One for the books!!

Wow! Words cannot express the week that we've had! The past couple of weeks Sister Hicks and I have been focusing on being more obedient, and we are definitely seeing the blessings! We had so many awesome experiences and found so many cool people this week. (Brooklyn showed us a screenshot of their goals on a chalkboard. They were hoping for 12 and ended up getting 28 new investigators! In the past they have gotten maybe 3 new ones a month. Whatever they are doing, it's working well! I'm so happy that they both work so well together, are being obedient and keeping busy. We also found out that Brooklyn and Sister Hicks have been assigned to be Sister Training leaders over their zone and the St. Paul zone. I had to ask my husband what that meant. They are basically Sister Zone Leaders. They will have new responsibilities including training at the next tri zone conference.)
I want to start out by thanking everyone for the birthday wishes! Thank you to everyone who sent me an email, card or package! It was my best birthday yet. 20 feels great! (She told me her birthday was so good! They had interviews with President Barney and then it was a normal teaching day but with better food! She said it was so cool to be able to teach people and think about others on her birthday.)

Last night we had the coolest experience. It was the most spiritual experience I've had on my mission. So last week the elders brought us teaching with them to a family and we taught the mom a lesson about the Restoration and everything, super cool lady. However, her children were just sitting around playing video games and what not. Last night Sister Hicks and I went back and taught the mom, Mu Chi about the Book of Mormon. The lesson was going pretty well, and then right before we were about to kind of wrap up the lesson and leave, her 19 year old son came home and sat down by us. His name is July. We started talking to him by saying, "we just told your mom about this book," and then we kind of taught the whole Restoration and Joseph Smith's experience. The spirit was so strong. I felt like words were just coming out of my mouth without any effort. In the middle of the lesson, we were testifying about Joseph Smith's experience and July was just looking down. Then he looked up at us and just started weeping. He was crying so much and he said, "I don't know what I'm feeling. I'm so happy right now." We told him that feeling was the spirit telling him that what we said was true and he told us, "I know this is true. I know it." This 19 year old boy felt the spirit so strong, he started crying as he felt that witness from the Holy Ghost that Jesus Christ's true church has been restored to the earth again. I wish I had the words to describe the spirit that was in that room. That was the strongest I've ever felt the spirit in my life. July is going to do great things! I can't wait to go back and teach him more on Friday!

We had another super crazy experience that gave us a little reality check. haha So for the past month there has been a guy at our recent convert, Karen Moo's house, almost every time we have gone over. Something has happened every time though that has made it so we haven't been able to teach him. We invited him to church though, and he has come the past 4 Sundays! Without ever being taught!! Yesterday we were at one of our member's houses, not Karen Moo's, and this guy, Pa Kee walks in. We were super shocked to see him but we said hi and asked what he was doing there and he told us he lives there now! What?!? At that moment I just thought, "Okay Heavenly Father, we will try harder to teach him. We get it now." Hahahaha It was the weirdest moment. We have no idea how he knows them and is now living with them. It's so cool to see how Heavenly Father just puts people in our path to teach!

I love this gospel so much! I'm so grateful for the knowledge I have of the restoration of the gospel. I don't know what I'd do without it!!

Love you all!

Here she is wearing the dress we sent her for her birthday. So glad it fit! Brooklyn said she had Oreo's for breakfast, ice cream for lunch, Zupa's for dinner, and a mini bundt cake for dessert!!! 
I'm a little jealous! haha

State Fair with some investigators! 

The Minnesota State fair is the largest attended fair in the country. They get something like 200,000 visitors every day!!! 
I told Brooklyn that I didn't know how she remembered all their investigators unusual names. She said they do fine as long as they write them down. 
Brian made a comment about how similar their investigators look with their dark hair. Brooklyn said they always think she and Sister Hicks are twins or sisters!

 

Elder's Evans (from Eureka, Utah) and Foutz (from Mapleton, Utah) tried to bring Brooklyn a blizzard early in the morning on her birthday. For some reason Brooklyn's phone wasn't working. The poor elders waited for quite some time for them to answer, but ended up going home and putting it in their freezer. Looks like she ended up getting it later. It's the thought that counts, right? Brooklyn told me that they are some of the best people she's ever met! She has so much respect for the Elders she works with. 

View of Minneapolis in the distance from the Ferris Wheel

We got some exciting news this week. Brooklyn is now allowed to use Facebook on her mission! She updated her profile picture with the one below and has started posting about her testimony. Using technology and social media is such a great way to reach out to investigators and stay in touch with them. We truly live in miraculous times!