We've had a bit of a crazy week. The ward gave us a "Member Unknown" list...either people who had moved in recently or whom the ward had not really ever been able to contact! So we spent this week doing some detective work trying to bring people back to the fold! Having an invitation for the ward Halloween party with a chili-cook off and dessert bar doesn't hurt either. 
There were some interesting experiences...but here's one that sticks out.
While trying to track down one sister named Brogan, we came to her house and discovered it vacant. We knocked on the neighbor's doors trying to find where she might have gone. They all said the family had left suddenly. Then on one of the neighbor's lawns, I saw a sign that said "FREE KITTENS." 
I didn't really think that they would know where Brogan went. But I wanted to pet the free kittens. Sure enough when we knocked, the woman who opened the door, Anna, had no clue, but she showed me her kittens! We got talking, and when she found out what church we were from she told us she went to the Temple Open House! She was SO emphatic on how much she loved it, and just adored being there, but said that she herself "just wasn't a church going type of girl." I had a feeling that it was because she didn't feel good enough, so I invited her to the ward Halloween party. She was so touched that we had invited her! She mentioned the friends who had brought her to the Open House, the Hollinbaughs, and said they were probably going too. I didn't bother to tell her they were actually in Fishers Ward, and told her to call them and see! (You may think the missionaries don't know who you are...we do
)
We had another address on our list where Brogan might be, so we drove straight there after our time with the kitties. No answer. We were turning around to leave when a lady shouted, "Hey! Who are you? Where are you from?" It turned out the lady was Brogan's mom, and she was able to give us her new address! It was a miracle to me, because her mom was JUST getting home, and if we had not heeded the prompting to play with kitties we would have missed her by a few short minutes!
When we got home I called the Hollinbaugh's number and told them about our exchange with Anna. They were shocked. "She came to the Open House and seemed to like it, but afterward she never ended up meeting with missionaries and we never really talked about it again. We thought she wasn't interested. We thought she was just being polite."
I had a Zone Leader who called this the "Utah-Idaho Syndrome." This mostly happens in areas where the Church is more well-known, but I've noticed it here a ton too. People assume because people have had contact with the Church or know about it, if they were interested they would already meet with missionaries or come to church or something. But sometimes, all it takes is an invitation to make someone feel worthwhile.
Preach My Gospel states in Chapter 11, "People will not likely change unless they are invited to do so." Jesus knew this and demonstrated this so perfectly. His invitations were clear and impossible to miss. "Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men." Even when faced with heavy sins, such as the woman taken in adultery, he gave her a simple invitation: "Go and sin no more." He never demanded people change, he simply loved them and served them, and had compassion on them, which for them was life-changing. You have no idea how many people have never felt, or never learned to recognize, the Spirit of God or what His love feels like in their whole life, but it's something that people will feel when they speak with His followers. Remember that. 
And I love you, but Jesus loves you best!
Sister Pugmire
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