This has been one of the BEST weeks of my mission!!!!!!!!!!

Hello my family!!! How are you all doing? How has your week been? How is the weather and how is life? I hope that everything is going good and that y'all remember how much I love you! Well

this has been one of the best weeks of my mission!!!!!!!!!! It was just so amazing!!! For starters everyone always asks about the people that I am teaching and I have not said much in the past few months. Well the reason for that is that we have not had many people to teach. every since I have come to Santa Fe things have been insanely slow and hard. The holidays did not help very much and even though we were doing our best we still were struggling. And January was spent making up for the month of December. We still could not find people and the few that we were teaching were not going anywhere. I will not lie in saying that this has been the hardest time in my mission. But in the last few weeks things have been getting better and now they are amazing!!! So lets proceed to the stories of the week. 

Story 1 The Tale of the Hunt

For the past few months like I have said we have been struggling to find people who will listen to us. So for the last 3 weeks sister Wilkinson and I have been trying all sorts of different things to find people. From talking to people on the streets to going through old records trying to find people. So this past week we have meet some very interesting people. Let me name just a few, first we met a less active family named the Dinwittys. The were manly  interesting because of there name. But he is a less active and his wife in a non-member so we will see where that goes. Then we met a young man named Spirit. He was very interested in telling us what it was that he believed. I am pretty sure that he was high...because he just kept saying the same thing over again. " I just love the world man!! And god is the best!!" He said that about 20 or so times. Another kid came over and tried to hit on us, so we gave him the elders number and left. And you will never guess who I met again... Mr Brother Joe Hot Sauce! He is still just as crazy as before and really didn't remember who I was. But still it was funny to see him again. We meet lost of interesting people and it seems that it is all the crazy people love to talk to us. Well I guess that they need the gospel too. 

Story 2 The Tale of Wonders of Wonders Miracle of Miracle: Part 1 Sunday

So for some reason one of the hardest things that we have to do as a missionary is to get people to go to church. I don't know why its only 3 hours... I guess that some people may think that it is a bit to long. But hey its only once a week and it is for God so you would think that they would be excited. Anyway this past Sunday we were expecting a few people to come. So we got there early so that we could greet them, but by 9 no one had come. So we sit in the back hoping to maybe see a one come in a little late. Well right as sacrament started we saw 2 of our investigators come in with there dad. The dad is a member and the kids are not, they come every other week so it was good to see them. Then a less active walked in that we have been trying to get to church for a long time. And I thought that if that was all that came out of Sunday that would be worth it. However right after the sacrament was passed the stake clerk walks by and tells us that our family is here... And my first though is "What on earth is Mom and Dad doing in Santa Fe!!!" But he then points out some people sitting on the back row. And I will tell more about them later but it was a family of 5 who said on Friday that they would be coming to church! I was so excited that I could not stop smiling! Then in walks another investigator walks in!!! Micheal Alvarez is a man that we have been teaching for a few months but he has never come to church. And the last time that I taught him I promised him as a representative of Jesus Christ that if he would come to church that he would feel well enough to go and that his life would get better. He said that he would try but he was not going to promise anything. BUT HE CAME!!!! It was so amazing! After Sacrament meeting we helped the family get to there classes, Sister Wilkinson and I took the 2 girls to primary. And on the way back to gospel principals I see this lady at the end of the hall with an angry birds hat... It was another investigator named Cathy!! I almost ran down the hall to hug her! She was so excited to be there and said that she loved it all after words. Everyone who came said that they loved it and would be back next week if they could!!! It is so amazing to see the miracle from our father in heaven.

Story 3 The Tale of Wonders of Wonders Miracle of Miracle: Part 2 Gregory Garcia

A few weeks ago we got a referral from some elders in Albuquerque. It was for a Man named Gregory, his niece had just been baptized, and he was really interested to learn more. So we stopped by and he was not home, but his room mate said that he would be home in a week. So we stopped by yesterday and met him. He was so excited to meet us, and he had amazing questions for us! We told him about the Book of Mormon, and he was so excited that he grabbed it out of our hands when we gave it to him. Then his room mate/ possible girl friend comes in and starts to listen. She also was very excited and grabbed the Book of Mormon. They both said that they would come to church and we are meeting them again tomorrow. It was so great to meet them and have them be excited about the gospel.

Story 4 The Tale of Wonders of Wonders Miracle of Miracle: Part 4 Our Miracle Family

So now back to that family that came to church on Sunday. About a month ago as sister Johnson and I were tracting we ran in to this 18 yr old named Amilio. He had good question and said that we could come back, so for a month or so we would just stop by and share a message with him outside. But this past Friday we stopped by and felt prompted to ask if we could share a message with his family. So he went and asked his mom and she let us in. We meet the rest of his family then, his mom is named Lupe, his dad is Amilio (also), and he has 2 little sisters named Genesis and Emily, his mother is also pregnant and due in a few months. So we explain who we are and what we have been talking with Amilio (the younger) about. His mom got very excited and said that they would come to church and then set up an appointment for last night. His dad had lots of questions and said that he was very confused about all the churches and how they all taught the same thing but different. So we gave them a restoration pamphlet and said that we would see them on Sunday. So Sunday comes and we were praying that they would show up, and they did! They loved church and the girls loved Primary. So last night we went over for our lesson with them, and it was amazing! We did the entire first lesson and they all were so excited! When we mentioned baptism Genesis raised her hand and asked what she needed to do to get baptized. I almost cried as I told her and the rest of the family that you had to be 8 and meet with the missionaries. Both girls were so excited because they are 8 and 9 (or 10 I cant remember), and so did Lupe and Amilio (the elder). They all accepted to be baptized!!! Amilio the younger has a few doubts but we know that as he keeps working he will get his answer! Lupe then said that she knew that we were there for a reason and that God had sent us. She told us that she was so excited for church on Sunday that she could hardly sleep, and even more excited that we were coming that night. The family said that this church and the things that they had learned had answered so many questions that they had, and they were all so excited that God sent us to them. 

And so now you know why this has been a great week! I love to be able to help people come closer to Christ and see the impact it has on them! Never forget that we are all missionaries even if you don't have a tag. Share the gospel with your friends so that they can have this great blessing in there lives!! I love you all so much and cant wait to tell you more about how things are going!!

Love Sister Chatwin