Hi family!
Wow, can you believe I only have one more week in my second transfer?!! This transfer has literally flown by!!! Thank you SO much for those numbers, family!
First, I wanted to let you know, mom and dad, how thankful I am for you two. Sis Wilson and I have talked abotu this a few times, but she never once had family scripture study and prayer growing up. she always did it on her own. She didn't even know it was a commandment! Thank you, THANK YOU for everything you have done for me Mom and Dad! You will never be able to fully understand how much that changed my life, reading and praying together as a family. I love you SO much. I owe my life to you both. I wish I could express to you how grateful I am for you two! I was on my knees for a long time the other night thanking our Heavenly Father that I was "born of goodly parents." I am very, very lucky to have you both as my earthly parents. Thank you so much.
Thank you for all the comments on my emails! I feel very blessed to have so many great family and friends reading these emails. It means a lot to me!
This week was a good week. It really flew by! This was by far the fastest week on my mission! (I have a feeling the rest of my mission will be this way too... ha!) We had a little quote we followed this week after weekly planning. It was this: "Say no to Satan!!!" HAHA! Love it. It worked too! ;) I'm trying to do better at not letting Satan get me down. He really works hard on us sisters. He knowws he can discourage us pretty easily and make us feel inadequate... but we are not!!! Never I say! I thought of D&C 84:88: And whoso areceiveth you, there I will be also, for I will go bbefore your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my cSpirit shall be in your hearts, and mine dangels round about you, to bear you up.
Love that scripture. We talked to Papricia again on Wednesday, and she is SO awesome! She's originally from the Congo (do you say THE Congo, or just Congo? anyways...) She spoke French growing up but now lives in Colorado with her husband and can speak fluent English. Her husband is from Mongolia...! Crazy right? He speaks fluent Russian and French, and no English. Ha! She didn't ever say he spoke Mongolian which is what I assumed he would speak... crazy. Anyways, she has a very strong faith in Christ. She's Catholic, and she has actually taken the discussions before. I get the feeling that she's not too strong in her faith though. And, she actually lived in Salt Lake City for a while!!! Random, right? She lived with her cousin here, and I think her sister and brother-in-law lived here too. Her sister and brother-in-law both joined the church a few years ago and told her to meet with missionaries, so she did. Still not sure why she stopped... she hasn't answered the phone since. :( Stupid Satan. Ha, jk. But seriously. Whenever a phone disconnects or someone doesn't answer, we (all the sisters in this mission) say either "Satan's on the line!" or we just blame it on Satan. Ha! Missionaries are so great. Anyways, Papricia seems to be more interested in meeting with missionaries now. It sounded like she was just kind of forced into it before... but she called in this time. So I don't know, we'll see what happens with her.
Sister Wilson and I fasted for our investigators on Thursday. We've been really worried about them. Satan keeps getting in our way. ;) But seriously, they're either not answering the phone or they're not answering their phone!! K, they're just not answering their phones. Ha. I start to get kind of anxious though when they don't answer for a period of time. You just wonder what happened. I always worry that they aren't interested anymore.... But wow, Heavenly Father seriously answers prayers!! Sometimes in a different way than we expect, sometimes quickly, and sometimes a lot longer than we expect... but he ALWAYS answers. This same day while we were fasting, we called Melinda back. She was an inbound call, calling for a Bible. She agreed to have missionaries bring it over to her and teach her more about it, and also agreed to have us teach her over the phone. Well, Melinda answered!!! Also, she left me a voicemail last Monday but I obviously wasn't there because I was here in the JSMB emailing all of you. :) But all her voicemail said was to call her back, so we did! We taught her the Plan of Salvation. When we told her that she lived with God before this life, she said, "Wow, I've never thought of that before." I asked her what that meant to her, and she simply said "A Lot." SO great. The spirit was so strong, I could literally feel it testifying to her. We also told her about the Book of Mormon, and how it helps us know about the Plan of Salvation. She asked us how she could get one (meaning a Book of Mormon.) :) Sis Wilson and I just smiled at each other, ha. It was so awesome. We could literally feel her just eating all this up. It was so awesome!! She totally opened up to us about her life, too. She used to be a drug addict, in prison for stealing, wandering on the streets homeless... She had 2 children out of wedlock that she gave up for adoption when she was very young. I think maybe in highschool... but she now has 5 kids and has totally cleaned up her life, but just 2 years ago she was in prison again for robbing a store. She told us she wants to change-- for good! And we testified to her that the missionaries (and us) can help her do that. Fasting works people, ha! It was so amazing.
But wait, it gets better.
She said the missionaries set up an appointment to meet with her for the next day (Friday), so we told her we would call her on Monday and that we wanted to hear all about it!! So that's what we did today! She LOVED it, she said they helped her understand really well the Book of Mormon and the Bible, and how the BOM is very similar to the Bible, but also what it helps us understand. It was way cool! She said the missionaries were over there for over an hour too. She's already read the 2nd chapter of 1 Nephi. :) I love missionary work so much, its soooo amazing!
Also, Long Su is meeting with missionaries!!!! Long Su's wife Mai answered the phone and said the sister missionaries were coming over that day!! So awesome!! And Gary also met with missionaries over the weekend!!!! Yes. 3 of our dear, dear souls are meeting with missionaries!!! the Lord has blessed us so, so much! Mark is also still doing good. He unfortunately didn't answer today, but we got to talk to him for a long time last week and he sounds as awesome as ever! I love that the Wilkes are over there helping out with missionary work. So cool!
Well, I should probably get going. I studied a really cool chapter in Acts 8 about the priesthood that you should look up. Verses 9-20. The church is so true it's ridiculous!! I LOVE the priesthood! I feel so blessed and privileged to have grown up in a house with 3 different priesthood holders at one time. Thank you Dad, Jeff, Brad and now Stephen for being worthy priesthood holders. You have no idea how much it means to us girls!! Everytime we give an Elders tour, I realize how true the priesthood really is. The elders always have a difference between them and us sisters. I wish I had that power sometimes! ;) Seriously though, all you men out there-- Be worthy of your priesthood! You have such a sacred calling as priesthood holders. Please cherish that. Please be worthy of it. You have no idea how much us girls need it!
Also, Christie and Brooks, you two should go to the Provo City Center Temple Groundbreaking!!! It's May 12 at 9am. That would seriously be the coolest thing ever!! I want to go so bad! :(
One more thing... Find London on my Facebook and just email me her number. I don't think I have her number on my phone, but I might so you can check that too. Thank you again!
I love you all. Thank you for your prayers! I feel them all the time.
Love,
Sister Savage
Missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
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