tracting, covenants

Hi everyone!  Wow, it seems like it was 100 years ago that I talked to you
on the phone.  At the same time, the Christmas phone call seems like it was
just yesterday.  I don't know what to think anymore. 

This week was really interesting.  Poor [G] and [L] didn't come to
church this week.  She's so scared of the consequences of her family's
sentiments against the church.  We lost contact with her for over a week,
but last night we went by her house and she was there!  She told us that
she's been reading from the Book of Mormon every morning and every night,
and that every time she opens it and reads a scripture, she feels like it's
just for her.  It was a relief to hear her experiences with the Book of
Mormon and to know that she's still having spiritual experiences.
Hopefully she'll be able to put those experiences in action and continue to
come to church even though at this point she doesn't have permission from
her husband to be baptized.

Another miracle--[J] Carlos.  I have high hopes for him.  We contacted him
once two weeks ago, but then lost contact again and planned to just write
his name down for other missionaries to try again.  This week, however, we
decided to go tract on his street, and as we turned the corner, we saw him
sitting there on his porch.  We taught him a lesson right there on the
sidewalk.  He went to a baptism once in Mexico, over 10 years ago, but he
still remembers that the Spirit there was so strong that he started
crying.  He has the desire to seek after that Spirit again.  He's going to
face a lot of opposition from his wife, but we hope she, like [G]'s
husband, can soften her heart.

This week has been a tough one with finding.  Tracting here is a little
different... lots of doors slammed, lots of hurtful comments.  But also
lots of good experiences!  We met a Filipino lady who said that when she
reads the scriptures, she feels filled.  She said that she knows God has
more for her than what she gets at her church, so she studies the
scriptures to receive her own revelation.  She's definitely very prepared.
We told her about the Book of Mormon and she was open to it.  Hopefully the
Filipino elders can have success with her.  She was a tender mercy in my
day--a reminder that there are people who are literally being prepared by
the hand of God to receive the fulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

This week I've been thinking about covenants.  As I took the sacrament this
week, I was blown away by how amazing it is that everyone who is partaking
of the sacrament is fortifying a personal relationship with their Heavenly
Father.  He knows our thoughts, our desires, and our sins, and that moment
when we renew our covenants with Him is so sacred.  I'm about to finish the
Book of Mormon again, and this morning I read Moroni 1-6 and I was really
touched by how sacred the baptismal covenant is, and how merciful Heavenly
Father is in His plan for our lives.