Sandwiches & Investigators...

We enjoyed this.....

Just in case you want to get your pets blessed. 

Hermana Chambers says she wants to have her mom bring her horse up here

 so she can get blessed. But not really. Don't worry. Goodness... 

Hola! (to be pronounced with the "h" sound)

Oh, and that spider was on a web. It wasn't really moving. But I blew on it and it spread it's legs out a little more. I would have taken a picture then, but I didn't have time. And yeah, we do tract pretty often. There are a couple pockets that are mostly Hispanic. And then also some that are like half black, half Hispanic. And then some random ones other places that people tell us about. People are usually not super friendly to us when we try to talk to them (especially Americans. I'm so glad I'm not working with them) But as soon as we tell them we work with the Spanish congregation and ask if they know anyone who speaks Spanish, they lighten right up and point them out. It is funny. 

Thanks tons for your package. I really enjoyed it. I am still enjoying it. The cookies were a little odd, having been re-cooked in the mail truck, but it's a lot cooler here now. Which is GREAT because it means fall is coming. I'm super exciting. (That was supposed to say it is super exciting, or I'm super excited, but I wasn't really paying attention and I thought it was funny, so I'm leaving it.)

So, you may not get the magnitude of this, but yesterday, a Hispanic man made me a sandwich. WHAT. Usually Hispanic men are very machisimo, which just means they let the wife do ALL the cooking and cleaning and stuff. There is this super cute little older Hispanic couple, like in their 50's, named Lilia and Raul. Lilia was baptized back in Columbia back when she was like 12 or 13, but went inactive when she moved her like 10-20 years ago. I'm not really sure how long. But she was super cute and we taught her the restoration and I'm not sure she really quite got it, but she definitely felt something and her friend was there that isn't Mormon and she definitely felt something too. Then afterwards her husband Raul got home and she was like, "I know you sometimes have trouble with Hispanic food, because you aren't used to it. I sometimes have trouble with non-Colombian food. So I'm going to give you girls some sandwiches." <--Miracles do happen! Then Raul came and asked us if we wanted one or two. <--Miracles do happen! Usually they just bring out a massive and heaping plate. Then we talked to Lilia for like half an hour while Raul made us some Paninis. And we ate them and they were delicious and they are super cute! It was great.

Also, we had 8 investigators at church yesterday. And then like three kids that are under 8 years old. But sweet! And the Matamoros are actually going to wait another week to get baptized because they want to get baptized all together as a family and the week before this, Alan didn't come to church and he needed to come three times. He's been struggling a bit, but he's been doing better the last couple times I've seen him. Hermana Chambers made him pinky promise to come to church. We asked him if he would, and he's like "Yeah... I'll come." Then Hermana Chambers was like  "You have to pinky promise!" and you could just see his defeat. You could just see all over his face, like "Aww, man, now I really do have to go!" But I think he liked it. I didn't really get a chance to talk to him at church because I was helping some other investigators. But yeah! He came! They are planning to get baptized on the 4th I think. Or the 5th. We're not sure yet, because it is conference weekend. But yeah.

Well, I'm running out of time. Dad, for your talk I would just talk about being bold. They tell it to us missionaries all the time. Just don't be afraid to say whatever the Spirit tells you. And sometimes, you have to open your mouth and start talking before the Spirit takes over. Just with lots of prayers and a little courage, it is easy. We have the happiest message on earth. We shouldn't be afraid to share it. People respect people that believe in something. And also just sharing the Gospel through example. People don't always ask questions that lead directly into a Gospel principle, but they don't have to. Don't be pushy, but be persistent. I like the quote in the Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration movie (LOVE that movie) when the saints are serving an older woman and she says, "I don't believe in your religion, Mr. Smith, but I do appreciate your kindness." And he stops working for a second, and says, "You might say that is our religion, Ma'am." And so just looking for any opportunity to serve. Like really, anything. People notice and people want to know why. But you basically just have to do it without asking or they will hurry and be like, "No, no, esta bien, voy a hacerlo." Oh well. We try. And it never hurts to ask if there is anything you can do for someone else. People won't always have something for you to do, but if you are sincere when you say it, people can tell and they appreciate it anyways. 

So yeah. Those are my thoughts. 

Love,

Hermana Emily Ann Pratt