- Last week Hermana Phillips bike wheel broke for like the thousandth time so we took it into the bike shop and spent like all pday trying to fix it and couldn't. She has to wait to be able to take it to the shop she got it at in tampa to be able to fix it. So I was just like, alright we will just have to see if we can borrow one from somebody. I looked at our contacts and an hermana in the branch who I probably wouldn't have thought of first came to mind so I called her and she said she'd be more than happy to let us borrow hers. So we went over to pick up the bike and started talking and she told us all about how her husband and her had split up just a week ago and she was going through a really hard time. We were able to sit down with her and just listen and share a few comforting scriptures and I could tell she really appreciated it. We probably wouldn't have planned on visiting this specific hermana but God knew she needed someone to listen to her and show they cared. He had to break hna phillips bike to get us there haha but i mean He makes a way for his will.
- We were on exchanges this week and we started talking to this one guy sitting on a bus stop. He is one of the most interesting people I've ever met. Bus stops are like magnets for the crazies of sarasota. Sorry excuse me I mean the elect. We were able to share with this man a little bit about the restoration and then at the end of the converstation he asked me..."what day were you born?" "....April 19th,why do you ---" " -- you were born on a wednesday." literally like a split second after I said my birthday. He did the same thing with my sister training leader, said she was born on a friday. We were like okay...but we leave and look at our calendars and he was right for both of us. hahah im not sure if God really needed us to talk to him but i mean that was a pretty cool experience for me.
- We were walking down a street and a lady is gettting out of her car with her little weiner dog and he has a cone on his head so Im just like "aw did your dog just get home from the vet?" she was like "yeah he almost got eaten alive by a rottweiler." I looked at the dog and dang he was like destroyed! I asked the lady if we could share a prayer with her and she was like yes pray for my dog. So I got to pray for a ladies rottweiler demolished weiner dog. That was a first.
- So I talked a little bit about a guy named Mario last week. Turns out his name is actually Mariano. His esposa's name is Marina. Esposa in spanish means wife but really it means girlfriend most of the time. You learn things in the mission. So really quick background on them...they are the neighbors of some members in the english ward (for hermana mathis it's the guminskis next door neighbors...hahah yes those guminskis) and we got their information about a month ago. We have tried and tried to contact them and never had any luck or mariano would answer the phone, say he would talk to his wife (girlfriend) and get back to us and never did. So we were just about to give up on them when we were biking past their apartment complex 2 weeks ago and I got the thought to just try one more time. So we went and Marina was there and we were able to set up an appointment. The first lesson we had with them was amazing. The spirit was there so strong. That was the lesson I talked about where Mariano asked me why I was on a mission right when I was having a hard time. So we were able to visit them a few times last week and I have never, ever felt such an immediate connection with an investigator as I have with Mariano and Marina. I can't explain it. The love that hermana phillips and I have felt for them just right off the bat is something that neither of us have ever felt before. And I've been here for a while so I know there is something different about them than other people I have taught before. We took our branch president's wife (hna gazziro) to a lesson with them this week and when we walked out she had tears in her eyes and was just like I feel like i have met both of them before. We had a father's day activity on saturday and they both came to it and loved the branch. They were planning on coming to church the next day when we got a call that morning saying how their best friend had been killed in a car accident the day before and they wouldn't be able to come to church because they were too distraught and had to make a bunch of calls and arrangement because their friend didn't have any family here. They were heartbroken over the phone. We couldn't believe theyd even come to the activity the night before! They told us they wanted us to visit them that night though. So we went over with presidente and hermana gazziro and were able to share with them the plan of salvation and president gave them blessings of comfort. They were so miserable when we got there, but after talking about the restored plan of happiness and feeling the power of the priesthood they had tears of gratitude in their eyes and couldn't stop saying how thankful they were to be learning what they are learning from the church. Bad and unfair things are always going to happen in life,things that we can't control. The death of thier friend was going to happen, it was part of God's plan for him. But God knew that this gospel would make mariano and marina stronger and be able to deal with this trial better so thats why he put us in their path a week and a half before that horrible accident. Before my mission I was really scared to be expected to try and comfort people in times of trial because I feel like I would never be able to relate to anyone or be good enough. I have now come to cherish these opportunities to offer comfort to those who need it, because I've learned that the best way to do it is to direct them to and testify of the Savior. He is the only one who will always know to comfort us, we will never be able to say you dont know how I feel because of what Jesus Christ did for us. That's why I love the scripture alma 7:11-12 so much. I'm so grateful for the time I have to share this message of hope.
love hermana Baugh
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