Happy Monday!

Well, this week pretty much made up for our last couple of weeks! We have been really busy and have found a few new investigators!

On Monday we had p-day fun and then went to the Christensen's for dinner. I love the Christensen's. They make me feel at home even though I'm across the country from my family. After dinner at their house, we walked outside to go to the car and saw a car speed away from ours. We were nervous at first - expecting that someone had broken into our car. But the car stopped a little ways away and we saw that it was Devan Romano in his land rover. We stopped to talk to him and as he drove away, he quoted my blog post that I had written that day - so Devan, shout out to you!

That night we got a call from a number that we didn't know, and of course it was one of the High Counselors in our stake. He called me and asked me to speak with him in Sacrament Meeting - so score for me, I got to speak twice in 3 weeks! I guess I didn't do a good enough job the first time around... :)

On Tuesday we gave out maps upon maps upon maps. And that night we had ward council visits and guess what we did!  We gave out more maps.

We got a referral this week for a boy named Blake! He has some mental handicaps, and lives in our apartment complex with his Dad. We went over to see him and he really loves learning about the Church. It's really sad because his Dad really underestimates how much Blake can actually understand. We don't think that he understands enough to be accountable, but he does read the Book of Mormon that we left with him, and when we visit with him, he tells us all about the verses that he likes! It is amazing! We are going to continue to meet with him and just do Book of Mormon studies. He tells us that he feels the spirit really strongly when he reads the Book of Mormon.

We met with one of the families in our ward last week and when we asked them if them we could do anything for them, one of them said that they really like brownies... so obviously we took note of that and made them brownies the next night and dropped them off at their house. It was really funny. Sister missionaries are gonna take you seriously when you ask them for something, so be careful.

We also ate at the Hillier's home during the week. We walked into their bathroom to wash our hands and I felt right at home - their bathroom was covered in BIRDS! I laughed so hard. It was great!

We also got another new investigator on Thursday! Ben Reber's neighbor that came to church for Devan's farewell! Her name is Denia. She is the funniest and healthiest 79 year-old woman I have ever met! Ben and Devan went over to her house to help clean up her yard and when they got there she said, "I need to the meet with the missionaries of your church, call them up!" So, we went over the next morning! She is so ready to accept the Gospel and the Restoration, everything totally made sense to her. SHE was asking US when she could get baptized when she came to church on Sunday! We love Denia!

Thursday night was a little different for all of us. We had a Stake Priesthood Correlation Meeting. All the missionaries in our zone, all the bishops, and all the ward mission leaders had a meeting that started at 8pm... and didn't end until 10! It was such a long meeting. And we were supposed to be home at 9... But we got to talk about how the work in the ward is going and ask for more ward missionaries! Woooo! We had to drive Elder Anderson and Elder Gibson home after the meeting, and right before they were getting out to leave they were telling us scary stories of things that had happened to them, so when we got home we had to run from the car to the door and then turn all the lights on in our apartment, hahaha.

On Friday we got to go to Sister Addington's house for dinner. She is so sweet. We were also supposed to meet with another potential investigator, but her mom passed away that morning, so obviously we didn't meet with her. We are helping her move some stuff this week, so hopefully we will be able to help her through this hard time in her life.

We also went to a family's house to give them their map, but their baby was sleeping, so we all whispered the whole time - it was super funny.

On Saturday Anthem had ELEVEN baptisms! Our zone was literally having baptisms all day! One of them was Crystal and her daughter, who I got to teach a few times while I was in Carnegie Ward with Sister Cummings! It was really great to be there :)

So, our apartment is super dark all the time because there aren't any lights - surprisingly, the light of the gospel isn't literal. But, the Phillips asked us if we needed anything, and when we told them that, they brought us 4 lamps! We have so much light now! It's super funny, when we are leaving and have to turn all the lights off, it takes it like, 5 minutes just to get all the lights off.

On Sunday we had 4 investigators at church! Missy, Matt, Denia, and Sister Bluth were all there. I spoke with the High Counselor. He asked me to speak about preparing for a mission, so I gave my 6 tips to prepare for a mission.  Sister Christensen found me later and threw her arms around me and said she wished that my parents could be there! She is the sweetest. Sister Parker told me that she hopes I speak again in 2 more weeks - and if we keep up this pattern, I will be. Hahaha.

We got to go to the “Why I Believe” fireside with Denia and the Reber's on Sunday night! I love going there and hearing the testimonies of recent converts, and it's so fun to see all of the other missionaries!

That's about it over here in Paseo Verde! I love this ward, Sister Harrison and I are hoping to stay here together next transfer too. I love Sister Harrison! She is such a good missionary and is so fun to be with.

Have a good week! I love you!

Love, Sister Coltrin

 

 

 

With Crystal and Aleissa at their baptism

 

Sister Harrison, Sister Coltrin, Missy, Ben, and Devan Romano

Our final goodbye before Devan leaves for his mission to Cape Verde, Africa

 

Sister Harrison, Sister Cummings, Sister Coltrin