Week 20 - Beetle Attacks and Book of Mormon Miracles

Hello everybody! This has been an AMAZING week so I'll just get right down to it!!

-First, on Tuesday, we had Zone Conference (through skype!) We had to squeeze eight missionaries into the tiny ward clerk's office, so it was a party! It was an amazing conference-- Elder Gonzalez, who is in the Area 70, was there with his wife, and they gave us some really valuable consel. They gave us the motivation to keep working hard!! We've been talking a lot as a mission lately about building stakes in the Caribbean (or at least the Barbados Bridgetown Mission, since there are stakes on other islands outside the mission). We're doing as much as we can to make that happen! My biggest dream is to one day have a temple here-- I think one day it really will come true :) Being here has made me realize how much I took the temple for granted in Michigan. The people here have to travel by plane to either Santa Domingo, the Dominican Republic, or Brazil to be sealed to their families and participate in other sacred temple ordinances-- so I've been praying hard for a temple!!

-This week we also got attacked by the HUGEST beetle I've ever seen in my whole life!! It was probably even bigger than the palm of my hand! (take a sec to imagine how huge that really is) It flew onto our balcony as we were doing our studies at night, and at first I thought it was a hummingbird... but Soeur Morrell was like, "NOooopPPEe!! That's the biggest dang beetle I've seen in my life!" I got outta there hecka fast and stared at the beetle in horror through the glass doors haha. Soeur Morrell is braver than me and somehow shooed it away... but it was about the most scared I've been of a bug in my life hahaha. BUT, a few days later we saw the same beetle outside our apartment door flipped over upside down, so we had mercy on him and very carefully flipped him back over. So, the lesson is that you can come to have love for even the vilest of creatures on Earth as a missionary hahaha :)

-On Thursday we had a MIRACLE!!!!!!!

We got a call from Annie, a 16 year old girl who I taught with Soeur Krucher in July. At the time we didn't really feel that she was ready so things didnt progress, but THEN, this week she called us and said that since July she has read the entire Book of Mormon, and that she knows it's the Word of God!! She asked to be baptized as soon as possible!!

The coolest thing about it is to see how much the Book of Mormon truly changed her! In July, she was probably actually the most uncomfortable I've ever seen somebody in a lesson. She just seemed really sad, and barely said a word. But now, she's seriously one of the happiest and smiliest people I know!! Reading the Book of Mormon has brought her SO much joy!! I am so thankful for her and that I got to see the Gospel have such an impact in her life. So she will be baptized soon, hopefully within the next couple of weeks!! :)

Well this is getting a little long, and my time is running out, so I'll have to save some more of the cool experiences of this week for another time. :) But you guys, the Atonement is real!!! The Gospel is true!! I know it with all my heart. I keep you all in my thoughts and prayers. Have an amazing week (and Happy Halloween!!)

Hugs,

Soeur Gardner