When I first got to this area Sister Adamson and I were not teaching very many people so we knocked on doors a lot. It also tended to rain when we would be out trying to find people to teach and this weekend we saw the fruits of our labors. One of the first people we tracted into was Donna. She sat us down and told us how important her salvation is to her and that she would do whatever it takes to serve the Lord. Saturday she took the biggest spiritual step she has ever taken and was baptized! She's such a character. We walked her to the font and at the top of the stairs she was acting like she was getting ready to dive in. "No Donna, you gotta take the stairs" I laughed as she entered into the water. The three of us Sister Missionaries stood with the towels and put our arms around each other with tear-filled eyes as we watched all of her sins get washed away. When she came up out of the water the gave a big "YES!" with a fist pump and tears in her eyes! "I did it! I did it!" She exclaimed as we put the towels around her and shed tears of joy. I can say that I have never in my life experienced that amount of joy. She looked like a completely different person. She was glowing! I love to look back to when we first met her and she felt like there was so much more to life than what she knew and that the Lord had a work for her to do. She has chosen to follow our Savior, Jesus Christ and serve him till the end. Sunday she was confirmed and received the gift of the Holy Ghost. It was also testimony meeting and the ward gave her such a warm welcome. 

Mr. Houston came to church as well! He's Donna's neighbor that we have been teaching along with his wife and four kids. They are reading the Book of Mormon and the girls have said they want to get baptized. I want nothing more than for this family to enter into the waters of baptism and then work towards being sealed in the temple for time and all eternity. The Church is on the earth to get families and individuals back to our Father in Heaven. I feel more than honored to be a part of this work that the Lord is hastening. Mr. Houston said he really enjoyed church and hopes to bring his family next week. We will be teaching them again on Wednesday! 

Brian and CJ also came to church on Sunday! Brian was taught the no-smoke program last week and has not smoked since. He even fasted on Sunday in hopes that he would receive an answer to his prayers. He really wants to be a member of this Church. He studies a lot and is diligent in striving to gain a witness that these things are true. We will meet with him again this week as well and will hopefully set a baptismal date for him. 

John came to church again but only stayed for about 45 minutes because he had to go to band practice. But we met with him last night and he said that he talked to the band about moving practice to another day. John is a Franciscan and has been struggling because he would have to withdraw from the spiritual commitments he has already made. Understanding where he is coming from has really helped us see why it's been hard for him to set a baptismal date. He knows that this is right and he has told us that he wants to be baptized, he just needs to do some things before he feels like he can commit to a date- which is understandable. Transfers are coming up though and we have all grown to care about John a lot and we all hope to see him enter into a covenant with God that will bring him lasting happiness. 

Jennifer didn't come to church and we are trying to help her to gain a testimony of the Book of Mormon. She has some hangups about the church (political stuff) and so we are trying to get her realize that this is Christ's Church and that everything is done under the direction of God. But she's been taught everything and we hope to build her testimony so she can receive all of the blessings that the Gospel has to offer. 

Today is Zone P-Day and we are going to the City Museum with our entire zone! This is a HUGE jungle gym for adults and should be pretty sweet. There's a seven story slide and lots of fun places to explore. Should be pretty awesome! 

Oh and I wanted to tell a cool story! Really quick. Last week after emailing we were walking to the car and we passed a guy exchanging friendly "how are you" and he was just nice. After passing him I felt like I should talk to him. The Sisters encouraged me to but I looked back and he was already so far away and I was not wanting to run after a guy in a pencil skirt. "Gah, I know I need to but I don't want to fine I'll go!" took off after this guy and caught up to him right before he entered the library. "Excuse me sir, can I ask you a question?" He responded with a friendly "Sure!" Then I asked, "Have you ever heard about the Mormon Church?"

"Yeah, I worked with a lady who is Mormon and we'd talk about it all the time! I know you guys are way into service and families.." In my head I'm freaking out. I told him what we do as missionaries, gave him a brief explanation on the Book of Mormon, gave it to him and said to read and pray just after setting up a time to meet and learn more. LOVE it when I act on the spiritual promptings the Lord gives me! Man, this is fun!!!

Love,

Sister Collett

Oh and P.S. I was at a members home when the tornados came around so we were in a safe basement. No damage where I live- totally fine :) No worries! Love you all!