5-3-10 #2

Wow,
What a week! It was a great week and we met a lot of awesome people. I can not even describe the love that I have for the people we are teaching, meeting, the ward members, and my companion. They are...its incredible. I can not imagine my life with out some of these people. On General Conference weekend a woman named M* showed up in the Church. One of her friends who is Koren invited her to come. She has lived here for 1 year and 3 months and she says she's learning English. She lives with her sister and her sisters family. She's in her 30's from Peru and Venezuela. Anyway, we've gotten to know her a little bit from Conference and I've talked with her on the phone a lot. She always calls me her friend which makes me feel so good. On Sat we met up and went to her sisters home. Her sister has two children 10 and 6 and a husband. They have lived here for about 20 years. Right now they are really interested about learning English but they know a little bit about the Church as well. Their father, M*, and her sisters just passed away about 1 1/2 mo ago. When we came over we got to know them better and talked with them in English and Spanish. The whole time in their home I just thought, is this really happening, did we just meet this family who received us into their home REALLY well, wants us to come back, and...wow! It was just blown away. They said, "here is our number, when you have any free time come by." I thought, "For you...OF COURSE we have time!" lol. After getting to know them better we left a spiritual message about the Plan of Salvation. I know they felt the spirit and...I'm just extremely excited to get to work with them more. What a miracle and...pray for them that they will continue to receive us well and receive the Gospel.

I feel things are going pretty well with our investigators. B* is back from Ecuador and he is doing really well. Before he left he was in the process of making his decision to be baptised or not. I feel like we are on the edge with him and Ohh! I hope and pray that he will realize and have the desire to be baptised. I've seen the light in his eyes change and he knows it two. A* and M*-They are another family we are teaching. I'm pretty worried about them right now. They don't understand or believe that we need to have a prophet on the earth today but Hna Gonzalez and I both feel that there are greater doubts than just this. On Tuesday we met with A* and Sister Nelson, our Mission Presidents wife came with us. The lesson went really well and she prayed in front of us for the first time but then when we met with the both of them on Sat...they wouldn't pray. Things are going really well and I can't help but fall to my knees and thank our Father in Heaven for all of the miracles I see and experience each and every day.

This week I have really been trying to focus on following the spirit more and be more in tune. It takes a lot of work even as a missionary. The other night I had a dream about not being a missionary and I freaked out! It was quite funny but at the same time I feel like, yes! I finally got to the point where I don't want to give this up for anything. I really don't. As hard as the days may be sometimes I would never willingly give this up. They are going to have to rip the badge off of me when I come home. :)

I can't even describe how grateful I am for our Father in Heaven. I have felt happier this week than I have any other week of my mission. I feel like the love and happiness just keeps growing and growing. At times I think, OK, things are going really well, when is something bad going to happen. I can't think about that, I need to move forward with faith as we all must in this world. The world is not the easiest to live in but God sent his Son, our Savior and Redeemer so that we might be saved, feel peace and comfort from this glorious gospel. This truly is the Church of Jesus Christ established once again in the latter-days.

I love all of you more than I could express. Be good, no, be great. Be what Heavenly Father knows you can be and take each day step by step, poco a poco, like my Spanish :)

Love,

Hermana Banaszewski