Letter # 12 (Jan. 12, 2008)

It's been almost 3 months! Its been an amazing week! I've witnessed so many miracles.

On Wednesday we went to stop by a referral we received from the mission office. The person who submitted the referral didn't want us to mention to the people we would contact that they were refer by the person. So we decided to go to their neighborhood and tract (knock on doors) until we got to their place and act like we have no knowledge of them. In the first house we tracted in the neighborhood a lady and her daughter came to the door. We taught her briefly and asked if we could come back and teach her more, she accepted. Her 2 year-old daughter was so cute. She was showing us her shoes. We set up an appointment to see her the next day in the evening. She left her house a minute later so we caught her at the right time. She called us the next morning and cancelled on us. She said that she spoke to her husband and that they decided not to meet with us. Less than 5 minutes later, our ward mission leader gives us a call. He asked us if we had an appointment tonight at 7. We said that we did but that the lady cancelled on us. Our ward mission leader told us that his co-worker told him that we went to his place yesterday and that we set up an appointment with his wife to see them that evening. What!!!!! We had tracted into our ward mission leader's co-worker's house. They had been talking about mormonism for some time now. Him and his wife are hesitant with religion because of a prior experience. Dave, the co-worker said that him and his wife will come to Church next Sunday. What a miracle that we tracted into that house.

We've been working with a less-active member and his girlfriend of 4 years. She was a former investigator. She told us that the reason that she stopped taking the discussions was because they weren't married and that it would take a lot of planning(with her family in NY and his in NC) and money. We had an appointment with them the following week, a week ago, but Zane, the member was at work. They never called us back to set up an appointment. We decided to stop by their place on Saturday. When we got there they gladly received us. They said that they lost our number and have been trying to get in contact with them. They told us that they're getting married on March 3rd. My heart jumped and I looked at Zane and gave him a 2-handed high-five. I gave Holly one as well. They want the bishop to marry them. What great joy filled my heart. God is a God of miracles.

We set a baptismal date with Wendy. She's been an investigator for a while. I dropped her once because she would not keep her commitments and she wouldn't come to church, even though we had someone pick her up. This time around I get a better vibe from her. She knows this is something that she needs in her life. She has 2 kids who would get baptized as well. We've had some good lessons. She still hasn't made it to church. It seems like things keep popping up. We committed her to church next week and to make it a top priority.

In our mission, missionaries can't have dinner in member's home unless there's a less-active, nonmember, or recent convert there. We've been able to have some neat experiences with the ward exercising their faith and inviting their friends and neighbors. We've taught them after dinner.

I love the ward that I serve in. I love the Knightdale area. I love this work. God is a God of miracles.

Love, Elder Olaya