I'll Go Where You Want Me To Go: Heavenly Father is a God of Miracles

Hola Familia!

I just love you so much! Thank you for being so wonderful! And I have good news: We made it through the week without any car incidents! That's right! No accidents and no getting pulled over by grumpy police ladies. (Yes, I'm still bitter about that. I really need to get over it.) But it sounds like you have a lot going on. Mom! You are wonderful. Do you know that? Also, I'm so glad that you got to go to churchy church! It's the best. Even when it isn't. I've gained a whole new appreciation of church. So you said that Bro. Porter got put in the branch presidency...Um what branch presidency? Our stake has a branch? Of what? And I'm so glad Sky is still meeting with the Elders. Lucky you that it's at our house. I wrote her a letter this week. I hope Kelley gave it to her and I hope she liked it. Also, Kelley: I have a job for you. Last night I told Heidy to add you as a friend on Facebook So add her. And be her friend. I was telling her about you and Sky and she loved it. She really needs a friend like you. She's the same age as you and really just needs to be surrounded by good people. I also talked all about you in Sunday school yesterday. The lesson was about missionary work and the teacher asked if anyone had had any experiences with opening their mouths and just talking about the gospel. Nobody raised their hand for like a whole minute so I was like fine, I guess I'll just have to tell everyone about how wonderful my sister is. Now the whole branch--or at least the whole Gospel Principles class--loves you. And about that Mormon Messages, that would be AMAZING! We've been talking about trying to download some of them but it takes a long time and we always forget that we need to bring DVDs.

Are you ready to hear about this week? We saw so many miracles! I feel like I say that every week. Heavenly Father is just so good.

Last Sunday Hna Spencer and I had a special fast for Esperanza and Jose. We've been working with Esperanza for a long time and she wants to get baptized, but there's the whole marriage issue. So for the past couple weeks we've been focusing on increasing all of our faith and doing everything in our power to get this to happen. We asked her if she had really decided that she was going to get baptized on the 31st and if she had explained to Jose that it's something that she really wants but that she can't do it until she gets married. We even practiced it and I was Jose. She mostly just laughed through it, but I guess it actually stuck. Our Heavenly Father is a God of miracles. After district meeting on Tuesday we went over to Jhoana's and Esperanza was there. And we were sitting and talking and all of the sudden out of the blue she just says, "I'm getting married!" We both just about burst into tears right there on the living room floor. We asked her what happened and she said that she told Jose that she was getting baptized on the 31st. And he said okay. So then we told her that if we were going to make this happen then we had to start planning and setting deadlines. So we picked a date and Esperanza is getting married on the 24th! And I think we might have turned into unofficial wedding planners.

She also came to church yesterday, in a dress and she brought the girls. And Amy, the naughtiest of them all, slept through Sunday School and almost all of Relief Society. It was wonderful.

Heidy also started progressing leaps and bounds this week. We put her on date a couple of weeks ago and then she started being really weird and standoffish so we backed off a little bit. But this week we were able to sit down with her and just talk to her. And she told us that she believed it all and that it was something that she was starting to want. And then we had an amazing lesson with her and the Spirit was so strong. I know there's a reason that we're teaching Heidy right now and that we're having the lessons we're having with her right now. It's because she needs the gospel right now. And she really just needs love. She's been told that because her entire family had kids as teenagers and out of wedlock that she would too. We told her that that is not true! And we asked her if that was what she wanted to happen and she said that she hoped not. And we told her that she had the power to change that and that if she decided now, that it would never happen, it wouldn't. That girl needs the Young Women lessons. Even though I complained about it a lot, I'm thankful for the things that I learned there. And I am so thankful that I have parents that have high expectations for me because it's taught me to have high expectations for myself. So thanks Mom and Dad. We told Heidy that if no one else was going to give her those expectations that she would have to set them for herself and that we had them for her and that most importantly God has them for her. He knows who she can become and he wants her to experience all the blessing that come from living the gospel and being successful. Her mom though, really doesn't want her to get baptized. She's pretty Pentecostal and her husband (Heidy's stepdad) doesn't exactly have the highest opinion of Mormons. And so Heidy went to church with her mom yesterday and we had a lesson with her that evening and she said that she was just confused. That she wanted it but she's worried about what will happen with her mom. She told us that she told her mom that she's going to try and get baptized on the 31st and that her mom didn't say anything but just looked at her like she was crazy. We brought Alejandra with us (who just graduated and is awesome) and that helped a lot. She said she was feeling better about it and that she would really pray to find out. I love this girl. She's been through so much but this week as we've been teaching her she's had a light come into her. She's starting to receive the gospel, and even if she doesn't recognize it yet, it's changing her. We met her mom and the contrast was so big. She just seemed so empty. And when we first met Heidy that was kind of how she was, but not anymore. She has this light and this brilliancy in her and she just sparkles. It's beautiful.

We're still working on helping Moises to read the Book of Mormon. He's being stubborn, but he'll come around. Here's the thing about that family: I knew when I met them that they would accept the gospel. It wasn't like an "oh someday I hope that they can have the gospel." It was a "this entire family is going to have the gospel and it is going to change them forever." And we're seeing it happen. I don't know how quickly it's going to happen, but I know it will. And they are so special to me. Even the naughty kids. Even Moises with his ponytail and tattoos. It's more than just seeing them in baptismal clothes. When I think about them I can see them dressed in white being sealed as a family in the temple. Someday it will happen. And Hna Spencer and I are doing everything we can to get them there. It might not happen with us (although I would love it if it did) but it will happen. They're going to be a part of our lives forever.

So those were our two big moments this week. We also had an extreme moment of frustration where we were supposed to go to the temple with the Relief Society and take Jhoana and Esperanza and they woke up early and we got them rides to the church where we were meeting and then only two people showed up. And one of them was the Relief Society president and the other didn't have a car. So we didn't fit and we didn't get to go. Awesome. I wanted to scream. But I didn't. Those are just some of the frustrations that come with being in a little branch. And to be honest, a part of me was expecting that to happen. Which is why we're working on strengthening the members. We still had a super awesome lesson and it was there but it wasn't the temple. But I think we're rescheduling for this Thursday. So pray that it works.

Well family, that's about all that's going on here. It's finally the best month of the whole year. I love you so much and keep being awesome.

xoxo

Hermana Simpson