First Time Donor!

Exciting things have been happening this week. To start it off, after I finished emailing last week, I was standing on the side of the road to make some phone calls, when suddenly a cup of ice bounced off my arm and spilled everywhere as the truck it was thrown from drove by. I was so excited! Ha, I've heard of missionaries have stuff thrown at them before, but its never happened to me. Now that it has, its like passing some sort of initiation. I was pretty pumped.

On Thursday I listened to an investigator tell us that she no longer wanted to be baptized, though she was only a week away from her day of baptism. Then I felt the spirit come into the room, and later I heard her tell us that she was determined to be baptized, and would not let her concerns get in her way, but would embrace the Lord and his doctrine. I know that the adversary tries hard to keep us from doing what we should. I also know that God allows us to undergo these challenges to test our faith, and see if we will live the things that we constantly claim to believe. I saw this beautiful daughter of God overcome her challenges in an extraordinary showing of faith. I won't go into her individual challenges, but I will say that what she is sacrificing to be baptized is no small or insignificant thing. I'll also say that the lord blesses us for what we sacrifice, and she recognizes that.

Saturday was Make a Difference Day. On this day, there were dozens of service projects going on all around Visalia. I got to help plant trees around a ponding basin! It was exciting work, even though the majority of the people there had no idea what they where doing. It was fun still, and we all were able to feel the spirit of service. Afterwords, at a stake BBQ, an award was given to a family that were not members of the Church that we felt had made a difference. Across the parking lot at this BBQ, was a blood drive, and I like to think I made a difference by donating blood for the first time in my life! It was pretty exciting, and now a pint of my blood is probably sitting in a fridge somewhere, undergoing tests for all sorts of diseases. Exciting none the less.

I love and miss you all (and humbly ask to hear from you)