This week was quite good with all that we've been able to accomplish with lots of aid from heaven. The results were largely evidenced in our church attendance on Sunday, which was about the same as last week except that some new people came in the stead of others who weren't able to make it this week. Amongst those people were some of the family members of the family I've been telling you about that was a member referral. The father, M, was able to gain access to a car and bring some of his family with him to church that way. His wife was sick, but one of his sons came who we were able to also schedule for baptism this week. The lesson where that happened didn't actually involve any of the rest of his family, but was a couple doors down the street at his uncle's house (J), who's the member that referred F (our most recent baptism) to us. In that lesson we re-scheduled J's daughter for the same day, and we're looking forward to the miracles that will come along with all of this. Also at church was M's daughter, D, who's as of yet undecided about being baptized, but she had a fantastic experience once again at church. She's really enjoying it all, and is progressing a lot. Along with them, we had four other youth at church, two boys and two girls, putting our youth attendance at 6 total, the most in a long time. One of these youth was a total miracle that he was there; we were nearly at the bus stop to head to church in the morning after having stopped by virtually everyone we teach in Darnall and found him close to the bus stop. We asked him if he was coming to church, and intitially the answer was that he was going to work. Then his friend came up (the one we've been trying to prepare for a mission) and said he was going to church, so the first decided that he'd come, too. They're both about 18 years old. His father is the one who was at the baptism and had such a great experience that we've been working with, so this is a great sign for that family. Another family we're working with is a part-member family living in Doncaster. The wife and daughter are both scheduled for baptism and are still working towards it even though we've been unable to see them for a while because of circumstance. Good things are happening all around. F has also been on fire with his own personal missionary work, talking to his friends about his baptism and how he felt. You can see in him a lot of light, and he's happier than he's ever been. There are a lot of people who've been and are being very positively influenced by him, and it's amazing to see.
Another interesting and unexpected miracle was when we went to teach some investigators we hadn't seen in a while. Upon the door opening, we found out that they'd actually moved and their relatives are now living there. They invited us in, asked a load of questions (which is unusual, to be honest--usually we end up having to speak a lot more than them), and had a pretty good lesson. In the end, the man of the house told me we should come every day, that I'm gold and blessed, and that he believes we'll convince him to go to our church. Fair enough. Many people have been saying similar things along the lines of that we're good people and such, but what I think many don't realize is that it's not exactly us who they like so much and feel good things from, but rather the Spirit that we carry. The Spirit of God is an attractive force that leads people to experiencing good feelings of peace, happiness, and comfort, so when we speak about God and allow that Spirit to be there, people feel it. They just often don't realize what it is that they're feeling and just assume it's because we're extraordinary people or something. What I'm getting at is, if we want people to like being around us, the best thing we can do is anything that invites the Spirit (i.e. read the scriptures, pray, go to church, and keep the commandments). It's as simple as that.
I've got to go now, but I hope you have an awesome week. You're the best, just like I always tell you. I say it because it's true :) .
Love,
Elder Brown
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