MIRACLES. Always!

Wow.  So many changes this week!  First of all, and most importantly, Marina CAN be baptized this Friday!!!  We're so excited.  She'll be baptized Friday, confirmed Sunday, and fly to Guatemala on Wednesday.  It will be SO HARD to say goodbye to her.  It's amazing how much we've come to love her in just a WEEK of teaching her the gospel.  She's amazing.  She's living all of the commandments and is really preparing to be a dedicated and obedient member of the church her whole life.  She was super worried about being able to find missionaries and her ward in Guatemala, and she's already making plans to be able to purchase temple clothing so she can be endowed in a year.  She's incredible.  She's so sweet and is truly hungering for the word of God.  Yesterday we went to the same fireside Derek mentioned, "Why I Believe," with her, and then we went to the Visitor's Center.  Her spirit is so strong.  Her poor little body is very beat up and old (she's 70 and was in a horrible accident where she was crushed by a truck) and because of brain damage from the accident she has memory loss, but even if she can't remember details of every doctrine, her desire to be obedient says so much about her testimony.  She's so sensitive to the Spirit and truly a wonder.  At the Visitor's Center, Marina and Sister Bram and I just cried because we're so happy to know each other, and so sad that after this week, we'll probably never see each other again. That will be a very happy reunion in the Celestial Kingdom someday.

I actually won't get to be there for the last few lessons before her baptism this Friday, because I'm being transferred!  I was definitely not expecting to be transferred.  On Saturday President Meredith called me as the new sister trainer!  Whaaaaaaaaaaat???  I was surprised.  I think I explained sister trainers when Sis. Osborn was called as sister trainer. Basically there is one companionship of sisters that is called to go on exchanges with every sister in the mission for training purposes.  So I'll get to be with sisters in the English program and the Spanish program, as well as the Tagalog, Tongan, and CHINESE programs.  I'm so excited!  Also scared.  It's going to be really tough and definitely a very different experience, but I feel blessed to have been given the opportunity to serve the sisters of the mission.  I'll also be blessed to interact with President Meredith more often as we meet with him and the zone leaders and assistants.  And the biggest surprise and blessing of all... I get to be with Sister Osborn again!  My trainer and I have been reunited!  I'm so so
happy.  I'm truly very sad to leave Sister Bram so soon, and very very VERY sad to leave the San Francisco ward, but I know good things are ahead. Pray for me, please!  I will need it!

Another miracle... a few weeks ago we gave a copy of the Book of Mormon to a man named Ausencio and he started reading it right away.  He didn't want to set an appointment with us but we saw that he felt the Spirit as he read.  We went back to his house this week and he pulled the Book of Mormon out of his jacket pocket.  He carries it around with him!  He opened it and said, "I haven't read very much, I still need to read more."  He showed us where he was in the book and he'd read from the title page all the way to Jacob 4!  And he HIGHLIGHTED!  Amazing.  This man WILL be baptized.  I won't get to see it happen, probably, but I can feel it.  A miracle!