This week has been full of miracles. I mentioned last week that the work here in Coulee Dam has been a little slow, but in just one week, after praying for miracles, we have managed to pick up three new investigators and several potentials.
Miracle #1: Last Monday was, as usual, p-day. P-day lasts until 6:00, and then we are expected to proselyte until 9:00. We usually have a hard time getting into doors, though, because the people around here love their Sunday and Monday night football. We decided to look through a list of potential investigators left by some missionaries a few years ago to see if any of them would be interested. Elder Coy and I felt that we should visit one person in particular named Vicki. We had never met her before, but we went anyways. When we knocked on the door, it took a few minutes for her to answer; but when she did, she immediately came out and started crying. Apparently, she has been going through some really rough times lately and had been praying all day that God would send someone to help her. When she saw "people of God" on her front step, she was amazed at how quickly and how directly her prayer was answered. Vicki is a strong believer in God, but the rest of her family is not. She said through tears that this is something she and her family needs. She even said that though we couldn't come in to talk to her right then, that we had to come back later and tell her everything we know. Vicki is more than a golden investigator; she's straight up platinum! On our way back to the car, Elder Coy reminded me that visits like that don't happen very often. When we came back to visit her on Thursday, she had read the Introduction to the Book of Mormon and 3 Nephi 11, just like we had asked her to. She had loads of questions as well, and we did our best to answer them. We will meet with Vicki again later this week, so Elder Coy and I are doing our best to prepare ourselves to teach her. It is amazing how Heavenly Father had been preparing Vicki to receive the gospel. Elder Coy and I didn't receive some grand revelation, either, just a small prompting to visit a particular person. That is the best part about being a missionary. Because of our calling and obedience to the rules, God has promised us that we can expect miracles like our visit with Vicki.
Miracle #2: On Wednesday, we were looking through our area book and came across a teaching record for a man named Dean that had been taught in Ephrata but had then moved to Grand Coulee. It was from a few years ago, too. The missionaries hadn't been able to find this "Dean" person. It had a sticky note on it that said "no address or phone number, good luck!" So Elder Coy and I, being the geniuses we are, decided to look it up in the phone book and by so doing found him immediately. We drove to his address and gave his door a knock, when out stepped a Hispanic guy that we see every week at the food bank. Turns out that the guy that we see at the food bank every week is Dean! We didn't know that his name was Dean, and we had no clue that we was so interested in the church. We visited him a few times over the course of the week and he told us that he knows that God wants him to join the church. He has narrowly escaped death and serious injury so many times in his life, and he gives credit for that to God. He also explained that every time he feels like he no longer needs God in his life, he runs into the Mormon Missionaries, whether he's in Everette, Ephrata, or Grand Coulee. It's like God has been saving him and really wants him to listen to us. He had been taught all of the lessons by the missionaries in Ephrata a few years ago, and so I asked him if baptism was still something he was interested in, and before I even finished the question, he said "oh yeah, I still want to get baptized." Dean is an awesome guy, and he said that he will work towards baptism after Dec. 1st because he's really busy. We are so excited for Dean!
Miracle #3: Last Thursday we were on exchanges with the Zone Leaders. Both of the companionships stayed here in Coulee Dam. I was with Elder Oliver, and lets just say that if being a missionary was a sport, he would be playing for the pros. He never let anyone get away without sharing the gospel. If someone was a block away and headed the opposite direction on the other side of the street, he would catch up to them and ask if we could introduce ourselves. Elder Oliver and I got along super well. We also taught really well with each other. For some reason, everyone in town was outside and walking around on a Thursday morning, so we managed to pick up 5 new potential investigators and placed 2 Book of Mormons in 4 hours. Elder Oliver taught me so much about missionary work, and that the only reason we should be out here is because of the love we have for the savior and our brothers and sisters. Elder Oliver is a Spanish missionary, though, so I don't know if we'll ever be companions. Bummer.
Yesterday we visited with one of those potential investigators, an older lady named Becky. She was really nice. She invited us in and made us hot chocolate, and was open with us about her feelings of what we were teaching her. She also had two little neighborhood native girls running around the house that thought it was funny that we were both named "Elder." We gave her a Book of Mormon and she invited us back on Thursday.
Unfortunately I don't have any really funny stories this week, other than that Elder Coy and I helped our ward mission leader slaughter his Geese on Saturday. So that was fun. I don't have any pictures though, sorry! :)
Thank you all for your support and prayers! They are really making a difference here! It's amazing how even in a small place like Coulee Dam there are still people that are willing to hear the gospel. Above all, please keep praying for our investigators!
Until next week,
Elder Moser
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