Week 58

September 15, 2009

Hello everyone! I hope this letter finds you all doing well. As I am sure you can guess I am doing great! There have been some bumps in the road this last week but it has only strengthened my testimony. Heavenly Father is amazing! He is so aware of us and is always blessing us even if we think it is too much for us. This last week I have really tried to be obedient in committing people to baptism as instructed by president. We were successful and had 3 baptismal dates. I am super excited about it all. However we got a phone call from one of them on Saturday night and they told us that they had been very anxious ever since the last time we had come over. They weren't dropping us but they were telling us that they weren't ready and that they were going to attend another church on Sunday just to try their options. My heart sank. Not because they told me no but because I love them so much. It hurts so bad when you know what they need in their lives but they can't see it. Satan works so hard and it just breaks my heart. Sister Lauchner and I pulled over and said a prayer. We sat there in silence for a little bit and then just talked about what we needed to do. We had an appointment with them the next day and I had no idea what to say or teach them. We decided that we would fast as a companionship until after their lesson. The whole night I was thinking about them. I love these families like my own. It is an amazing experience to have such love for people that I haven't known for a long period of time. In my prayers I was just pleading with my Father to know what to say. The talks in church were exactly what I needed. They were about the Book of Mormon, Prayer and Friendship. All three of those things were what I felt these girls needed in order to know that this was the correct path to follow. When we got to their house I had a better idea of what I was going to say but I was completely relying on the spirit. The spirit there was amazing. We asked them about church and they said that it was bad. They didn't like it at all. The mom told us that it was the first service she had attended where they bashed the mormons. She said she stopped listening after that. The dad told us that he couldn't feel the spirit there at all but that he could feel it strongly right then at their house. That was the first sigh of relief. We talked and cried and I don't even remember all that I said. Needless to say that it went better than I could have imagined. They are still getting baptized we just pushed back a couple of weeks. No biggie. I just love this family so much! Their oldest was there for the first time and she asked some questions at the end. She is going to be there for the next lesson as well. I am so grateful for a loving heavenly Father. If I had to do this alone I would have failed already. Heavenly Father truly makes everything in our lives so much better! So ward choir started on Sunday and Sister Lauchner was pretty stoked to participate. So I willingly went. It is the typical ward choir. Our recent convert who is a music teacher was pretty excited about it as well. She wouldn't let us forget whenever we saw her. So she went and we visited her last night and that was the first thing we talked about. She was very disappointed. I told her that the ward choir is not a normal choir and that everyone who wants to sing in it is there. Bless her heart. I just had to laugh. So we'll see what happens. We had a great lesson with some new investigators. It is a mother and son and we have been trying them forever! The referral came when Sister Hart was still here. The lesson went so well and the spirit was very strong. We asked them to be baptized and they said they would if they found it to be true. I hope that they will! I think that we shocked her a little but I'm not worried. Obviously not everyone is going to be baptized in the same time frame but this helps us to see how serious they really are. A lot of people just give you fluff and then you waste a lot of time and energy on someone that is not going to budge and just isn't ready to try their faith. I was thinking about it and I realized that all of the baptisms we had in Fountain Valley were because we committed on the first lesson. I didn't realize that before. I have felt like I haven't had much success with it but then on the other hand I have been very blessed. I love this gospel. So Sister Lauchner and I did something fun. Sister Lauchner has crazy curly hair and we told someone that if they came to church 2 weeks in a row than she would straighten her hair. Well we did it saturday night and then they didn't come to church. I decided that I would make my hair curly. It was pretty fun to switch hairdos. We got a lot of compliments. We are so easily entertained as missionaries. We have a mission tour on Monday which I am super excited about! Elder Craig C. Christiansen is coming with his wife and will be speaking to us. I just love any spiritual knowledge and experience that I can get! I was asked to sing in a quartet which I am excited about but also a little nervous. This is the first time that I have done any musical numbers on my mission. It feels a little nerve racking but it will be just fine. I am lucky to have someone that will help overcome all my fears. Well all is well here in California! I love my mission and love all that I learn even when it is hard. God lives and is very aware of our situations. I know that we are guided by someone who loves us and wants us to be successful. If we talk to Him and listen He will guide us to true happiness and success. Love Sister Mickelsen