week 38

April 28, 2009 Hello Family!I am grateful for all of the cards and letters and packages that were sent for my birthday. I was overwhelmed with the love that I felt. Thank you, thank you, thank you! It has been a wonderful week. This week went by a lot faster than last week. It just takes a little bit of time to adjust. Last Tuesday we went to Westminster with the intention of playing soccer with the other sisters but instead we just talked and talked and talked. It was wonderful to see them and just talk. That night we met 2 new investigators. They were referrals from the RC in provo. One of them, Miriam, requested a video and she was very excited to receive it and watch it. We are going by this week to teach her a lesson. We also met Gabriella. We had been trying by her house several times and this time she answered the door. She asked us if we had knocked before and told us that she usually doesn't answer the door unless she knows who it is. Some of her husbands family was recently baptized and they went and she really loves the peace we bring. She was so excited that we were there to see her and that we said a prayer for her. The timing is amazing because she left 2 days later and won't be back until May 8th. Had we not met her that night we probably would have considered it a bad referral. We gave her the Book of Mormon to read on the plane and told her that we would be back when she came home. It was such a wonderful miracle for us! We met a young girl walking the other day and we went by and taught her a first lesson yesterday afternoon. She seems to be searching and interested. We have another appointment with her next Monday. I was overwhelmed with the potentials that we are finding. This area is really hard to find people because it is orange county. The only people that will usually talk to us are the latin or other cultures and they are few in this area. We have been truly blessed. Tony came to church on Sunday. We taught him during Sunday School. He asked what the requirements were to be baptized. He is another Melissa. He is so ready and looking. He thanked the Bishop for letting him be a part of the congregation. We have an appointment with him this Friday with the ward mission leader. We are excited! Funny tidbit. The Bishop in the Fountain Valley 3rd ward is Bishop Johnson, no relation to Bishop Johnson in the Beach ward. We were in PEC on Sunday and he was asking where I was from, my address, what high school I went to, what year I graduated. He had lots of questions. Come to find out he is a Highland High Ram as well. He lived on 21st and 20th. Crazy. Anyway I asked him what year he graduated and everyone just laughed. I said it was a fair question. He answered 1985. I didn't have the heart to tell him that I wasn't even born yet. Small world. The stake president also graduated from Highland. Go Rams. We had a fireside Sunday night about the Book of Mormon. A professor from BYU came and talked about how it followed the form of the bible and that no one could have just written it. There were at least 4 non members there and one of them was BOB. I just love Bob. He was very interested and very pleased with all that he learned. He was very impressed. He says he is not ready to make a commitment to any church but it will catch up to him. He loves the gospel already he just doesn't realize that he already has a testimony. Saturday was a great day. Not just because it was my birthday. We were able to do service! It was so great! We put on our yellow "mormon helping hands" shirts and went out and painted fire hydrants for the city of Fountain Valley. It was so fun! We got a map and a bucket of paint and went out and did 15 hydrants. There is no other way that I would have rather spent my birthday. We notice all of the hydrants as we drive now and make a comment if it didn't get painted. We didn't finish all of the hydrants but we did do a lot. Tomorrow is Zone Conference and I am pretty excited! I just love Zone Conference. I hope that you all have a wonderful week. The church is true and God truly does know who we are and what we are in need of. I love you!
Love Hermana Mickelsen