Nothing happens overnight. If it did, it wouldn't have taken 6 days for Christ to make the earth.

Subj: From Randall, one of the inmates we’re teaching. So profound. I know that he’s right. Change doesn’t happen overnight. I think it’s cool to think of all of the miraculous things that God COULD make happen but He loves us enough to have us work for them.Ok, not much time to write…So we’ve had lots of little miracles and of course a few disappointments to go along with it.

LOST AND FOUND
One cool thing…we prayed about where to go tracting and decided to go to one part of one cul-de-sac. (In a subdivision that has over 1000 houses in it. Yes. We get lost every time we go in there. I’ll be navigating and say, “now take your sixth left, follow by your third right, and then your forth left.” And the street signs are black. Yes, black. Anyway…) So we were tracting and there were all these painters painting a house and I was worried cause I didn’t know how we’d decide which painter to talk to or whatever. Then by the time we got to the house there was a lady outside supervising who I thought was like the head painter lady. Turns out she was the owner of the house (who we would’ve assumed didn’t even live there) but she’d just come out long enough to check her mail. She’d moved in a couple of years ago from LV. I figured she’d know who Mormons were because she lived out west. We introduced ourselves and I said “we’re members of The Church of Jesus Christ…” and she said, “I am too!” She’s LDS and her husband’s not. She’d never tried to find a ward out here though cause she just figured there wasn’t one close by in the South. I informed her that yes there definitely was and that about a third of them lived in her subdivision. She was really excited about it.The Lord has blessed us with a lot of part-member families we’ve been finding. At zone conference Elder Zwick talked a lot about that and how imperative it is that we help them realize all of the blessings that the Lord wants to give them and since then, we’ve found many!

MELANIE
Melanie is moving along so very well. She always tells us she needs to take it slow and initially she was telling us how she doesn’t like the missionaries to call or check up on her every day or every couple days or whatever so we’ve been very aware of that. (Usually we try to touch base often because they come up against opposition often too). Since we’ve started teaching her she’s been calling US instead to basically bear her testimony to us over the phone. It’s awesome. She’s trying to stop smoking and she told us yesterday that she took a 20-min break at work and instead of going to smoke, she went and read her scriptures. She also said she emailed her brother-in-law who’s on a mission and told him all about how she knows in her heart that everything the missionaries are teaching her is true. She said she told him that cause she hoped it would energize him and remind him not to give up on anyone. What the?! Precious! We love her! Lots of prayers are being answered right now for that family. :)

Not much else to report. One of my new favorite scriptures though, and I’ll leave it with you in light of V-day…(if I’ve already shared it in an email, oh well. It’s still valid. :) )2 Nephi 26:24“He doeth not anything save it be for the benefit of the world; for he loveth the world, even that he layeth down his own life that he may draw all men unto him. Wherefore, he commandeth none that they shall not partake of his salvation.”I leave you with my testimony that I know that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world. I know that He loves each of us with an incomprehensible love. Because of this love, He gave us commandments and a place on earth where we would experience opposition and have to prove ourselves worthy. It is this same love, though, that provides the way back and the means by which we can have peace and strength daily and for eternity.The best way you can show you appreciate this love is by sharing it with others.

I love you all!
sis c