Week 10

Hey Loved Ones,

Being on mission is crazy. Just when you think you'll never teach the law of chastity as a first contact lesson, Heavenly Father puts it in your path. He definitely has a sense of humor. 

This week was also full of miracles. There are people out there looking for what the Gospel has to offer and they don't know where to find it.

A lot of miracles are invisible--probably most--but the clearest ones come from tracting. President Cleveland (former BYU basketball coach) wants us to go tracting 12 hours every week. We try and get in the full amount even if we only have 15 minutes here or there. One day we had that kind of situation--where we had too much to do and only could tract in between lessons. But we wanted to  be diligent. First person to answer the door says, "We're in the middle of a family meeting. Can you come back later?" Which sounds like an excuse. But then he says, "You're the Mormons, right? Come back Saturday at 1. We used to have missionaries that lived a floor above us. We were such great friends and had them over for BBQ all the time. Then we moved. So come back, you can teach us, and then we will talk about having you over for BBQ!"

If that wasn't enough of a miracle, what happens next is. When we see them again, the wife greets us like old friends. The whole family seems happy to see us, except their 8 year old son Izzy isn't there. His mom says, "Izzy likes to go 'find friends' around the neighborhood. He will come back soon with a friend he's made and then we will start a lesson." Sister Gregerson and I got a strong impression that we needed to change the lesson we were going to teach and tell a story from the Book of Mormon instead. Izzy comes back with two new friends he has made, and we invite them to listen. They were very touched by the story of the 2000 Strippling Warriors.

But after the closing prayer, the two friends, Nicholas and Logan come up to us and say, "Uh..we're Mormon." We think they must be confused because we haven't seen them at church and we have the ward roster practically memorized, and they are no where on it. But they say they are, they know the name of the Bishop, and say their parents don't really take them to church anymore but they loved to go. We ask them if they had missionaries at their house ever. "Yes," they say, "We loved the Elders but they don't come anymore! Let's take you to our house!" So across the neighborhood they lead us to their house. The parents are busy but say we can come back. As we leave the boys yell, "Thanks for coming to visit us! Come back soon!" Cutest thing ever.

We look at home, and sure thing their family is not on the records. It was just the most crazy, off the wall :coincidence" to me. That this family would be so receptive, and that their son--out of all the kids in the neighborhood--would choose the two children of inactive parents who had their records removed. And we totally changed the lesson we were going to give too! If we hadn't told a story from the Book of Mormon that those kids recognized, they may have never told us they were Mormon. It's almost like...God knows His children and is mindful of them...or something? 

I know the Lord is mindful of you and what you need, and even when you don't see His hand, He is there!

And I love you, But Jesus Loves You BEST!

Sister Pugmire