110 Degrees

Hello All!

This week has been another fast week. We are so busy, and spend most of our time running from one appointment to the next. I love it, especially because when I first got here we had absolutly nothing, and spent all day out contacting. Now we're on the other end and frantically trying to contact even a few people each day. It's pretty satisfying to see what happens when you really give all that you have and work hard. In my time here in Agua Fria I've worked like crazy, and I am pretty sure this is only the beginning. I'm pretty hopeful that I will spend the better portion of my mission here. I absolutly love this area and the people I am working with.

This week was full of a lot of little miracles mixed with some minor frustrations. We've really been pushing and trying to give everything we have and we've seen some great success. One of the hardest things as missionaries is to get the members to trust and be willing to work with you. One of the benefits of having a little more time in an area is that the members do become more comfortable with you and you can really start working with them.

That brings us to our first miracle of the week. On Tuesday night we were at the church for a meeting and one of the sisters came up and started talking to me. She has a son who just left on a mission, and I've enjoyed talking with her and asking her how her son is doing. Well, as we were talking she asked if we could come over to teach her husband. She has been a member for over 20 years, and her husband has never really wanted anything to do with the church, but apparently with having a son on a mission things have changed. We were able to teach him on Friday, and we are looking for him to be baptized the end of this month. We are soooo incredibly excited, as is his family. There are a few hiccups to work out (which counts as some of the minor frustrations of the week) but these things always manage to work themselves out.

Now for my favorite story of this week. I've talked a little (I think) about Concepcion and her family. They are the neighbors of some recent converts and we've been teaching them for a little over a month. About a week ago we had a small miracle when her husband came home from work early and sat in on the lesson and we were able to meet with him. Well, we were over there on Friday (Friday was just a really really good day for us here in Phoenix) and we asked Concepcion about how giving up coffee is going. When we first taugh her the Word of Wisdom she flat out refused. Well, she told us that for the last week or two "se me quito las ganas de tomar cafe" in other words she lost the desire to drink coffee. Then she looked at the member who we had brought with us and told her that she thinks it's because "las hermanas estan orando" (the sisters are praying). That made my night. Darn right the Hermanas are praying.

Also, for anyone who was wondering, we hit 110 this week. I've actually decided that after 100 it's just hot, and it really doesn't matter too much. We'll see about what I think when we pass 115. There is so much more I would love to write about, but my time is out, so have a wonderful week!

Love,

Hermana Okeson