This week many great things happened!
On Monday the 9-year-old (Nic) that we have been teaching (who is the son of a less-active named Beth) said that he wants to be baptized so he can be "nice and clean"! It's so cute :) So, he is now on-date for August 17th!
Also, on Saturday we went to see a lady that we met a few weeks back. She said she wanted to come to Church. We also met her boyfriend and invited them to Church and they both came! Yay! :) It was so great!
One other great thing that happened was that on Wednesday morning, Billy (who is the boyfriend of Beth) texted us. He said, "What would you say is the most important part of the book to read. And if I was to decide to be baptized, how would it be done" So we responded by directing him to 3 Nephi chapters 11 and 27. I told him the answer to his 2nd question was found in 3 Nephi 11:23-26. Later on that evening he messaged us back, "Wish I would have read a few things I read today a long time ago. Thank you for directing me to those chapters. I also saw the articles on mormon.org and it made a big difference in how I feel. I've had a lot of doubt. But I see better now and it helped me understand. Thanks for all your help." We then asked him what his next step would be and what he will do with the knowledge he gained, and he responded "Repent". So anyway, that was really great too! :)
So, ever since I arrived here in Edmonds (having white-washed into the area) there was an apathetic "vibe" for missionary work. Gaining the trust and friendship of all the members is something that we have worked on since day 1. Ever since coming here I have been praying to know what it is that I can do to encourage the members and help them with their missionary work. Finally, last Sunday I received my answer. The answer started coming a little bit earlier in the evening, but that night as I was pondering and meditating, the revelation came fully and solidified in my head, with me being shown every detail of it. It was incredible! We recently had a new book added to the approved missionary library worldwide. It is called "The Power of Everyday Missionaries" by Clayton Christensen. It is INCREDIBLE! Basically everything we learn on a mission is contained in that book, and it's such an easy, quick read! The revelation I received was that we needed to make a member missionary class, with the curriculum coming from that book! We pitched the idea to Bishop this past week and he really liked it and said that he'd go buy some of the books at Deseret Book and that on Sunday we could pitch it to ward council.
So yesterday, along with Bishop, we presented the idea to the ward council. There's one guy in particular who is quite the contrarian, who insisted it is not a good idea to launch anything in August and that we would need to wait to September, etc, etc. Well then, I got the attention of everyone, it was absolutely silent, and I said, "I have been praying about this with all my heart ever since I got here. I received this revelation last Sunday, and I KNOW that it is from God. Transfers are next week, and I most likely will be leaving. There is a great sense of urgency for this, and it needs to happen now." As I was speaking, the Spirit rushed into the room. I almost started crying, it was so intense! Everyone felt it, and the relief society president leaned forward from the other side of Sis Redford to look at me in amazement. ;) It was one of the most incredible feeling I have ever experienced. It was AMAZING! So then Bishop said, get a sign-up sheet and flyer and we will pass it around. In 2 minutes, I was done with that. I made a sign-up sheet that asked people to express if they would like to attend our Sunday class during Sunday School, or our Thursday evening class. We got 12 people signed up for the Sunday class and 9 for the Thursday class! But some of those people will bring their spouses too. Everyone came up to us after Church telling us what an amazing idea it was, how excited they were, and how it is always so scary to talk about the Church but that they want to! It was just incredible and amazing and wonderful! :) I am SO thankful to be here and to be an instrument in the Lord's hands. I'm so thankful to be able to receive the promptings of the Spirit and to be able to act on them.
I'm so thankful to be here and I'm so grateful for everyone's love and support and prayers!
I love you all!
Love, Sister Stanley
Washington Seattle Mission
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