42 days

My dearest loved ones,

This week has been full of so many miracles! Here are the top three series of events this week:

3. Penny and Jack went on a date and took us out to lunch. I really just wish that all of you could know the two of them and understand how awesome this is. :) They are pretty much the funniest thing ever. They are like lovesick teenagers trapped in the bodies of people in their 70s. Penny had us help her  choose out an outfit so that she could impress him and took hours getting ready. She also wore her favorite dress to be seen by him in church the next day :) Oh, young love ;)

This is Penny's Crazy dog, Stanley. There is something in the water in DHS that makes dogs a little weirder than normal. Dont worry, he was just playing ;)

2. LAVERNE :) This week has been crazy for her! She was interviewed by President Madsen this week and then kind of flew off the charts. We have been worried about her all week. However, she called us and told us what had been going on. She had some things that she needed to resolve. We told her to work on them and that we would be there at the end of the week to see how she was doing. When we went over on Saturday she was beaming. I have never seen anyone so humble, and happy, and full of Gospel light looking towards a future that she now knows is possible :)

1. Julia!! :) so we met Julia several weeks ago. She is the young woman that is working on becoming a catholic nun. I dont know how much I have mentioned her, but we met her because Taraka invited her to one of his lessons. We were a little worried because we were talking about following the prophet to help Taraka finish up his lessons so that he would be prepared for his baptismal interview, and didnt really have time to budge and teach something that she might understand better. So, we taught about the prophets, and it went super well! She invited us to meet with her the next day! We were able to sit and talk about some general beliefs-- both ours and Catholic-- And we invited her to take the lessons and to learn for herself if there was more that Jesus Christ and His restored church could offer her. Since then we have begun the lessons. She does a lot of comparing, and usually talks about how we do some things differently, and some things similarly, and where strengths are. It has been interesting to get to know her she often says "Your church does that so well. I wish my church did that. I think I am going to take this and try to implement it in my church."

This week we taught her the Plan of Salvation. She loved it. She told us that she like that it offered her so much more hope. She invited us to mass, so we went to that on Saturday and then she came to church on Sunday. We were a little worried because it was fast and testimony meeting, but things went remarkably well! She was a few minutes late, and couldn't find where we were sitting, so she had to sit by herself. However when she talked to us afterwards she was only sad because she wanted to stand and share her testimony, but didnt know about the rules for doing so. We then went to Gospel principles where we found out that she has pretty much the exact same background as our teacher. The lesson was on faith, and it was basically Julia and Sister Crosier sharing their experiences. It was awesome! We then were able to go to the first part of priesthood, where Taraka was ordained with the Aaronic priesthood in the office of priest. She loved it and when we made our way to Relief Society she found herself right at home again. After the lesson we had some time for the sisters to share testimonies and she got up and shared how wonderful her experience had been. She is so fun! She talked about how when she goes to her sisterhood stuff at the catholic church she is going to request that she be allowed to attend a Mormon congregation because she can learn and grow there.

We are not sure what the Lord's plan is for her, or what His timing is, but she has built our testimonies.

I am so grateful to be part of the Living Church of Jesus Christ. Elder Russel M. Nelson said, " The living Lord leads His living church!" How wonderful to know that as the Lord lives and as we live, we can continue to receive revelation from Him. I know that this Gospel is true, and when we are honest and sincere followers of Christ, we can receive more of His gospel here than anywhere else. I love my Savior! I am so grateful for the knowledge that I have of him. I know that he has not left us alone here in this life. He lives, and He speaks to us by the mouths of His holy prophets. "how great the importance to make these things known unto the inhabitants of the earth" (2 Nephi 2:8)!!

God has gone before us and prepared the people of the earth to receive His word. How wonderful it is to be a laborer in the vineyard of the Lord! I love you all :)

Remember to press forward :)

Sister Hope

P.S. Oh, and today is the first week of my last transfer. Sister Wagner and I are both staying here in Desert Hot Springs :)