Blessed by Members

Dear Family,

We had 5 investigators at church on Sunday! Plus it was fast and testimony meeting so they got to hear a ton of heartfelt testimonies. It was such a miracle and we owe so much to the members of the ward that helped.

* Heidi and her son Greg followed us and really enjoyed it. They both dressed up and looked really sharp. Greg made himself right at home in primary with the other 11 year olds. Heidi's only comment afterwards was that she liked it but was dying to have a cigarette. She said she hasn't gone three straight hours without one in probably 6 months. We'll cross that bridge when we get there. I'm just so happy that they came and felt welcome.
* Jesus and his daughter Julisa followed the Halls to church and then came to the Christensen's home for dinner and a lesson afterwards. Bro. Soza was a great friend to Jesus because he is also from Mexico. And Julisa loved Sis. Palmer as her primary teacher. She is so cute. I'm so grateful for Sis. Christensen coming as a team-up to teach Jesus and then opening her home to him by inviting him over for dinner after church. He was able to get to know the Lundwalls and Bro. Lundwall did a great job testifying of the Atonement in just normal conversation about the challenges Jesus is dealing with. Our lesson on the plan of salvation helped him get the big picture a little better and we were able to re-set him for baptism on February 26th. He is doing great!
* Maria also came but left right after sacrament because her two year old was being really rowdy. We try to help her with that by bringing coloring sheets and things but he just has a lot of energy. We asked the ward members if anyone could sit with and entertain him so we'll see if that helps.
* Stephen is the 11 year old we've been teaching for a while now. He is so smart! He is tentatively set for baptism on March 5th. His family just needs to see if that is a day when people can come in from out of town. I am so excited for his older brother to baptize him.

We are seeing a lot of miracles in Millard. We also started teaching a hispanic family that we will probably give to the Spanish Elders. The funny thing is that when the Spanish Elders called Araceli, she was busy and at the grocery store so they got the impression that she wasn't interested. But when we went to our return appointment on Sunday, she was so excited to see us. We watched the Restoration DVD in Spanish and then she accepted our invitation to be baptized! So, she said she'll be baptized if she finds out for herself that the things we teach are true and her husband is thinking about it. They would do well in the Spanish branch, but their two granddaughters that live with them would prefer English. Sister Monson and I both understand Spanish and she speaks it way better than I do, so our lessons thus far have been bi-lingual. It is fun to see how the spirit really can bring all things to our remembrance, even the little bit of Spanish I took years ago. I know that the gift of tongues is real, because I could never communicate this effectively in Spanish before my mission. The Lord is blessing us a lot.

Recently, we have received a lot of trainings on becoming consecrated missionaries. I love it. When else in my life will I truly be able to devote all my time and choices to God and give my whole soul to him? I really enjoyed Elder Christofferson's talk from this last conference. Hopefully I will become a consecrated missionary and member in the next few months.

I love you all!
Love,
Sister Bailey Mortensen