Hey everybody :)
This week has felt so long! I don't know why... but it feels like forever since I have emailed you!
I have to start by saying how excited and proud I am of you Lennon!!! You did it! You are an HERMANA!!! Your email made me so happy! I can tell you are doing great and enjoying your time! You will love the CCM and you will love Mexico and the missionaries and your teachers, etc. etc. etc. I am so happy for you!! Can't wait to hear how your first week went :)
Monday night we went to visit one of our new investigators who we found last week. Her husband was there and they let us right in and we started teaching them the 1st lesson. Things were going good and they were understanding and receptive to our message, until we mentioned prophets and specifically, Joseph Smith. Oh boy... they Bible bashed us... saying that there is no way there is a modern prophet and that it all ended when Christ died. We were there forever. They would not let it go and she even "rebuked us in the name of Jesus Christ" for saying there is a prophet... But then she said that if we can show her in the Bible where it says there will be another prophet after Christ, she would believe us! They told us we were welcome to come back anytime... strange! They were nice while they talked to us, they weren't rude, but just not willing to give up. The husband also speaks in tongues...
We also met a guy this week while trying to find a less-active member of our ward. He is trying out for the Voice on Saturday. His name is Koichi. He plays 19 different instruments. He is really short! He is an atheist and was not interested in meeting with us but we talked to him for a while. It was really fun. So you will have to look for him on the Voice (who knows if the guy can sing)!
We had dinner with the cutest couple from China! They are adorable! And they made us yummy real authentic Chinese. Nothing like Panda! haha! She is going to send us some pics she took with us this week and I'll forward them to you :) We also had dinner with the Turners! (Cory's parents) They are so sweet!! I like them a lot! Sorry, I was lame this week and didn’t take any pics of my own. Sorry, Mom!
Another funny thing happened... we were visiting a family in our ward and the oldest daughter was telling us how her Dad is very antagonistic about the church and was telling her all sorts of false things about it. Here is a quote from her... "My dad says that Mormons belong to a deer... oh I mean colt! I know it is some sort of 4 legged animal". Haha!!! It was darling!
We had Zone Conference on Tuesday. It was great! They focused a lot on families and our roles in our families (i.e. husbands and wives). It was really good! I appreciated everything they had to say. I feel like I can apply it all to my life after the mission, with our family, and my future family,but also now as a missionary to those I am teaching :)
Zone Conference was in Greeley, so after we swung by Hna. Leos' to say hi! It was awesome! I love her so so so much!!! It was so good to see her :) I hope I get to go back to the branch and serve there again!
After zone conference, we had an fabulous experience. Hna. Stratford's Mom came to town. It was totally approved by President Brown and we knew she was coming. Her fiance is not a member and is ready to take the lessons. He would only take the first one if Hna. Stratford could teach him. So they got permission from Pres. Brown. They took us out to eat at Cafe Rio and then we went to the Bowman's house and taught him there. It was a really neat experience! He was so nice! He said he could see and feel the spirit as we testified that we knew the church was true. He also said that before he makes a decisions to be baptized, he wants to know with that same conviction for himself that it is true. We were able to teach him how he will come to know it for himself. He was really excited and said when he gets home to Portland he would call the missionaries and start taking the discussions!! So cool!!!
Yesterday we went to see Raul. We planned on teaching him about Family History but the lesson changed when he walked out drinking a huge can of green tea. We switched it up and taught him the Word of Wisdom. He did not like what we had to say and could not understand why tea was against word of wisdom. He just kept on sippin’. We explained why and by the end he got serious and stopped joking around and started to understand. He had 2 cans with him on the porch and we challenged him to dump them out. He wouldn't do it for the longest time, but then we decided to would pay him the money back that he used to buy them. So we gave him $4 and he did it. He dumped it out and committed to not drink it again. After he started to cry. It made me sad, but they were spirit tears. It was a really neat lesson. It was challenging to get through to this 13 year old boy. But by the end, we were able to. And we did it with love and he knows that. I am so proud of him and I know Heavenly Father is too.
We see so many miracles as missionaries. Certainly teaching Hna. Stratford's future step Dad and having our lesson with Raul were some from this week! I am grateful for these experiences I am having. They come from the Spirit and from being members of the Gospel. I know the church is true! I know that the gospel blesses families! I am seeing it bless ours right now! Lennon... I LOVE YOU AND I AM SO PROUD OF YOU!!!!!!
I love you all!!!
Love,
Hermana Mangum the 1st :) Haha
P.S. I moved... one of the most stressful days ever…
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