the mormons are here!

What a fitting title! "The Mormons are here!" That would very much explain our week. We were walking down the street and we walked past a fire station and these four fire fighters were standing outside. One of them said, "Hey are you the Mormons?" Well that's generally a really good thing, or a really bad thing to hear. Never is it normal. So started to talk to them and he shared with us this little story. He said, " SO i'm Baptist and I was sitting in church last week and they started to go off about how the Mormons are here, the Mormons this, the Mormons that. THE MORMONS ARE TAKING ALL OF OUR PEOPLE! We should send our our missionaries too!!" We were just dying!! It ended up being a really funny conversation about how the Mormons are here. 

Something that we keep hearing over and over every time we contact someone on the street is the they tell us that they have seen us around many many times. I know are area is fairly small but it amazed me. We had a man finally walk up to us and say, Ok I've seen you walk by many times and I have some questions for you! Our little saying in our companionship is that we don't contact people, the people contact us! It's so crazy how much they recognize us and how many more people we need to be talking to! It's sometimes easy to just talk to a person here, a person there, but in reality we need to at least invite ALL of these people to hear our message. That is something we have been working on. We have seen some really cool things as we push ourselves just a little bit more.. We contacted this man named Juan on the street last week and gave him our number because he sounded interested but we were in a hurry. He ended up calling us during our next lesson. So we met up with him right after and he told us that he basically wanted to change and this and that. So we walked him to the church to show him where it is and on the way there this little thought came into my head. Invite him. Not just to church.. but to be baptized! So I did!! and he said yes!! ha ha we don't know how much of him is actually "there" but he said he wanted to be baptized!! We have an appointment with him tonight so that should be fun!

Okay Veronica was baptized yesterday!! She was so ready. We were teaching her last week about tithing and fasting which for many people is a really really hard lesson. So we started to teach and she goes, "Oh, I already know what that is! I did that a couple weeks ago!" She had come on a fast Sunday and saw somebody paying their tithing and offerings and asked them what it was. And so she did it and said she didn't eat for the rest of the day!! One of those situations where you don't really believe what is going on! She is awesome! So she was baptized and came out of the water and look SO happy!! Her husband didn't feel like coming.. but her mom came!! And her mom is being taught by the elders! So we're praying for a miracle right now! Her stinkin husband.. poo.. but the bishop was welcoming her into the ward and he shared that out of all of his years being a bishop Veronica was the first to ever come to his office and introduce herself, saying that she was going to be baptized, without him knowing first! She stood up and wanted to share something after too. She shared that how she knows she isn't perfect but how she is so excited to be a part of this family and how she is going to work so hard!! She is awesome and this is going to change the life of her boy Grabrielle! Next step, TEMPLE!! I hope we can help her find a name just like Nina! 

So I don't know if you remember the story about how I asked the huge Popeye man on the street if he needed help with his groceries, and then we ran into him a couple hours later at the library... Well he was baptized on sunday too!! Woot woot! He actually told the edlers that he wanted ME to speak at his baptism!! ha ha ha well this is even more funny. SO this man is HUGE!!! and both of the elders that were teaching him were rather small... Really small and skinny. So I heard the way he got baptized and I had to share.. They had him get on his knees and the elder pushed him forward.. but he started to flap his hands around and so they had to do it again. They are probably about the same height with him on his knees.. so the they had to do it again. BUT HEY! Raymond is baptized!! 

Well this work is awesome and we had a super fun week. I cannot believe we are already looking at the end of this transfer. Kind of weirds me out how fast time goes. Especially when you measure it by transfers! AH! Well onward and upward and I love you all! Sorry no pictures this week. They'll all come next week! 

Hermana Schwendiman