Called to Serve in Philly: Unexpected Miracles

I hope everybody is doing well! This week has been amazing!

It started off with Golden Retraining! Which means I got to see Sister Abbott! It was so great! We got to discuss what we learned at the Missionary Broadcast and what we've learned our first few weeks on our missions. It was so awesome to see how much we've all grown since the MTC!

Traffic is so so terrible here because the streets have become one lane. There is nowhere to park so people have saved the spots they've cleared out with things like fans and kitchen chairs. So funny! Bethlehem just has nowhere to put all this snow. We're hoping it melts soon, it would make our jobs a lot easier.

On Wednesday we went on exchanges with the Sister Training Leaders! I went with Sister McCuen. It was such a blast! Our appointment fell through so we spent the day tracting and meeting the coolest people. But on our way back we realized that we had been tracting in a different area! Whoops! That night Sister Gomm and I were tracting and we ran into this awesome guy who was a Christian musician and loved rapping about Jesus. After talking to him we regretted not having him rap for us. Maybe we'll see him again someday. A bit later we started down a darker, quieter street. The further we went the more we could feel the spirit leave. At the same moment we both stopped and headed back the other way. I don't know what would have happened if we had kept going but I am so thankful for the spirit and the protection and guidance it brings us.

We got to meet with R again! He is set to be baptized on March 5. We started teaching him about the Plan of Salvation but we didn't get very far. R is quite the talker and really enjoyed telling us what other religions taught about Adam and Eve.

During weekly planning this week, Sister Gomm and I really pondered what we could do to help get our investigators to church. We decided to fast and boy did we see miracles! Just not the ones we were expecting. One of the biggest ones was with B! We had his lesson at our Ward Mission Leader, Brother Finch's house. And B brought a friend! We were a bit nervous because the lesson was on the law of chastity but it turned out to be awesome! The spirit was so strong! B has progressed so much from when I first met him. You can really see the change in him and he is so aware of the spirit. B's friend was able to tell us how he had been praying to know if God had a plan for him that would help him improve his life. We testified that God did have a plan for him and that it wasn't a coincidence that he was there. After the lesson we gave him a Plan of Salvation pamphlet that answers some of the questions he had. We got his number and will hopefully be able to meet with him again!

Sunday rolled around and none of our investigators showed up at church. I won't lie, it was a little discouraging. We had been so excited from all the miracles happening, but at the end of the day
people still have their agency. But the miracles weren't over! There's a member who brings his Fiancee, K, almost every week who is not a member. We went over and asked her why she hadn't met with us yet. She said she would meet with us next week! Then after church Brother H received the Aaronic Priesthood and we got to be there for it! In the blessing he received after, he was told that the missionaries he was now meeting with were sent specifically at this time and were angels sent to help him progress in the gospel. It was so amazing!

I'm so humbled and grateful that I have this opportunity as a missionary to be the answer to people's prayers. I hope you all have a wonderful week! Keep smiling!