THIS WEEK…CRAZY!

June 23, 2014

My Dearest Family,

I can't believe Liz is leaving for her mission! How exciting! She is going to do great!!

Youth Conference sounds like it was a blast.

Okay I'm a little bumbed that I've been missing the world cup. Like not too much because you know what could be better than being a missionary, but EVERYONE is talking about the world cup. Ha-ha its been cool though because I've met people from like all over the world and they are all routing for different countries. But don't worry, I still have my American Pride.

So this week...crazy. Crazy busy. Crazy with miracles. Crazy with so much joy.

Okay so mom wants to hear more about the being a STL. I'm sure every mission does them differently, but here there are five companionships of STL for the mission. Four full field, and one in the Visitor Center. The sisters we are over are all in our zone, so they don't live very far. We are over five companionships and are expected to go on a 24-hour exchange with each companionship and make sure everything in their area is going well. Because this transfer is NUTS with a ton of meetings and everything we are having a hard time figuring out when to do transfers. We did two this past week.

Thank you for your prayers because I definitely felt them this past week, especially on Wednesday, when it was my first exchange ever! I got to go back to Bell Gardens though! It was a different area than where I served, but it was so fun seeing a familiar place and a few familiar faces. I was with a sister named Sister Jarman and she is just great. Here's a cool miracle that came from it...

The morning we were supposed to switch back Sister J and I went out to exercise. Sister J doesn't like to run, so we were just walking and trying to talk to everyone. We started a conversation with a girl probably in her late teens early twenties. Turns out she already knew about the Book of Mormon because she already had one... say what?! Some Elders gave it to her about a month ago. I asked her if she had had a chance to read it, to which she replied, "Yes, I'm about half way done." I just like paused for a second in unbelief. And then she said she believed the Book of Mormon to be the word of God. It was so cool. So cool!! We got her contact information, and hopefully those sisters have been able to meet up with her again!!!

Our second exchange was from Friday to Saturday. I stayed and Sister Landon left. I was with another sister named Sister Nottle. She is literally the sweetest thing ever and just so happy all the time. The day was stress because I still don't know the area super well and hadn't even met all of the investigators we were suppose to teach for that day, but we survived. We have a new investigator named F…, who just feels the spirit. And even though Sister Nottle doesn't speak Spanish, she did a great job reading in Spanish to help with the lesson. I was super impressed. And F… has a baptismal date!!! He didn't make it to church so we will have to push it back a week, but he wants to get baptized. He called us just a little bit ago to confirm the lesson we have with him and told us he is bringing us Tortillas. :) I love the people here.

Then the weekend happened. I cannot even describe how great this weekend was. There is this family that we have been teaching. One of their oldest sons was baptized a few weeks ago. And the rest of the family has been listening here and there. There are 9 kids and two parents. The mom S… has told us she would like to be baptized and we are planning her baptism for the 29th of June. The family is so great, and would reap so many blessings from the gospel. I'm so stoked for them.

But anyways, we have been trying so hard to get the P… family to the Visitor Center. We even fasted for it a week ago. And it finally happened. The dad and five of the kids were able to make it. There were some obstacles, but the Lord provided and we had one of the best tours I've ever been on at the Visitor Center. They were all beaming. Then both parents and two of the young boys were able to make it to church on Sunday and watch their son/older brother N… get the priesthood. It was so special to be able to watch. And we have a FHE set up with them for Tuesday. I'm so excited.

This family has helped me realize the importance of the Holy Ghost. We were having a lesson with some of the kids and the dad. The two younger boys (ages 8 and 10) have been reading the Book of Mormon with N…, their older brother. And they LOVE it. The younger boys love the book. They will even read it on their own, just for fun.

In one lesson we were talking about the Spirit and asked them when they feel it. The younger brothers said they felt it when they read the Book of Mormon. But then N… was like, I feel that good all the time. It was powerful and hit me hard. Because I was like... you know what... so do I. And that was when it clicked. I have the CONSTANT companionship of the Holy Ghost. There is a member of the Godhead with me ALL THE TIME. And not everyone has that. Not everyone has that blessing. Not everyone has the ability to live life with that constant comfort and direction. And I was just filled with gratefulness. I am so grateful to have that gift of the Holy Ghost.

And it’s making me work harder. Everyone deserves that gift and I've got to do my very best to let them know that! Please make sure you are working on your own missionary experiences. My birthday is next week and it would be so cool to hear all of your stories!!!

Love you lots!!!

Hermana Mik Pillar