Happy Heart

HI FAMILY!! 


I was SO EXCITED to hear from you this week. I mean, I'm excited EVERY week, but I just could barely contain it this week. Thanks for writing me.

Firstly, guess who I just saw in the library?! A DEAF PERSON. Yeah, you heard me. She was having some trouble logging on so I tried to help her, but the library ladies got a bit bent out of shape because she needed her PIN or something "personal"...so they needed to be the ones to help...she left asap, but they said she's a regular, so I am for SURE going to find out when she usually comes in and we are FOR SURE going to hunt her down and teach her the gospel. I am so pumped right now! I haven't thought about deaf people in so long...turns out I still love them :) Oh my happy happy heart.

Wow, it was a big week here. Hmm...not sure where to begin. Hma. Vazquez and I began a purification challenge this week. Gene Cook told a story about some missionaries who did it, and we felt like it was our time. Essentially we fasted and came up with individual lists of things that poked at our spirits- things that were keeping us from having the spirit in more abundance in our lives. We are fasting from those things for 40 days- every morning covnenting with the Lord to give us the strength and giving Him a report on how we did every night. From the moment I started my fast, I can't even tell you the intense opposition I felt...I've been striving to be my best since I got here, and man, Satan was playing dirty during my fast. But we have already begun to see the fruits of our prayers!

We set THREE PEOPLE FOR BAPTISM! Alma and Alberto, the couple we've been teaching since my first night here, and a man they live with named Carlos. Alma has been more on board than anybody until now, Alberto has been kind of hesitant, and Carlos kind of non-existent. We've been trying to get Alma and Alberto married for weeks now- they want to way bad, but the technicalities of it here are making it almost impossible. Carlos is the miracle- he's been sitting in on a few lessons, but he hasn't been super responsive at all. But the very first time we met him (we thought he might be a bum) I told Hma. Brewer I had a good feeling about him...and then in a lesson we had earlier in the week Hma. Vazquez was a superstar and set Alma and Alberto. I had been keeping my eye on Carlos and his body language told me we had a GO, but she was focused on them, so I just interrupted her and was like, "Hey! Do you want to be baptized too?!" Yep, he said yes. Since then we've seen him and he's still on board and ready to do what it takes. Wow. Totally unexpected. 

We are in need of new investigators, so we've been doing a lot of knocking this week- which it turns out I LOVE. We've knocked a few areas, but we knocked a complex this week and had some awesome experiences. The complex was mostly english speakers, but we did stumble across a few hispanics. I loved talking to the English speakers- It honestly was so nice to put into practice the things that I know, that I just can't quite make happen in Spanish yet. And with the things I have learned and through the spirit, we were able to have some really interesting conversations with people. We ran into a woman named Ebony, who we spent a long time talking to- oh family- she is PREPARED. She was so eager to learn more, her heart was so open, she was like, "You better believe I'm going to read all of this right now after you leave, talk to my husband about this when he gets home, and study this out. You tell your friends (the elders) to come back here as soon as they can and I will listen and ask questions." She's 23 and so so ready to know. I was peeing my pants on the inside. 

We also found a inactive man from Mexico that we didn't even know existed! Apparently he was baptized 8 years ago, went to church for 4, then moved to the US and for 4 years he hasn't been able to find the church, so he's just been going to a different one. Can anybody say MIRACLE?! I think we'll have to work with him to get him back into the groove- but he got weepy last night during our lesson, so I think that's a good sign :)

A man Hma. Brewer and I contacted a few weeks ago called us yesterday and said, "I read the pamphlet you gave me and watched the DVD. I want you to come tell me more." Yes, that really happened. 

A member took us out to dinner and her old neighbor came because she was moving the next day, so they wanted to squeeze in some time together. We went to CRACKER BARREL. Haha, reminds me of my family :) But anyway, I just started chatting with this friend of hers about this and that, just about life as a missionary and such, nothing too heavy, and after 20 mins she got up to go to the bathroom. She came back and sat down, she looked right at me and said, "I am just so invested in talking to you!" Yep. Guess who walked away with the Finding Faith in Christ DVD, The Restoration DVD, and pamphlets in her eager arms?

God is blessing us SO MUCH.

This week is going to be a little crazy- Hma. Vazquez is going to a leadership training in Richmond, so I'm going on sort of exchanges with an English sister in Virginia Beach. She's coming down here tonight and tomorrow and Wed-fri I'll be there. So what does that mean? I will be the only Spanish speaker in our companionship for a day and a half. BAHAHAHA. Oh man, I'm STOKED. The only real option here is that God blesses me with the gift of tongues and gift of interpretation of tongues...it's gonna be AWESOME. And I get to be an English speaker for awhile which will be fun. Hma. Vazquez only talks to me in Spanish which is such a blessing to my spanish. I talk to her in Spanish when I don't have something vital to communicate...I get a little frustrated because I just want to TALK. Anyway, I forsee some GOOD stories in my future, so hang tight for next week's edition of "Adventures of Hermana Sinclair!"

Sorry if I wrote you a novel- I just have so much I want to share! I miss writing- it feels so good to sit down and articulate experiences to share. I just want you to know that I love you and am so proud of you all. Parents you have been and are amazing and oh so patient. Sisters you are the joys of my life. Brother you are just hilarious and a great example. I am so joyful to be sharing the gospel- to the Spanish speakers of VA- where God called me. I love my eternal family :)

Hermana Sinclair