Dear Family,
My heart is SO full as I reflect on the many miracles I've seen this past week..and the past 18 months. Heavenly Father knows each of His children so well, He knows me so well. It is such a blessing to serve Him!
Last night we were able to witness the baptisms of T and T, who are outstanding youth! It was a very special baptismal service and most of the youth from the Ward were there to support them. We had such a great turnout and the spirit was so strong as we watched them enter into covenants with their Heavenly Father! They were confirmed at the baptismal service because next week is Stake Conference, so it was neat to see them receive both of those ordinances. I accompanied Sister Styer as she sang this song called "Healing Water" and the lyrics really touched me.
And like healing water on my skin
Rushing rivers crashing in
Like a child I’m born again
To start a brand new life
And I feel the sunlight shining down
I’m walking on holy ground
My grateful spirit crying out
Oh, I believe
I was lost but now I’m found and I can see
’Cause I’m clean
If you haven't heard it before, you should listen to it :)
I know that change is possible because of Jesus Christ, after the service T and T were just glowing. T was smiling from ear to ear, I don't know if I've ever seen someone look so pure and joyful, it was so sweet! So the baptismal service ended and as we were cleaning up I got a Facebook message on my iPad from B, someone I had taught the entire time I was serving in Great Falls. He told me he had been BAPTIZED!!! He sent me pictures of him and Brother Rhodehouse, who baptized him, and told me he had been confirmed that day during sacrament meeting by Brother Wilson! It was such a huge surprise and I am smiling now, just thinking about it!!! He has come so far and it is such a blessing to have been able to be a small part of his journey. It brought me back to the beginning of my mission when Sister Anderson and I decided to fast that B would decide to get baptized. It definitely wasn't on our time table, and honestly at the time I felt that prayer wasn't answered... but God always has a plan for His children, because He knows us perfectly!
Okay, I feel like my brain is working in reverse chronological order, but the past two weeks have been so crazy and so good! We've gone on 3 Exchanges, which have been so fun! Last week we were with the Missoula 2 Sisters, so I was with Sister Davis! I served with her when I was in Wyoming, so it was so fun to go on exchanges with her again! We saw lots of miracles (starting with the fact that I was semi able to navigate the crazy town of Missoula, haha) but it was great!
We had set a goal to talk with everyone, so we were in this apartment building trying to find this investigator, but she wasn't home. As we were walking out, we saw a lady sitting in the lobby area, so we went over and talked to her! She opened up and we were able to testify of the plan of salvation. Although she ended up not being interested, we talked with her for a good 20 minutes about Christ and it was great! We got up to leave, and another lady walked in the door, so we talked with her for a few minutes, then another person walked in and thought we were workers there, so she started asking us how to find different apartments, and although we didn't know, it was nice to talk to her! THEN our investigator walked through the door! She had been taking her dog on a walk, and had we not talked with everyone else, we wouldn't have been around when she finally got home! We were able to meet her as well as teach her because she invited us right into her apartment, it was such a great miracle!
Last Sunday we had 8 investigators at church, which was such a huge miracle! And this Sunday we had 7 investigators at church, which was another huge miracle! The work is going really well and we are staying extra busy. We had two exchanges this week, one with the Missoula 1 sisters and one with the Blodgett Canyon Sisters! We spent Valentine's Day on exchanges with Sister Thomas and it was such a blast! In the afternoon we went to "The Village" which is a nursing home and helped them with their Valentine's Day party! It was so sweet to see them all so happy and excited about it.
I also went to Hamilton, which is about an hour outside of Missoula and went on exchanges with Sister Shupe. She is so incredible and I had SO much fun! We did lots of finding and had a powerful lesson on the atonement with one of their investigators who really wants to make some changes in his life. Also, while we were trying to find this investigator, we saw a bunch of chickens in a tree! So obviously, we decided to take pictures with them. It was so hilarious
our dinner appointment that evening ended up canceling, so we went to this place called "Naps" which is one of the "must eat" places in the town, and it was so fun! It was a burger place and they had license plates all over the walls, and I found a Hawaii one! So fun!
Highlights of the (past two) Weeks!
- Heart Attacked! So the Missoula 3rd Ward is incredible, they are just so sweet! We came home Tuesday night with hearts all over our bedroom door. Sister Wilson had come and decorated it for us and left us some goodies, it was great!
- Big Dipper: last preparation day it was so sunny, so we decided to go get ice cream with the Frenchtown Sisters! There are apparently two "must have" ice cream places in town, and the Big Dipper is one of them, it was so yummy!
We also had a really great lesson in Saturday with our investigator, K! We taught him the plan of salvation in a member's home and it was SO neat because he already had a testimony of it! He shared some personal experiences from his life and how he knows the plan of salvation is true, it was so cool. He hasn't committed to baptism yet, but I know he'll come around!
What a blessing it is to be serving as a full-time missionary. At the baptism last night we sang "Families Can Be Together Forever" and it brought me back to 18 months ago, singing that song in sacrament meeting with my sisters. I remember at the time I was SO excited to serve a mission, but pretty positive it would be an eternity till I was reunited with my family. I could have never imagined then, the experiences I would have and the way my life would change in 18 short months. I'm glad it's not over yet, but I sure am excited to see all your smiling faces. Thank you for being the best family ever, I love each of you SO much
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Love, Sister Wong
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