Okay..... So first off.....there was a MIRACLE in Belmopan this past weekend! My old comp, Sister Richins was at a multi-zone with President and Sister Hintze and the assistants challenged them to find those investigators that we have taught for a LONG time that are just holding on to something and not making that decision to be baptized. She went and visited one of my dearest friends (very much like a sister to me) and invited her to be baptized that night, like the APs invited them to do. And you know what happened? She did it. She was baptized! Sister Hintze shared a little about that story at the multi-zone (I had heard nothing of this until then) and the tears just started streaming down my face. I love that gyal so much and the fact that she backed down from that decision right before I left for El Salvador broke my heart. As I saw the photo Sister Richins sent me this week, I read it with the biggest smile on my face!
This week has been such a great one and so....with that said, here goes my weekly excerpt from the letter to President:
"This week was yet again full of miracles, this time, however, with less actives and recent converts. (With our investigators, too, but mostly with our assigned MARC. :D) We were able to bring A LOT of them to church this Sunday! I was so happy to see each of them walk in the door.
So. We met for the first time a recent convert this week who is ALWAYS working. She had called late at night on Tuesday (like 11:20ish), but I was SOOO out of it. I had scheduled an appointment with her because it was her day off at 6:30 in that moment. The only problem was that I scheduled it during the middle of correlation. So....as the day went on, we tried to get ahold of her, with no success. So I was freaking out! Well we rushed to correlation so that we could get in and get out to get to our lesson with Carolina and then to the last lesson of the day. It was just.....CRAZY. So what ended up happening is that correlation was cancelled. So then, amidst me freaking out (we were already late to Carolina's and STILL had to run back up to our area....), it turned out that SHE SHOWED UP! She knew that we had a meeting at the church, so she came so she could meet us. Then we went and ate some pupusuas as we got to know her a little. She ended up not coming to church, buuuut we're working on it. This week for sure, we will get her! :)
Next MA--a lady named Marta. Her grandson is two and had a terrible infection for two weeks and was not eating food. At all. Just water and juice occasionally. That was one (of her various) excuses for not coming. Well we asked the elders to come and give him a blessing. We passed by Saturday night to see how he was doing and she said he was fine! He had started to eat again and both she, her daughter, and the grandson came to church the next day!
And then the last MA miracle happened last night! We had been trying to find this Familia Mira in the whole three weeks that we have been here, but they never answer or they just hide from us.... So what ended up happening is last Sunday we had knocked on their door and talked to the five-year old son. The mom was ignoring us and said she didn't want to see us. So the boy said to come back next Sunday (yesterday). Well I had completely forgotten about that. We had passed by several times during the week and....nothing. Last night, we were on our way to an investigator's house, when we passed by (completely led by the Spirit! Our plans had put us in a different area of the colonia at that time....), Hermana Alsdorf suggested that we stop and see if they were there (the lights were on). So we knocked. AND THEY LET US IN!!!! And then, even more miraculously, the father told us that he didn't want anything else with the Church. He had decided that almost a year ago (for various reasons), but that the missionaries always came. The thing is, is that the missionaries would listen to them, hear his doubts, and then never come back to answer them. I think it had to do with the missionaries always getting changed.... :) So anyway, he said that because Luis (the son), told us to come back next Sunday (yesterday), that if we came, they would let us in and come back to church. But if not, they wouldn't do anything.
We, obviously, had no idea about that! And yet, Heavenly Father did and was able to guide us by His Spirit to find that family and to testify of His Omniscience and His infinite love for them. I know He cares for them and He wants them to have the fulness of His blessings again in their lives. Just like He does with EVERYONE.
We had so many other wonderful experiences with less actives and recent converts, but there is never enough time to write about them all in an email (or in my journal for that matter--which is another thing I need to repent about!)....
We also had a really cool experience with a new investigator this week named Antonio. He is 18 years old and reminds me a little of my little brother, Jack. Anywho, Hna. Alsdorf had found him on interchanges and then I later talked to him on the street and he said we could come back to visit. The first visit--he had read nothing from the Restoration pamphlet, but he committed to be baptized on the 6th (AND to come to church), but the fact that he didn't read made me skeptical about it all.... So then we went back a few days later, he STILL hadn't read the rest of the pamphlet. In fact, he had lost it. So here my companion is, SO excited about this baptismal date we had and I was worried that....it wasn't going to work out. But at the end of that lesson about the Restoration, he opened up and said he had questions. He was just.....looking for that guidance and for that happiness in his life. Well....I finished writing my testimony in the Libro de Mormòn that we were going to give him and then I testified that he now had that guidance and happiness in his hands. All he had to do was open it up, read it, and pray to know if it was true. And then to apply what he learned of course! And you know what happened, President? He came to church the next day. AND had read the Introduction like we invited him to do. (All in less than 24 hours....)
I am so humbled at all of the people we are seeing every day here, President. These people that we are talking with? We NEED to meet them and share this message with them. And it has to be Hna. Alsdorf and I. Together. God knows each of His children. I come to realize that as I read from the Book of Mormon, but also as I continue in His service as a missionary here in the Colonia Santa Eugenia. I KNOW that I am where I need to be. And I am so grateful for everything that has happened in my life to get me here."
I KNOW without a shadow of a doubt that Heavenly Father loves us and is aware of us. I invite you all to pray and ask for that knowledge yourselves. He will answer you. Because He wants you to know that He cares.
I love you, all. I pray for you always and I am so grateful to have such a support from such wonderful people. Keep smiling and finding ways to share the gospel with all of God's children that He places in your paths this week!
Love Always,
Hna. McCulloch (Still holding on to "Sistah M."....)
Sister Richins with one of Lonnie's dearest friends aka "Miracle"
