Dear Beloved Family and Friends
We have had a week filled with miracles and heartbreaks. I remember Brother Hughes saying in Sacrament Meeting one time "Life is made of meetings and partings" and this week was the epitome of that. We found miracle new investigators who I love with all my heart, but we had to say goodbye to the Watkins' who have become like my second parents. It's been so tough this week, after working with them for six hours a day every day since January last year, to never seeing them. I miss Sister Watkins' hugs and Elder Watkins' FBI stories and doctrinal chats and I just miss their love and their humour and their guidance day after day. I'm sure I'll love the new Directors soon enough, but the VC just feels different and I really really really miss the Watkins, we all do. To say goodbye to them we had a testimony meeting in the morning. We all had the opportunity to bear testimony, and it really hit me that I have like 8 weeks left as a missionary. Tears freely flowed as I thought of all the tender mercies I have been blessed to witness, and how I have been stretched and taught and changed and how I never ever want this to end. I bore testimony of the love our Saviour has for every single individual, even those who have "descended below all things" who feel the least worthy of love". I've never felt that stronger on my mission than this week. I'll write about why later. I bore testimony that our Saviour and Heavenly Father spent time with us in the pre-mortal life, training us for this. I could hardly talk for the tears. I know I was supposed to come to this VC to meet the Watkins and learn from them and be reunited with them, because we've known each other for a lot longer than just this year. I needed them, and now I will soldier on for the last few weeks without them but with the Saviour. The testimony meeting with absolutely beautiful, I love hearing missionaries bear testimony, and then we all sung God Be With You and there wasn't a dry eye in the room. I think you can't explain or understand these moments unless you were there. We all gathered in one big group hug and cried and prayed. We sung Called to Serve out by the Christus and unravelled a banner we'd made saying We Love You and we wrote our names and memories of them we have on it and gave it to them. Then they got in the car and drove away :'(((( We each had a balloon which we released as they left so they could see the balloons for miles while they drove to San Diego. Oh it was heart breaking!! I miss them every day but I'm sure I'll get used to it soon enough!
Yesterday we had the best p-day ever!! We woke up in the morning and realised it was Martin Luther King day so the libraries were closed and we would have a really long p-day cos we wouldn't be able to email. And we also realised that all our student friends would be off school. We sent out a mass text to everyone asking what they were doing today and got lots of responses and a group of 11 of us went hiking in Snow Canyon park! It was SO hot haha, we all wished we were in shorts and t-shirts and needed our sunglasses! But it was hilarious because one of the girls' family has an 11 seater van so we all fitted in it and it was like school trip days haha. Except without music or fun because the missionaries were there. Haha but it was a group of all of our favourite people here in the YSA wards. And it was a hilarious day! We laughed so much and had a great time! We all got ice-cream after the hike too. It was a really good hike. I discovered how awkward I'm going to be after my mission, because I see these people every day and always know what to talk about with them while we're in teaching situations or missionary council meetings, but as soon as it was a social thing I knew absolutely nothing to say and ended up saying "...So...how did you do your area book on your mission?" hahaha and thought wow I am SUCH an awkward missionary. What am I supposed to talk about apart from missionary work? It's all I know. But it reminded me of hiking the Y and reading scriptures and running back down each week at BYU. I miss that! It was a great p-day with great memories made.
Our Ward boundaries have all changed in our Stake so now we have to memorize all the boundaries all over again and now we only cover four Wards instead of five. So it's going to be different but we'll adjust. We started off with a difficult week because all the investigators we found last week came out with their concerns about the Book of Mormon and not wanting to go to Church or just not wanting to meet with us because they want to focus on school. One day this week we found out that one of our investigators on date for baptism is on probation for a serious crime probably for the rest of his life, then the next two stood us up, then the next three told us they don't want to meet with us anymore. By 9pm I was so heartbroken and sad that I got a blessing and picked right back up and went to work again. Those days are TOUGH but character building. We just keep praying and doing what we can. We read the story in the Bible of the friends lowering their friends down from the roof and how they went the extra mile to get their friend to Jesus and we thought how we need to be those kinds of Missionaries who go the extra mile to get their friends to Jesus. So we bought little presents for them all, pictures of Christ or random things we think they'll like. It's gone down well because they see that we truly care about them enough to think about them and buy them something. N mentioned how much he loves the hymns (and we saw him singing along, it was so cute) so we bought him his own little hymn book and got his name engraved. We are giving it to him after this :)
We had a killer lesson with N this week. We decided that we need to increase his spirituality at Church then he might want to get baptised. So we did a lesson in the Church by the Sacrament table then in front of the baptismal font. We brought the Ward Mission Leader, and a recent convert who has a powerhouse testimony. The Spirit was so strong and I will forever remember how I felt there and all the people I love so much. N loved it and is getting closer and closer. Z the recent convert just asked him "When are you getting baptized?" and he said he doesn't know but then he was asking him all these questions and it was good because then we got a window to what his concerns are by what he was asking. It was a powerful evening that I'll never forget.
