So I am loving Visalia. It is a very good ward here and a very strong ward. It is good to be here and see everything. If I did not want to go to a Spanish area again, I would love to stay here for the rest of my mission. My companion and I are getting along great.
I think I have seen more miracles here than anywhere else, and pretty much just with one family. So here is how it starts. This lady has been being taught by missionaries for a very long time. Like months and maybe years, but I am not sure about that. I know she has had contact with the church for years. Her ex-husband was a less active member. So when I came into the area, she already had a very strong testimony of the gospel. She even went up on Fast Sunday and bore her testimony. So that was great to see. The only thing stopping her from being baptized was that she smokes. She has been smoking since she was about 10, so it is a huge addiction for her. She wanted really bad to get baptized on the 24th of November, but without quitting smoking, she was never going to make it. So last Wednesday evening, we went over to her house and told her that she had to stop smoking "today" to get baptized on the 24th. She agreed to it. We told her that she could call or text us whenever she got the temptation. So on Sunday night, we even got a call at 4:30 in the morning. I think I have invested more time with this investigator than any other investigator on my whole mission. It has been great. I also think she has read and prayed more than any other investigator. I think she might even pray and read more than me, and I am a missionary. It is really cool to see the spirit that is with her. So that is miracle number one.
The other miracle is with her younger sister. We have also been
teaching her. So she started to pray and read as well. She was
very unsure if she should get baptized or not, but then, she got her answer
that the church was true. That was an amazing moment. She decided she wanted be
baptized with her niece next April, a long time away. We tried to
tell her it is better sooner, but she would not budge one bit. We went over on Sunday and started to plan out the baptism with the oldest sister. We asked
who she wanted to say the prayers. She said her younger sister. We then cut
in and said that was unless her sister got baptized that same day. ... The younger sister's eyes lit up and she
said that she was going to be baptized on the 24th with her older sister. That was
amazing. I guess the spirit just spoke to her. With a nice comment from our
ward mission leader who was there, saying it was the best choice of his life,
it was solidified. She told us, "I know I am going to be baptized. Why not
just be baptized now." I though in my head yaaa! That is awesome; what a
miracle.
