September 13, 2010

Wow! How is everyone doing in Mesa! Eugene is cloudy and cold today, but I like it!! This week has been one of the most rewarding weeks in my mission so far!! Here is what has been going down.
Stephanie- We taught her the Plan of Salvation, but before the lesson we asked her about baptism and why she didn't want to be baptized this weekend. She told us that Omar's (her boyfriend) kids would be down the first weekend in October and she wanted them to be there for her baptism-- now that wasn't too hard to say!! I was floored and had a huge smile on my face the whole lesson. She is getting baptized on October 1st by Omar's 17 year old son. (Omar and his boys are all members) What a perfect way to kick off the Conference Weekend!!
Brad and Jackie- We had 2 lessons this week. Both went great! We invited them to be baptized on the 9th of October. They are not super solid yet, but they are praying and I know they will receive an answer. Here is a miracle- Jackie works on Sundays, so she wouldn't be able to attend church and that means she can't get baptized, well Sister Stoehr and I have been praying for a miracle. On Saturday night Jackie informed us that she was interviewing for a new job this week and she was pretty positive and knows the head of the company. Her schedule would change to a regular mon to fri work schedule... Miracle?? Yes. We fasted for her yesterday and I know that everything will work out! There little daughter, Gracie, went to church with some of the kids in the Primary... the fellowshipper family invited her to come and she was so excited! I am so excited for their family! They invited us over for dinner on Wednesday. Yippee. Funny story-- Gracie was sitting on the couch next to Brad and was sipping some coke and licking the cup. Well Brad didn't think that was too polite but he didn't realize that she had soda in her cup. He tapped the bottom of the cup to get her to stop, and some of the coke went right in her face. Gracie is pretty dramatic, so she started crying and throwing a fit. My comp and I were praying and trying not to laugh at the same time. All the sudden, Gracie looks at her dad and throws the rest of the pop all over his shirt, pants and shoes. I couldn't help but laugh. I felt bad cause it just encouraged her. Brad is a great dad and just kinda laughed it off. Haha they are awesome!
Eric- he dropped us, he doesn't want to meet with us anymore and actually moved to Sweet Home. Sad.
Laura Anderson- She was the lady that showed up to church last week. We ended up going to her house and cleaned her bathroom and floors for her. We talked about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. She is kinda hung up on a few things, so we are still working with her. She loves coming to church and all the family values, but not sure about the book of mormon and Joseph Smith.....
So all of these things were great this week... but it gets even better. In the mission we have what is called, Windows of Heaven. We plan on Thursdays and pray and point out specific streets to go knock on doors or talk to people outside in the neighborhoods. Well we planned a few of them this week and we had some great conversations, but no promising people, until we met Kim Larson. We were on Pear Loop and we were almost done with the area and hadn't found too many people, I was kinda bummed. Well out of the corner of my eye I see a woman outside smoking on her patio. We went over and spoke with her. She was so nice and is looking for truth in her life. She has 4 boys... what a great conversation piece :), and she grew up Lutheran. Well we left her a restoration pamphlet, set up a time and got her number. I called her today and she has read the pamphlet and is looking forward to seeing us tonight. Miracle? Yes!!
Next we have Miguel. Miguel was a potential investegator. Some previous sisters tracted into him, but never went back to him. Reason, I don't know! We went and knocked on his door, no one answered so we went to the side of his house and saw a man in the garage. It was Miguel. He was so happy to see us and a bit suprised. He explained that he wanted the sisters to come back and that he was bummed that they didn't go back. We have an appointment with him this week. We gave him a pamphlet and he is really excited to learn.
Alright here is another miracle.... last night, Sister Stoehr and I parked at the church and were on our way to a recent converts home. While we were about to cross the street, a man walked by us. I started to tell him who we are and introduced my comp and I. He told us that he was Muslim and that he knows their is a God. He believes in Jesus Christ and that he died for us. Great! We spoke for about 5 minutes, gave him a pamphlet, and I felt like I should give him a book of mormon with our number. We went on our way. As we were walking to our appointment, I said to my comp, "I wonder what will ever happen to him". We speak to so many people and I always wonder if they ever come in contact with the church again. We had our appointment with the recent convert and then we were walking to our car. As I was listening to our voice mails, the Muslim man called us!!! He said that he read some of the "book of the mormon" and he had some questions. I was thrilled, my comp and I were jumping up and down. This never happens!!! I called him up and he was glad that we called him back. He was reading in Alma 39 and some of the verses meant a lot to him. He expresed that he was thinking about God and was going through a really rough time in his life and then we talked to him. He was so appreciative. We are going to be meeting with him, Khaleel, tomorrow. So cool.
Good things are happening.... oh and I haven't even told anything about one of my favorite things that have happened so far.... ELDER BEDNAR CAME!!!! Holy smokes it was awesome!! It was neat to be amongst 180 other missionaries and sing hymns, sing our oregon eugene song and pray together and gather to hear an apostle. I was happy to see many faces that I hadn't seen since the MTC... Sister Jolley!! I also got to see my old comp and trainer, Sister Longhurst and Sister Abbott. I love being a missionary. President told all the sisters to sit on teh front two rows. I was on the front row, smack in the middle. Elder Bednar came with Elder Maung (spelling) and Elder Ringwood from the Seventy. We were instructed for 4 hours with them. He asked many questions and we were able to ask him questions. One of the most special things he spoke of is how when we attend any meeting we should look at it as a "revelatory experience". He also spoke about the importance of having our investigators seek faith by learning. We need to teach them to find answers, and not to rely on us so much. When we have them pray about the book of mormon, pray like Joseph Smith. Act on the answers we receive. I could go on and on about all the things he spoke of, but my time is short. Elder Bednar is an apostle of the Lord. He was there as a witness and I know his is an apostle. He shared one of the most remarkable testimonies, I will never forget the spirit I felt or the things that I learned. The holy ghost was the teacher. Wow. It was truly amazing to be in that meeting amongst my elders and sisters. This was an experience that I won't ever have again and I am glad that I prepared myself and was fed. :)
Anyways, this week was fantastic. I love being a missionary. We are having such a great time and I am learning so much. My testimony of Jesus Christ and my Heavenly Father increases each day. I love the work. I love the Lord. I know this church is true. Be happy. Have fun and I will talk to you all next week. Please pray for the investigators that they will gain a testimony and they will want to follow Jesus Christ. They need it so bad!!! Thank you for all that you guys do. I am being so blessed and I feel the love and support!!!!

Love Sister Glasgow XOXOXO

pic 1- sister stoehr(my comp), sister jolley (was in the mtc with her) and me
pic 2- sister stoehr and I in the rain :)
pic 3- sister losee and I-- LOVE HER!!! I get to go on exchanges with her this week... so fun!!