Evidence that miracles really do happen:
I make my bed everyday.
So once upon a time on a park day (1 day every month when
we're only allowed to walk even if we have a car), we were on our way to an
apartment complex we wanted to knock, but decided on the way to just knock a
few houses. In one of the last ones, we met a Cambodian grandmother who as it
turns out is an inactive member of the church (as is pretty much every
Cambodian we run into here). She told us she wasn't interested in coming back,
she was too busy for church, etc. But we left her with a Cambodian Book of
Mormon with our names and numbers written on the inside and bore our
testimonies about the spirit she'd feel if she'd read it. Then we left. We'd
been walking for maybe 20 mins when we got a call from this woman's
granddaughter. She had just gotten home from school, seen the Book of Mormon,
and immediately called us and asked us to come over. She's 8 years old and
can't read Cambodian, so she didn't even know what the book was. But when we
walked back to her house, she was hugging the book and wanted to know if she
could have one in English. Her grandmother gave us complete permission to teach
her and for her to come to church, because she wants her grandchildren to be
raised in a church environment. So we started teaching her right away.
We got her a children's picture Book of Mormon and gave her
little reading assignments in between each lesson. We did our best to make sure
there was someone from her primary class there with us in every lesson. It was
so neat to see these little girls get all dressed up in their Sunday best and
bring their scriptures and say an opening prayer in every lesson. They were so
excited to be asked to help teach Angelina, and now she has friends she looks
forward to seeing every Sunday. When she came to church her first Sunday, she
surprised us by announcing, "hey, I've been here before!" She
then proceeded to tell us about this friend who used to take her to
church and one time she saw someone wearing white clothes get dunked under the
water and come up again, and could we tell her what that was all about? We had
a picture flip-book and showed her how Jesus was baptized that same way, and
read with her about how baptism cleanses our sins and helps us follow the
example of Jesus. She asked us, when can I do that? She was baptized yesterday
at 4pm after church. Her whole family came to the baptism, and told us
afterwards that they would come to church to support her on the Sundays they
aren't working.
Don't you just love it when the gospel absolutely changes
peoples lives?
On a side-note, I have been assigned a new companion for
next transfer, and she moves in starting tomorrow! She speaks English, of
course, but that's totally fine by me. She's been out as long as I have, so
we'll be follow-up training each other. I'm super excited to be the senior companion
because I've been with my trainer long enough to know what works and what
doesn't (what doesn't work: waiting until the day of the baptism to arrange
everything for the baptism). I'm determined to kinda be the chain-breaker in
all of the less-awesome missionary stereotypes in this area and earn the trust
of the ward by showing them our willingness to work hard under their
direction.
I've been in Mountainview ward, Tacoma, Washington for 6
weeks (a full transfer!) and the church is definitely true here too.
-Sister McQuiv
P.S. write me letters I'm lonely
1204
73rd st. #34
Tacoma,
WA 98404
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