The Work Is Starting to Take Off!

November 11, 2013

 This week has been a miracle week, however! It's been soooo great! Really just working and persistence has finally paid  off! We had 2 ish investigators when I got here and this week alone we got 3 new and 3 or 4 very good potentials, 3 of which we are seeing today! We've had great break throughs with our Less Actives and struggling members, and more getting to know the members of this ward! It's been a very good, productive week! :)

Ricky was finally let back into his house! It was a miracle! He had been sleeping outside for a while and we would go over every night and just share some uplifting scriptures and give him water and blankets and what ever snacks we could find for him. (I Don't remember what I said last week about him) but then one night we had a big talk with him about courage and the Atonement and how the Savior has already gone through everything that Ricky is going through right now (He was depressed at this point, understandably) but the biggest difference is that He went through it, AND overcame it! And that's how we can over come it too! He knows HOW to overcome it and will help us do that if we ask Him and let Him help us! So we shared some scriptures about strength and 1 Nephi 18 about how Nephi's family tried to kill him on the ship, yet he overcame it with the help of God. And we had him read those scriptures and pray and ask Heavenly Father for comfort, strength, and courage as he prepared to talk to his dad.  

That night he called us and said he was back  in the house and was going out to dinner with his dad right then. He said he prayed and read everything and was able to have the courage to say what he needed to and his dad started talking about how stress at work and the stress/pain of the year anniversary of his mom's death and his boss being a jerk to him all kind of built up and he took it out on Ricky. They talk more now and Ricky has some lists of things he has to do everyday still, and his dad is still pretty prideful and crazy, but this was such a huge miracle step!! Ricky's testimony of praying and reading shot up! It was such a miracle!  Our next step is talking to his dad.   Ricky can't go to church if his dad won't let him and keeps him cleaning so we need to talk to him and let him know what we are trying to help Ricky do and how it can help him as well. woooooh, praying and fasting for this one, fersure!

Thank you all for your prayers and support for Ricky. He's seriously the most amazing guy ever.  Breaks my heart but I have learned sooooo incredibly much from this experience alone.

The Gladys Knight performances were SOOOO amazing!!!! ahhh! So good. unfortunately, none of our investigators made it..  Darn flakey YSA... but we got really good people there--those who were less active or struggling members.  It was a great experience. I am obsessed with the music haha! and Brother McDowell's testimony.... oh man. what a power house!! It was just so great.  I wish it would come back to SJ so EVERYONE could go.!!!!

Mom! I did get the package! And it was PERFECT! the persimmons were seriously PERFECT! not even close to too ripe!  It was amazing.  What a blessing ! :) soooo good! Sister Jensen-Coon tried one but she could only eat like a quarter of it at a time haha. Too funny.  She got weirded out by it. but mmmm I ate like 1 a day when I restrained myself hehe. But it was super good. We also got the White Rabbit and ginger and Pocky and Yanyans! :) THANK YOU SO MUCH!  It was fun having sis Jensen-Coon try them all. hahaha. the ginger is a fun one for people to try :)

I did get Sister Stevens' card! Thank you so much Sister Stevens! Sorry I didn't mention it before! I must have forgotten to reply--transfers were crazy. but that's no excuse! I will write back soon! I just got emily's email! I will write a letter today! Tell Kei congrats!!! That's awesome!! I can't see her being a waitress! I would love it!!  But I think I would snap at rude people too much haha. jk. I'd just talk bad about them in portuguese--with a smile :) haha JK I WOULDNT CAUSE THAT'S NOT WHAT CHRIST WOULD DO!

Anyway, wow, this email is allll over the place haha. Anyway, I got letters from the Bertagnolli's and the Garrett's as well. Thank them so much for me! I am soooo excited for all of the outgoing missionaries! How amazing!!!! It's sooo exciting just knowing how everything I am doing right now, they will be doing as well, with different areas, different people, different kinds of work, yet the same work, same message, same spirit. I'm so excited for them all. This will be the most gratifying, hardest, most spiritual, most amazing self-discovering adventure of your life! :)

I love you all and hope all is well at home! I'm super excited for mom's chayote! Looking good!!!  Those tomatoes! hahah! can't win em all, huh? use rusty's poop for fertilizer or something. idk how that works haha. but how's the other plants??  How exciting! you're own little garden!  When does it get too cold to garden there??

You are all in my prayers every night! LOVE YOU!!!!!

PS The ward is doing better! people are working with us, still flakey but they are getting there! Gotta get them excited!!! People are excited when we are excited!!!!
WOOOOH!!!

-Sister Yoshimoto