"Fantastic!"

Kia Ora!

Sister Urgel learned a new word this week.  It's "fantastic".  And it's the word that describes this week!  So many great things happened this week!  First of all, it's been AMAZING weather.  It's spring and all green and blooming and all the flowers smell good.  I love it.  Also, I found out that we are allowed to wear sandals!  So that's pretty much the most exciting thing that ever happened to me.  Sister Urgel is still in her big coat every day.  She's so little and used to heat, but I wore my new sandals almost every day.  

Thursday we got to go the temple and it was such a beautiful day.  I love the peace and joy I always feel in the temple.  I'm so grateful that we know about the sacred covenants there. Sister Urgel and I taught Gospel Principles at church and the lesson was on temples.  I told the story of our family getting sealed to Morgan.  I can't wait for the celestial kingdom!  And we can all get there!  It was just a wonderful day.

Also, we have three really solid new investigators.  All three of them are 19, because it's just the cool age to be!  The Elders found two of them.  The poor Elders work so hard and all they do is give us new female investigators.  All we do is find new female investigators that we keep.  Apparently nobody male wants to hear the gospel in Hamilton East so they don't have a lot of people to teach but we have heaps!  So that's too bad.  But we have really been taking off in the "member present" department.  We have this core group of YSAs that I just adore.  Some are returned missionaries and some are preparing to go or thinking of going.  I LOVE taking out Christine Xiao because she is thinking of going but doesn't want to be pressured into it so we can't tell her parents, but adorable, little Brother Xiao puts his hands together and nods his head and tell us thank you so much for taking her out with us.  She's just like me and we talk and talk and have the best time.  I'm just so grateful for all the wonderful people I know here.  I was thinking about someday when I do get transferred, how hard it will be.  My specialty is getting attached to people.  I finally know the entire ward . . . I think, and I just love being a missionary here. 

One of our new investigators is named Joanna and she is flatmates with Jayde (who is set for baptism on October 17th!!!).  Our first lesson with her was Saturday night at 7:30.  We taught her about the Restoration and the Book of Mormon and she just loved it.  Her whole family is Catholic, but she wants to find the truth for herself.  Well we got her a ride to church with the Swans (a senior missionary couple in our ward that work at the Visitor Center . . . they are so, so good) and she CAME.  Then we took two other YSAs with us and she watched the Joseph Smith movie at the Visitor Center.  I confess . . . I fell asleep during it near the beginning (darn daylight savings) but it was so wonderful.  She used about eight tissues.  She said she felt warm and good and she just wanted to learn more.  How great is that?  Then she wanted to walk up all the steps to the temple so we did and took pictures.

This week was also our church open house, which apparently is a thing.  Brother Tichborne pretty much singlehandedly ran it.  He brought sausages and bread and we had a BBQ.  We set up way before and cleaned up way after.  It was such a fun time.  We even had a bouncy castle.  We had eight investigators there all together and seven less actives/recent converts.  It was just such a great activity.  We need more activities in our ward.  They are so important for missionary work!  But Auntie Kei walked all the way there and even came early to help.  She is a saint, I tell you.  We've been thinking and praying TONS about her and we decided to get Leanna to help.  During the open house we had Leanna come over and sit with us and Auntie Kei.  Leanna said that she is working towards the temple but it's going to take awhile and that she knew Auntie Kei was ready to get baptized.  We read D+C 20:37 that has the qualifications for baptism to her and said that she is doing all of those things.  We told her that as representatives of Jesus Christ, we think she is ready to get baptized in October.  She said she would really think about it and that she wasn't saying no.  She is SUPER stubborn, so to me, that was a huge miracle!  It's going to happen.  I just know it.  I'm so, so, so excited.

Sister Urgel is doing amazing!  I love her so much. 

And I'm getting so excited for conference!  I'm getting jealous that I have to watch it a week late.  I'm very impatient and don't want to wait, but I guess I'll survive! :)

LOVE,

Sister Clarissa Johnson