We went to Chill Night as usual on Thursday and there was this girl wearing huge crucifix earrings. I sat by her and at the end she asked what the Book of Mormon is so we set up an appointment for two days time. She was actually there when we went and we had a powerful lesson! She said she thinks it's stupid how people don't listen to the Prophet and so we invited her to be baptized in February and she accepted and we knelt down and she prayed and she just cried and cried and said she believes it's true and knows she should be baptized. She was at Church the next day which was incredible too! There are good things ahead for her. She gave great comments which impressed everyone! We spoke in her Sacrament Meeting where three of our investigators were and I spoke about being ready to meet the Lord one day and what we need to do to prepare and Sister Lipke spoke about making covenants with God haha.
So on Saturday night it was like two minutes to nine and we didn't want to go home early so we looked at our planner but decided that the Spirit was calling us another way. We went to contact a referral we'd been given but is never home, AND HE WAS HOME! And he opened the door!! And his cat ran out so we chased it and caught it, and then later on in the conversation his roommate opened the door and the cat got out again so we chased it again hahaa. It was an ice breaker! Then we made an appointment with him for Sunday at 12:30 just before his Sacrament Meeting, and we asked him "Do you really want to meet with us because most people make appointments and then stand us up but if you are really interested we will be there." and he said he was really interested. He is very genuine and nice. So we we were there and at 12:35 he walked in looking all flustered and sad and said "I didn't want to stand you up, but my friend in Vegas was just in a car accident and hasn't woken up and I need to go and see him but you said everyone stands you up and I didn't want to do that". He was crying and we felt so horrible for him and we wanted to give him a hug but obviously couldn't! We told him we understand and said that we could go in a room and pray with him. As is usual in Utah, Priesthood holders are everywhere and we grabbed two and they gave him a blessing!!! Afterwards we were talking with him and he said that he has studied Mormonism before and he likes it a LOT. I prayed to be guided what to say and in the hallway as we walked him to his car there were the pictures from the pamphlet The Restoration of the Priesthood so we explained what just happened, and then there was the picture of Jesus being baptised so we talked about baptism and PUT HIM ON DATE FOR BAPTISM!!! He willingly accepted. It was such a miracle and so perfectly orchestrated. He was ready to accept and learn. I just wonder if I'll be here for when they are baptized or if I'll be transferred in two weeks.
We discovered that E cannot be baptised without First Presidency approval so his baptism has been pushed back. But we have gotten really close with him this week and he is seeing us most days now. But on Sunday he disapppeared and hasn't contacted us which is always worrying but when he does that he usually comes back to us in a few days asking to see us so we believe he will do the same. I have never felt such a strong deep love for the people I serve with before on my mission, I absolutely love the people we meet with now and would do anything for them. It keeps me awake at night and they are all I can think about and pray about. I cry when I tell them how much I love them. I am so grateful for the love that Heavenly Father has for them because I know it's His love that I am feeling, not my own because my own love is so imperfect and His is so deep and perfect and is what every human soul is yearning for.
We had a breakthrough with M this week. We planned to stop by for the first time since he had been super high, two weeks ago, (I'll tell you what he did when I get home from my mission) but he contacted us - MIRACLE OF MIRACLES - asking for a lesson because it had been so long, and it was the exact time we had planned to see him. So he came and he apologised for whatever he did to us (he couldn't remember because he was high) but he remembered he felt bad and needed to say sorry, hah. We didn't tell him cos we didn't want him to feel bad. Then we told him he needed to come to Church each week if he wanted to meet with us because we can't give him the help he needs - he needs to go to 12 Step and Bishop will get him involved in that. Last night in a lesson he opened up to us about his friends and how he tries to leave them but always goes back and will do some soul searching and praying and will text us the verdict today. I just love him so much and want to help him so bad. We gave him a picture of Jesus hugging this man and he was touched.
I went on some good exchanges this week where I felt like I had been prepared by the Lord to help these Sisters because of experiences I had had in my mission. Both of them went really well and I was satisfied at the end. A got the Priesthood on Sunday and is doing well.
And Summer Allen came and we ate Chick-fil-a together on Saturday. It was a beautiful week where the Lord is teaching me charity and patience. It was filled with ups and downs but I've already forgotten the downs because the ups were so high! I will never forget the miracles I've seen this week and can never be the same person because of how much my mission has done for me. I am striving to make each day the best day of my mission!
Please pray for us! I love you so so so much!
Sister Nicholls
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