Happy St. Patrick's Day

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Hope you all are wearing green... Hermana Wilkins and I, of course are as decked out as we can possibly be in conservative missionary gear :)

I have so much to say this week, but I think I'll just tell you about one day...

Sunday was one of the most incredible days on the mission, so far. We have been having a rough week, not having very many people to visit, and we've both felt like we haven't been working our hardest, so neither one of us was having the best day. However, things started to turn around when we got to church and saw our investigator that's getting baptized this week (Santiago) already there sitting on the bench in a full suit. It was so adorable! He loves learning, and we're so happy to see how much he's changed over the past couple months.

I gave a talk on Sunday (on missionary work of course) and had been praying pretty fervently all morning for the gift of tongues so that I would be able to say what the congregation needed to hear (with correct grammar!). I was definitely blessed in my time of need because I was able to speak completely fluently, and even say thoughts that came to my mind that I hadn't planned on speaking about. I felt like it went fairly well, and on Tuesday morning we were talking to Hermana Duran (one of my favorite spitfire Mexican ladies in the ward) and she told me that she had been listening intently for anything that I said wrong (she likes to help me with my Spanish) but that she couldn't find one thing! I was pleased that I had been able to speak well and now I just hope that what I/the other speakers said motivates the ward to become more involved in missionary work. Hermana Wilkins and I also sang "Señor, yo te seguiré" (Lord, I Would Follow Thee) which went fairly smoothly with limited practice and no accompaniment.

After our meetings we came home for companionship study and had a really great conversation about all the things we needed to be doing better to talk to more people, and to find more people to teach. We got super pumped and decided to skip our scheduled Spanish study and head out to start finding. We were blessed with success, and contacted more people on the street than we usually do in several days.

The most amazing part of the day was our appointment with Consuelo and Oswaldo. They are our investigators that are progressing well, but have not been able to attend church because of their work schedule. We started off with them by recapping their reading, and Oswaldo summarized 1 Nephi 3-5 perfectly, with details I wouldn't have thought of, and I think most members wouldn't have even included. I love seeing how much he loves reading and learning about the Book of Mormon because I too love it, and know exactly how he's feeling!

We then talked a little bit about commandments, God's wisdom, and how he will ALWAYS provide a way, by relating the story of Nephi obtaining the brass plates to our lives. We told them that we have been praying hard for them to be able to change their schedule and/or find another job, and invited them to begin praying as a family to help this happen. We asked them if we could kneel right then and pray together. We did, and asked Oswaldo if he would say the prayer. He hasn't wanted to pray out loud since we began teaching them about a month ago, so he was hesitant at first, but when Hermana Wilkins offered to pray he said "No, yo lo hare." He
He offered one of the most humble, sincere prayers I think I have ever heard, pleading with Heavenly Father to help him learn more, follow His will, and find a way to help them attend church as a family. He has such righteous desires for him and his family, and such intense faith that things will work out and I could really feel that as he was praying

After he closed, he continued praying personally for almost 20 minutes. The Spirit was so strong, and while we waited for him to finish, I opened my scriptures to Enos and read about his powerful experience with prayer. As I read about Enos' supplication with the Lord I looked up at Oswaldo and saw that he was just like Enos. Here was a man hungering for truth and knowledge (in fact he has even used that analogy to describe his feelings), on his knees pleading to his Father in Heaven in mighty prayer. He was so fervent, so faithful. When he finally ended he commented that he had never prayed like that before, but that he felt so good, and knew that something will happen so that they will be able to come to church.

The Spirit was so strong in that room that I didn't want to leave! It made me think about how much control we have over how strongly we feel the Spirit. Obviously we have to be standing in holy places, but the presence of the Spirit is so dependent on our own thoughts, words, actions, etc. I want to challenge you all to watch your own thoughts and actions to invite the Spirit more strongly into your homes and into your lives. As you do so, you will feel Heavenly Father's love more strongly, and increase in your faith, desire, and ability to do what's right.

Much love,

Hermana Richelle Ouellette