On Tuesday we visited Hermana Sanchez, a less active from Nicaragua and probably one of the coolest people I've meet. Her family goes to church, but she doesn't because she smokes every once and a while and feels guilty for it. She taught us how to make bread from El Salvador (where her husband is from) and it is delicious. I wrote down the recipe and will make this bread for the rest of my life. (And improve my skills in separating eggs while doing it. haha.) She talked about "her missionary" and the impact he had on the life of her family, as well as the impact of a member family in our ward that has become so close they are almost like the same family. We almost always see them together. It was really cool to talk to her about her conversion and have an instant connection with someone. Something I really like about this ward is it is full of sarcastic Spanish speakers. ;) haha. She also made us drink like 5 classes of Cacau, which can best be described as chocolate milk, but it's not. It is SUPER good. Look and see if Utah has Abuelita's hot chocolate and make some of it. Cacau is like a cold version of that. Try it. Your life will be changed for the better.
On Wednesday we spent a lot of time knocking and we also followed up with a Former. When we walked in, she was in a panic because her glass eye was shifted and uncomfortable. So she ushered us into the living room and then fussed over her eye. Then we just hear a shout and she goes "Oh no, Oh no. My eye. My eye is out! Oh my goodness, you have to help me!" So long story short Sis. Bradley put her glass eye back into her socket while the woman's father, who has Alzheimers, wondered around complaining that he couldn't find his shoes (which he isn't allowed to wear by doctor's orders.) So yeah. I was biting my tongue soooo hard because I just wanted to fall on the floor laughing. Any time is a time for missionaries, yeah?
Thursday was Carter and Taylor's birthday and I thought about them all week! Happy birthday guys! I cannot believe you are 16 now. That is so weird to me. But I hope you are making good choices and know how much I love you!
Also on Thursday we knocked into an Arab who was super cool and talked about how much better the world would be if religions learned that we are actually quite similar and stopper fighting. We said a prayer with him and then he prayed for us in Arabic. Super cool.
Friday we had some experiences that I can't really put into words or describe, but I learned even deeper lessons about the atonement this week and yeah...guys, I really don't know how to put this in words.
On Saturday and Sunday we visited more people and knocked a lot more. We knocked about 14 hours in 3 days, and only said 3 prayers that entire time. Of those three prayers, 1 was with someone that has a mental disorder and the other 2 just wanted to fight. We followed up with formers, met with LAs and asked for referrals at every door, met with members and asked for referrals, tried to teach every time we got a chance, and started meeting with part member families. Looking at our numbers, Sister Bradley and I should be upset and disappointed. But I have never, ever, felt more like a representative of Jesus Christ than I have this week. I have never felt the spirit stronger or more consistently than I have this week. I know that Sister Bradley and I were where we needed to be every part of the day this week. We worked hard but smart and loved these people.
Sorry, this email doesn't begin to explain the week I had this week. But it was so good. I love you guys and hope you have an awesome week! Weird, but my 6 month mark is tomorrow. I'll be home so soon!
-Sister Bren Scadden