I hope you are having a lovely July and keeping cool! :) There was a heat wave this week in Queens and it has been blazing hot! But, along with that, the missionary work has just been on fire. I have never worked so hard or been so exhausted or so happy. :) Listen up, it has been the BEST week of missionary work I have ever experienced! We quadrupled our goal of having 1 new investigator, which is a miracle! :)
Rocio is one of our investigators that we met through English Class. Rocio is an awesome lady from Mexico and is so smiley. She always brings her little girl, Beatrice, to class and we just love them. :) We found where they live because we were out looking for someone else the other day and happened to, by chance, knock Rocio's door. We were all a little shocked to see little Beatrice behind the door followed by Rocio. There are thousands of doors in Queens and we just happened to knock theirs! We were so happy. :) They invited us to come back and teach them a lesson on the Restoration. We took Hermana Corona, one of the Ward Missionaries, and had a wonderful lesson. She loved the Book of Mormon, and I'm really excited to see them again this week!
We are also working with one of the most amazing people I've met named Graciella. The Elders found her one day and talked to her for a bit about the church. She told them that her family has really been struggling. The dad had been coming home for work late on night and was jumped. He was stabbed 7 times, 5 in the stomach and 2 in the chest. Miraculously, he lived and is currently in the hospital recovering but is also suffering from memory loss as well. It has taken a huge toll on their family, and if having their dad near death wasn't enough, they are now struggling financially. The Elders thought that we could help her in her time of need and asked us to go visit her. As we walked into her home, I noticed a little picture of the Salt Lake City Temple on their wall. But before I could ask about what in the world that was doing there, Graciella was handing us huge glasses of papya juice and telling us how glad she was to have us there. She said she'd seen the missionaries throughout her life, knocking doors, talking to people, but she didn't want anything to do with them because she is very Catholic. But after her husband was wounded, she prayed for help. She prayed to know why this happened and to know what to do. She said it was then that God sent her the missionaries. It was about then that her son, Martin, walked in the through the door. He looked at us and got a huge smile on his face. "Are you Latter-day Saints?" he asked, to which we said yes. And then he said, "Me too!" He then told us how he had been baptized in 2003 but then their family moved and he couldn't find a church. Sis. Laney, Franklin, and I just about fell off our chairs. Can you believe that?! It certainly explained the picture of the temple on the wall and why Graciella had seen the missionaries so much before. It's incredible. Church is true. :) We have been meeting with her regularly and are going to see her again tonight! Please pray for us to teach by the spirit and for Graciella and her family. :)
Also, remember the Cortez Family that I love? We lost contact with them for almost a month. We'd call, drop in, text, everything, and we just could not get a hold of them. It was like they fell of the face of the planet. But somehow, we ran into them twice in one week - once while we were doing trash pick-up and another time as they were walking out of the barbershop. We were able to make an appointment with them and have an awesome lesson about the Plan of Salvation. I love teaching the Plan of Salvation. It's so beautiful. I believe if I was an investigator, learning about families being together forever is were I would become converted. That just makes sense to me. I can't image life without you hooligans. :) The Cortez family loved it as well, and we are going back to see then Thursday. I love them. :)
And if that wasn't enough, here's the cherry on top! We had a huge Mormon Helping Hands service project all throughout Western Queens and guess who I ran into? Sister Powell!!! My bestie, best friend, sister from another mother, kindred spirit, MTC pal! Oh, I love that girl! :) It was so good to see her and listen to that beautiful southern accent. And we cleaned up, mulched, and watered over a hundred trees! So fun. :)
I love being a missionary. This is so beautiful. :) This week was like standing in the pouring rain after a long, hot drought. I think Heavenly Father wanted to give me a little taste of heaven this week, so I know what I'm working for. This is the work of the Almighty God. I am sure of it. :)
I love you all so much! Have so much fun at the Rodeo and camping with the fam! Tell everyone I love them. :) Eat some chocolate-chip cheesecake torte for me on Sunday and know I love you and I'm praying for you and I miss you! :)
All my love and then some,
Hermana Mill Mill Mann
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