And I'm so glad all of you are alive!
Not gonna lie, receiving no emails last p-day made me wonder. But my companion pushed out any fears and missionary life continued! I'm so glad you had a wonderful vacation in Maine and L.A. (so weird to think my relatives are just a couple hours away...) I never want to be taken away from this missionary work or these areas!! I am crazy blessed it's ridiculous. I don't always deserve it but Heavenly Father loves me too much I guess! (wink) And my companion is super patient with me and she always knows when I need a good laugh. I'm so glad all of you are doing well. Keep telling me your adventures, and if you think you're boring me, you're not! So keep it coming!
THIS WEEK was a week of miracles. Mainly yesterday, actually, but I'll save that for last. Some quick notes: went to the castle retirement home to visit the classy Ednis Smith, LOVE her! She's sadly sick right now so she's in my thoughts and prayers! She's like the Grandma to my mission right now! We also had a lot of cancellations and therefore that led to a lot of frustration yells--my companion dealt with it well and she always makes me laugh in the end. She's pretty impressive! The hardest struggle with our investigators right now is that NO ONE comes to church. Priorities are a struggle. CHURCH IS SOOOO AWESOME THOUGH!! Since my mission I have never felt more of the spirit in church. It's so powerful. The only way it can become powerful is if you are willing to do something!!!
Preparation is sooo important throughout the week, think about the the Savior everyday and then those ten minutes in Sacrament meeting will become the most sacred time of the week. IT'S THE BEST!!! So do it! Please. :)
This Sunday we were in Hillsdale Ward (hardest part about being in two wards is that they start at the same time and we have to go to each every other week--we missed Jamul this week). We had President Hunt and his wife (counselor to my mission president) give REALLY good talks on how we can make sacrament meeting a more reverent place, especially when we have visitors. They did so well! They welcomed our visitors; we actually had an investigator there! FINALLY!! Prayers were answered! And they talked about how we need to always treat the chapel with respect, so bring the noise OUTSIDE of the chapel--currently something we could definitely improve on. So hopefully it will stick! And our investigator enjoyed it so I know he'll be back!
We also had a lesson with Crystal this week. She's super cool! She's reading, so that's a plus. Sadly we didn't see her in church but I hope soon she'll recognize how much it can change her life! It's changed MY life A LOT! We also taught Taylor! Our recent convert since July 4th, I love her! But unfortunately this was the last lesson we are going to teach her. When we got there she informed us that she thinks it would be best to go to the ward she lives closest to because then she knows her mom would come and then her siblings would come.
It made me sad. I probably won't see her for a couple of years, but you never know! She has become a part of me and she has already told me I am invited to her temple wedding. I love her. I hope her family will follow her example soon. I am excited for that day!!
We also continue to teach Elijah, the 12 year old his new member lessons. That kid is so cool! He wants his mom and sister to join so badly you can see it on his face. He goes to scouts and I can't wait until he will pass the sacrament!! He is the sweetest kid and is going to make an amazing leader in the church someday!
Of course going into Jamul will ALWAYS be an adventure, getting lost, GPS being wrong, driving super slow on the dirt roads so tiwi doesn't yell at us and our car doesn't die! (We are convinced if it stays much longer in Jamul, it will die!) but the spirit is always so strong and I have never been able to follow so many promptings in my life! We pray a lot in Jamul when we are lost or don't know what to do and it always leads us to someone. Always.
Which now leads into yesterday, which was definitely one of my favorite days on the mission. We decided to spend the morning and afternoon in Jamul. The night before we were planning it was kind of rushed; we were taking a while and trying to hurry so we could do call-ins with our district leader soon. At the end I felt kind of bad about how rushed our planning was so I wasn't sure how good Monday was going to be. Boy did Heavenly Father prove me wrong! We went out to a potential's house. He wasn't there but we got two great referrals for our zone leaders! I know the Lord has great things in store for those two children of God! And then our Bishop in Jamul Ward asked us to go visit someone who he thinks might have moved. And once again we couldn't find the house. We walked, couldn't find it. We prayed, and Sister Wardinsky felt a prompting to go climb a hill, so we went up a driveway, (not it) and we got a good perspective on the area and still couldn't find the house. We decided to call the Relief Society President and ask if she knew where it was. She did. She said the elders had the same problem and couldn't find it. Man. We decided we had tried our best and were about to go on to the next house. Then one of the neighbors pulled up. Everyone is very nice in Jamul and wants to make sure we are okay. She told us maybe to try these other driveways on hills. So we did, and WE FOUND THE HOUSE! Miracle right there! Seriously, from all the times we couldn't find houses we found one yesterday and that was a victory! We found out she did indeed move, but I didn't care. I had never been more thrilled to follow Heavenly Father's promptings and find a house in Jamul!! Wahoo!!!!!! Then we actually found a potential on our list, that was a miracle to actually find him home, he wasn't interested but I feel more and more confident as I continue to testify to people and get inspired questions from the Lord. With everything that he was saying I never doubted, I know this is the truth and I know Heavenly Father loves me and that's why he's got me through trials, so I can become a better person and I will be forever grateful for that! Then we had lunch at the Jamul Meat Market, a cute little Hispanic shop where we got HUGE California Burritos! (Literally the best thing ever: fries and guac in a burrito is genius!)
And then we had the biggest miracle of all, Ashley. Another potential on the list and we had tried her before but found the road had been blocked off and that there was another side to it. So we tried to find that other side yesterday. And boy, did we find it. Not only did we find it, we found Ashley! We went to the door, we knocked, no answer, knocked again, no answer, were about to leave when all of a sudden there was Ashley! And she just came out and talked to us like she already knew us! We found out that she has friends on missions, she's been to the Jamul ward before, knows about Joseph Smith and living modern day prophets and is soooo cool! I felt like I've known her for a long time! So we showed her "Because He Lives," prayed with her, set an appointment and did a little dance when we got to our car!!!!! We were so pumped and sooooo thrilled, Jamul is a hard area, hasn't seen much success and we weren't sure whether we would or not but we totally are! The Lord was telling us not to doubt, he's got our backs, don't worry, just keep doing your work and I will take care of you! I LOVE HEAVENLY FATHER!!!! I'm still in shock from finding an investigator in Jamul and it shows that inspired planning is real! I love Jamul sooo much and I'm sooo excited to help this ward!
I have a HUGE testimony of how much Heavenly Father loves us, he is here to take care of that and we never need doubt that! I never will.
And if he's taking care of me he HAS to be taking care of all of you. I know he loves each and every one of you just as much as he loves me. It's amazing to feel so much love for people, and I know that's a small part of what Heavenly Father feels for all of us. Life is great, life is the best! Never stop praying, never stop relying on our Heavenly Father and always know he is there! Never doubt!!
Love, Sister Whitcomb
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