We are having our own Thanksgiving lunch!!!!!! I'll be thinking of y'all!

Hello hello hello!!!

What a WEEK!!!!

Once again, Heavenly Father has blessed me and Sister Baker  more than we comprehend. He is so good to us.

Oh my heart is literally broken as I hear about the  people in the Philippines :( I am so glad that all the missionaries are okay.) Our congregations here are  doing a service project gathering goods to send, so we will definitely be a part of that!

We are teaching some amazing people. One woman has been fasting once a week that she will be able to be baptised soon. How cool is that?!  She just did it on her own wanting to give back to Heavenly Father. We met with her earlier in the week after district meeting, and she got a priesthood blessing that was so beautiful!! We talked a little about the Plan of Salvation, and being able to do Temple work for her mom. As I shared my feelings about the Temple and the happiness and absolute PEACE I feel there, you could see the yearning in her eyes to be able to feel the same. She said the she would talk to her fiance about being married sooner than anticipated!!!!! (A year from now...) YAY!

Look what was in Australia!

Our Bishop has been so wonderful and has given her such wise counsel.  The ward members have been so willing to support us and the people we are working with!

This week we taught a man and it  was definitely the hardest lesson of my mission. He was all about facts and wanted scriptures to back up everything we said. It is good.  He is praying about the Book of Mormon! I know that if he sincerely prays with an open heart and mind, DESIRING to receive an answer, he will.

A. and her family are doing well and A. even came to CHURCH yesterday!! Happy Happy Happy day!!!!

The other day we were leaving the train station and as usual, we were trying to talk to as many people as possible. A lady sitting on a chair said "Excuse me, come here" We walked over to her and she asked, "Who are you and where are you from? I see you often here and you are so cheerful and friendly to everyone. You are not from here?" This woman was from Sri Lanka and we although she had no interest in our message, she was deeply touched by our happiness every time she saw us. It was special!!

We set a bap date with K. this week :) I'm so happy!!!! She chose it herself. January 4th. If i get transferred before that  I will be so sad.
AND she prayed BY HERSELF ALOUD for the first time :))))  I almost cried!  She thanked Heavenly Father for the chocolate she was given and asked that her mom would be able to find her nose ring (it fell down the drain) haha 

She  has come so far!!!!!!!!!

Wednesday night I had my first double dinner. We had already eaten when we went to the C. family and then D. said she wanted to prepare a special meal for us. We couldn't say no, and even if we did, she would still make us eat it ahaha. So she calls us to the table and there are two big trays with HUGE slabs of fried talapia and raw veggies and potato wedges and bread.  we soon realized that they were not serving trays, they were OUR PLATES.  The food was only for us. Holy goodness there was so much of it and it was so funny because they didn't eat with us!!!! It's their culture to just let the guests eat!!  hahaha. So they sat and watched us eat to see if we liked it, and then went and did their own thing! Hahahahaha Sis Baker and I were literally bursting by the end. I love them so much :)

D. came to the Relief Society activity this week and LOVED it !!! YAY! It is so so so so important that everyone talks to new people at those activities...I was so thankful to the lovely women who reached out to her!!!! D. and family weren't at church but said they are coming next week. We are still trying to find a translator for our appointment this week. 

Sunday, the congregation sang "Carry On" and on that last high note  I had this flashback of Sandi Ferguson belting it out and I started smiling so big!! Give that whole family a hug for me!! Tell Kindra to write me!!!!

We ate at R and M's  house this week too and we had a Romanian feast with fried pastries Goodness me,  I love Romanians.   I am constantly SO GRATEFUL to be in the mission I am  in.  How in the world did I get so lucky??? Is there any other place that is so extremely diverse? I don't know but I am so thankful!!!  We are trying so hard to get them to come to church!!! M. is reading the BOM!!

We have dinner with the K. family every Saturday and last week were watching the Will Hopoate  message (Everyone watch it!!   You can see the Milo on his counter!! SO AUSTRALIAN!!!!) The lesson was on sacrifice. We asked the kids what they could sacrifice for our Heavenly Father (EX time, talents etc) and of course they start yelling out any church answer they can think of (Jesus! scriptures,temples! go to primary!) hahahaha it's hilarious because there is usually 2 to 6 neighbor kids there too plus their 5. There's this gil called Georgia (no one here says named!) who loooooves to talk and with her little accent it has caused some pretty funny language barriers. She kept saying she could sacrifice her net ball skills but it was sounding like something else!  Ah accents! 

I forgot to mention....

We are teaching N and L too!! I don't know if I've told you about them before...things are looking bright though!!!

j. hasn't let us back to his house :( so devastating because we had a bap date.

J.hasn't let us back either :(

Elder Wapu-george(serves in our ward) DREW THIS! I was sooooo excited! 

So many things happen here that literally make my heart ache. But then, Heavenly Father will send a miracle our way that lifts my spirits so much.  The joys undoubtedly top the sad things. There are so many miracles as a missionary.  I can say without any doubt that I have witnessed a miracle every single day of my mission. Whether it be the miracle of walking to our destination, and arriving just as the rain begins to pour, or the miracle of finding a woman yearning to be baptized.   Miracles really do appear daily as we have faith.    In Moroni 7 it says,"for it is by faith that miracles are wrought; and it is by faith that angels appear and minister unto men."  Sister Baker and I yearn to have  those "angels", and we know that with faith that we will receive them!

Something that I am really learning as a missionary is that everything that we plan in life is Plan B. Heavenly Father's plan is always Plan A.   I am grateful to know that He truly is in the details of our lives.  I know it without a doubt.   I know that He loves us more than we can fathom and that He is yearning to hear from each of His children.  Oh how  I love being able to be an instrument for God in helping His children grow closer to Him.

Love y'all so incredibly much!!!!!!!!!! Thank you for everything!!!
xoxoxoxoxo
Sister Stevenson

PS.  We are so excited because tonight a member is taking us out to dinner!