35 Questions or Cold Showers!

Hermana Widdison and I have come up with a "finding idea" that we're so excited about. We learned last week from Elder Lawrence E. Corbridge, of the First Quorum of the Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, that we need to be talking to everyone. While doing so, we need to find the "most important thing" from every lesson to share. Hermana Widdison and I have had an increased desire to talk to everyone because we were promised that there are thousands of people in our area that are prepared. We came up with 5 questions, one from every lesson that encompasses the "most important thing" and we have 15 days to ask it 35 times! We thought, what's the worst that could happen ... they could tell us no? Well, great, then we keep moving. Our punishment is cold showers for 5 days ... so we're going strong! Talking to everyone and inviting them to come to Christ. On Sunday we had a weird contact where we asked this man, named David, if he would like to listen to a message about the steps to receiving eternal life through the Gospel and he said yes. So we started teaching him. Keep in mind it was really cold outside and Hermana Widdison was shivering and he, touching her arm, asks, "¿Tienes frío?" Ja, ja, ja, ja. She freaked out. It was a little strange ... It's so much fun to talk to everyone! There are so many amazing people in this world!

Soooo, I have gained the most powerful testimony of trying "antiguos" from the area book. We had the coolest experience this week that just left Hermana Widdison and I completely speechless. I really had no words after the lesson was over and I know, 100%, that it was inspired by the Lord. It was so cool and I'm so blessed to have been a part of the experience. So, we were putting up English class flyers one day in a couple of different apartment complexes and we just had the thought that we should go try a person in that complex who had been taught previously and see if maybe she was home. We knocked ... no one answered ... knocked again ... no reply ... so we CELESTIAL KNOCKED (the third knock that we only do on special occasions) and someone answered! It wasn't the person we were looking for, but this lady was really friendly, so we asked her one of our questions! If she would like to learn about how families can be together forever and she said yes! So she let us in. We were still in shock. We sat down and she started asking us so many questions. We taught her the Restoration lesson and it was probably the best Restoration lesson of my mission. In that lesson we got her on LDS.org and introduced her to President Monson. She was SO INTRIGUED. She told us that she wasn't really looking for a new church, but this sounds so interesting to her, that she wants to check it out. It was incredible. She's a young mom with a beautiful little girl and her husband lives with them, too. He works a lot and she said he's not very religious. We asked her to invite him to church. She was really nervous to, but the next day when we went back, she said he said yes. He would want to go! How cool is that? Our second lesson was focused on the Book of Mormon. We started reading it with her and she got it. She was asking where Moroni is now and where the plates are, etc, etc. It was the coolest thing. We're so excited for her. She also says the temple in the Dominican Republic is right by her home! She's wonderful. The Lord really led us that day to find her. TESTIMONY BUILDER. 

We also had a blitz this week to help the other sisters' area and that was really fun. It's always nice to help other missionaries because we're promised that our area will be blessed, too. 

I have really been studying a lot about how to come close to Christ and finding out the ways we can change. I have seem a huge change in myself on the mission of how I see others. I remember before I used to judge them and think weird things about so many different people, but the mission and the scriptures have really helped me to grasp the understanding that we're all God's children and we have no idea how other people have gotten to be who they are. We don't know what circumstances have transcribed in their lives and how they have been taught. We need to love them all. I'm still working a lot on having charity, but I know without it, we are nothing. We have to love everyone. 

Pray for Norma that she'll be baptized! And that Tiffany and her family will progress.

Keep on doing good things. The Lord loves you so much and I love y'all, too. 

Sister Sanchez

Bullet holes in an apartment complex!