're both a little stressed and need lots of faith and prayers.

Also, please pray for Hermana Castellanos. She hasn't taken the change from Lujan very well and two weeks ago she ended up fainting and having a hard time breathing two days in a row. The doctors think it is stress. She changed companions and has spent lots of time in the mission home. I have been able to talk to her on the phone and in person and Hermana Carter is keeping me updated but more prayers are always welcome.

I hope you are all doing well! I love you soo much!  I am so excited to talk to you this upcoming week and see your beautiful faces.

LOVE YOU!

Love your favorite mosquito hating missionary, Hermana Millet