Yesterday we had so many appointments planned but after church every one of them fell through. It's been a while since I've been bunked on that bad and we were discouraged. With nothing else to do we decided to go out and see the family of one of our less active members. She lives clear out away from all our other members but we decided to give it a try. Unfortunately they were busy and we were pretty bummed about traveling all the way out there for nothing. As we walked back out of the area we passed a home we door knocked a few weeks ago. The home was christian and last time an older woman came out and told us politely but firmly that we should visit some other home because they went to a "private church" (I'm not sure what that means). As we walked by again yesterday I got a small feeling that we should try again. Neither of us really wanted to but we walked up and knocked the gate anyways. First a big dog ran up and started barking at us, then the woman came to the door and this time she was very obviously not happy to see us. She told us she wasn't interested and we turned to leave but then her husband (who was totally drunk at the time) came outside, took away the barking dog, and beckoned us to come in. He didn't stay in the lesson and as we started talking to the woman we could tell she was frustrated and she told us that the only reason she had let us in was because it was a Sunday and she would feel guilty if she turned us away on the Lord's day. She basically told us to say whatever we were going to say quickly and then be on our way. As we started I silently prayed to have the Spirit with us so we could get through to her. My companion started with an inspired question: "Sister, tell us about when you first started believing in Jesus."
And then everything changed.
As she started talking about her life, how she had left Hinduism and how God had supported her, she got emotional and broke down in tears. We listened quietly as she cried and explained that she loves God but is wondering why she has so many problems. After that her entire attitude changed and she listened as we testified about living prophets and how the restored gospel can bring her peace. The scowling lady we started with was very different than the sweet, smiling woman who thanked us for coming and invited us back at the end. This was nothing less than a miracle. From the change that took place in her to the fact that we even stopped at her house in the first place, it's evidence that God is behind this work. Man I love being a missionary. :)
On top of that our investigator Radhika finally agreed this week to be baptized next month. When we first started teaching this lady several months ago she told us she would never be baptized. We patiently worked with her but every time she made progress some new obstacle would come up and we'd feel like we were back at square 1. Despite the hardships though we worked with her and watched as slowly her faith increased until she was able to overcome her fears. This last month there were many answered prayers and one perfect event after another led her to finally say yes to being baptized. I've really come to love this lady and we're so happy that she's changing her life and experiencing the joy of the gospel. Man, I love being a missionary. :)
Anyways that's it for this week. Sorry, I wasn't able to upload pictures this time. I'll have more next week.
Love you all. Stay strong and rock on. :)
-Elder Clouds
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