Week 20

This week was so fast and so great. 

I have this new goal for this transfer to talk to 100 people in a week about the gospel. Well, this week we only got to talk to 17 people... so it’s slightly unrealistic…but I’m shooting high and maybe I can work my way up. But the cool think about talking to a lot of people is that the more people you talk to the more people you get to teach. Of those 17 people we talked to, two invited us back to teach their families. We don't have a lot of people to teach so every person we find is a huge blessing and gets me so excited! Teaching used to stress me out a little but once I realized that these people have the potential to accept the gospel and be happier I stopped getting nervous before lessons and now I just get really excited to go out and teach. We found this new man to teach this week and he seems so ready to learn. We get to teach him tonight and I am just so excited I could die. We knocked on his door because he sent in a request online to learn more about the church. He said he really just wanted to read the Book of Mormon and to learn about Joseph Smith so we gave him a Book or Mormon and talked to him a little. He is so nice. 

Okay, funny/gross story from this week: We used to teach a lady who had a lot of knee pain and when we went this week to check on her she had moved. Randomly, this lady was walking outside and was able to tell us her new address. So we visited and her friend answered the door and said she was in the hospital. He was actually on the phone with her at the time so we talked to her for a few minutes and then went to the hospital to see her. We knocked on the door and she said she was going to the bathroom so we waited outside for a few minutes until she yelled, "OKAY YOU CAN COME IN...But it smells a little." The way she said it and the fact that it really did smell SO BAD just made me start laughing so hard. I had to wait outside the door to compose myself before going in. Other than the smell, it was good to talk to her and make her feel a little happier to have someone to talk to.

This week an investigator came to church and stayed all three hours for the first time ever. We were sitting in relief society and someone asked her if she was visiting and she said, "oh no, I’m not a member yet." YET. It was so cute. I pointed it out to her and she laughed. She is so ready to join the church; she knows it’s true. She even signed up to feed the missionaries in December. I am so excited to keep teaching her!

We know our tentative plans for Thanksgiving. We will be going to a service project that the ward is going to, then we are playing in the Turkey Bowl (football with all the missionaries in our zone and members who are basically my mission family), then we will probably go to two dinners, study, and maybe teach a lesson. I am super excited!

Something that is great about serving in Downtown Phoenix: There is almost never a week that goes by that we don't get called beautiful by a drunk old man. It's the best! But seriously, I really do love serving here, and not just for the compliments. It is so fun to be in an area that is so different than anything I have lived in before. I love the people here, especially the people we get to teach. People are so open about learning more about others religions. Even the people who don't accept what we have to teach are normally very nice about it. 

This week we also had Zone conference, where all the missionaries in Phoenix get together and the mission president comes and speaks to us. He taught about how everything in this earth testifies of Christ and what he has done for us. My favorite was when he showed how the Book of Mormon testifies of Christ. A few examples: The Book of Mormon was taken from a stone receptacle by a man named Joseph; Jesus Christ was put into a stone receptacle by a man named Joseph (or Arimathea). The first one to see the plates, Joseph, was forbidden to touch them; the first one to see Jesus, Mary, was forbidden to touch him. The Book of Mormon was attested by 12 witnesses - the 3, the 8, and Joseph; Jesus Christ had 12 special witnesses, the apostles. There were a lot more - those are just a few. It was cool to hear all of them at once, but I just don't have time to type them all out. But the point is that it was awesome and really strengthened my testimony of the Book of Mormon. Not only do the events of the Book of Mormon testify of Christ, but also the words in the book all testify of Christ. The more I read the more I know that the book is true and that Jesus Christ is my savior. I challenge all of you to read out of the Book of Mormon every day this week. 

This week is a time to remember what we are grateful for. I am so grateful for the Book of Mormon, for my family and their support, and for this opportunity to be on my mission. 

I love and miss you all and hope you have a great Thanksgiving!

Eat some extra pie for me,

Hermana Doxey