Prayer Works

I am just LOVING LIFE! Really though, Hermana Noakes and I don't even feel worthy of all the miracles we are seeing each day! I wrote to you just a few days ago so you know most of what's happened this week but I have two great things that happened.

One: we were blessed to hit pautas!!!! We got 12 members present, 3 fechas (baptismal dates), and 7 new investigators. Such a blessing, this area is growing and we are working with some absolutely amazing people. Speaking of amazing people:

Two: the highlight of the week...one of the highlights of my mission. So you know how I have told you about Joan Pau? he's reading and coming to church, loves the activities, loves all of the members. Great but he just hasn't felt like he's received an answer that this is God's church and that the Book of Mormon is His book yet. We have been trying to think of how to help him recognize the spirit when he mentioned how stressed he is with school and everything. We told him if he needed, the elders could give him a blessing of comfort. Well Thursday night he came early to the noche de hermanamiento and got in a good conversation with the elders about how God often asks us to take a leap of faith and then confirms it to us. After the activity we went into the bishops office and the elders gave him a blessing, the spirit was more powerful than I have ever felt it! The blessing was beautiful, he was blessed with the gift of discernment and clarity. Afterwards we stayed silent for a minute or two and then Joan Pau said that he felt different, that he felt a spirit more powerful than he had ever felt before. We talked to him about how that's the answer that he has been waiting for. The spirit was so strong that after we talked about how he was feeling and how he needs to record and always remember how he feels we invited him to be baptized again and for what I hope will be the last time we need to and he said YES! but not just "we'll set it as a goal and we'll see" but an actual yes! He gave the closing prayer and thanked God for the clarity he had found and after we again stayed in silence for a little and then Joan Pau said "you guys NEED to keep doing this. You NEED to keep working so people can feel what I am feeling right now. They need to know that there is more." We were all bawling. It was beautiful!

This week 11 less actives in church! Woot woot! They are starting to turn into active members now!

Well I'm a little resfriada (congested) and wet from a water fight today but I'm basically as happy as can be! Hope all of you are too (happy not congested and wet)!

Hermana Tuttle

P.S. I can't tell you enough about the power I have seen from prayer and fasting this week. EVERYTHING we have seen this week is an answer to our prayers and EVERYTHING we have asked with faith and with obedience and hard work behind it we have received. Down to a lost flashdrive and up to the change of heart to a friend we have grown to love so much over the months.