Welcome to the Mission!

(There is a sister in the ward that takes Jess and her comp to dinner just about every week. When they do, she texts me a picture. Let me tell you. Jessica is eating well. This week was a corn dog at the farmer's market!)

Family! Good to hear from you like always! I have discovered a method in which I can give a decent response to each of you every week! I hope you enjoy your now filled inboxes  thanks for being patient.

This week has a lot of 'pearls' for me, but I want to share some with you. 

Monday: Miracles! We met with Erica, the woman I was telling you about. We went in and she was like, "So how do I get baptized? Also tell me more about the gift of the Holy Ghost."

My and my companion: 😦

Also, I invited a friend. Door opens, her neighbour comes and sits down.

Me and my companion: 😦

So we start talking to see where she is at. Her response: I've been going to church for five months, I've been reading the Book of Mormon, I'm 13 chapters in, I've visited the Sacramento temple, I recognize the prompting a of the spirit and I want more of that and I want the gift of the Holy Ghost, I have gospel library on my phone, I want to get baptized July 1st. How long will it take to get through these lessons?

Me and my companion: 😦

Let's start at the beginning? So we started with the restoration and she understood everything and continued to bear her testimony. I started to wonder why we were even there when clearly we could get through it much faster. That's when I noticed her friend Julie was hooked on every word and tears were filling her eyes. For the first time, I got to do the first vision in a lesson. A first lesson no less. As I quoted Joseph Smiths account, tears again filled her eyes. She bit her lip and watched me intently. At the end of the lesson, I invited her to read the Book of Mormon. "Will you read the Book of Mormon and pray to know if it's true." She looked at the cover and said, "you know, I'm starting to think it might be.." She then related an intense personal experience. Erica, the investigator, quickly pulled out a Mormon message to show her. The very same one I was
thinking of. She showed Julie and Julie cried. She said it was allergies. It wasn't   the spirit was tangible the whole lesson. We scheduled a time to meet again and left.

On the way home, I realized that we were not there for Erica. We had been there for Julie. Julie needed that lesson. She needed to hear from us. Erica was more like a member present. God is merciful.

Tuesday: District meeting! Then we got to Sister Wadsworth house. She is a powerhouse member missionary. I can't even tell you. She is so solid and so eager to share the gospel with everyone. I hope every missionary gets a sister Wadsworth in their ward. Everyone wonders how Davis is so successful. Let me tell you, it's all this woman. We visit her every Tuesday because the missionaries keep her balanced. She has a high functioning autism. You would never be able to tell. You would just think she is super shy.
She is such a spiritual giant. Her spiritual discussions fill up my tank, and she loves the challenges we give her. It's perfect. Anyways, we were at her home and we're having this incredible discussion and I felt my spirits rising. Then she told us her friend Christina was ready to be baptized. ASAP. So she wanted us to meet with her.

Me and my companion be like: 😦

Christina is the friend she has been working on with the gospel. They are super close and Sister Wadsworth has been worried about it and not wanting to step on her friends toes, but she was bold and told her it was time to get baptized. Christina agreed. Sister Wadsworth is successfully helping her quit smoking and other things. We just need to give her the lessons. Sister Wadsworth arranged for us to meet her on Sunday at a members home. Wow. Three solid baptismal dates set. All three found us and basically set their own dates. Miracles.

Wednesday: Exchanges and more miracles. 

Thursday: We exchanged back. 

Friday: My companion got up early and we met west Sacramento at the church. Me and sister Waites comps were companions were going to a meeting in Santa Rosa, while We stayed and worked in Davis. Again, the day was filled with miracles. They stayed the night, though I'm not entirely sure why. It was fun! The next morning they got up and left and we went to work.

This whole week, I haven't wished once to be anywhere else. I still found great joy in the work, and that love grows stronger each day. The only thing I want to do is missionary work. I can't think about anything else. I feel like it comes so naturally for me, that this is what I've been waiting for and missing my whole life. I love you all and I miss you
quite a lot sometimes. The stewardship I feel for Davis occupies my whole heart minus the permanent place that you all live in . I know the Lord can take much better care of you than I ever could, so I feel much better knowing He is taking care of you. He tells me everyday that He has you in His Hands  and I feel it. That's why it is so easy to put my whole attention to Davis and the mission.

I'm reminded of the song, "Savior, Redeemer" there is a line that says,

My joy by day, my dreams by night
And let my lips proclaim it still
And all my life reflect thy will

This is exactly how I feel about my calling as a missionary. The mission has truly changed me. I feel like I'm blossoming into the person I've always wanted to be.

Well, I love you all. There is so much to say, but I hope that helps you somehow. How's the challenge to try something new going?

Remember the Savior! My challenge for this week is this:

How have you seen the Savior in the last 24 hours?


Love,

Your sissy

Sister Julander