Week 14

Hello Friends and Family!

          It has been an incredible week!!! We have had a lot of very good things happen in this area! We have had the opportunity, this week, to participate in the 4th of July parade in Provo! The entire mission was invited to walk in this parade. That's 217 missionaries!! We heard the loudest cheers I have ever heard for missionaries in my life. It helped me appreciate the work that we do here and to be called to the Utah Provo Mission! I am so grateful to be a part of this special time! The weather here has been upwards of about 105 but yet the dry weather doesn't make it feel that way! It has started to thunder storm as well (which is my favorite!!) It's been an amazing July in Utah so far!

         We've had an amazing miracle happen this week. There's this investigator that we've had for a while named Randy. He smokes, he lives with his girlfriend and their child, and it's hard, sometimes, to get him to commit to a task, but he has an amazing heart and desires so much for his life. This week, we were stumped what to talk to him about, as he has received all the lessons already. We decided we would talk to him about the first part of the Gospel of Jesus Christ which involves faith and repentence. As we were talking, we somehow got onto the subject of his smoking issue. He described to us his feelings about it and said he desired so much to feel the Spirit. We talked to him about our bodies being clean and that as we do so, we can feel and hear the Spirit so much strongly. We asked if he was still smoking, to which he replied that he was. I asked him if he had cigarettes on him, and he said he did, so I asked if he'd be willing to give them up. He hesitated but he pulled the carton out of his pocket and handed them to me. He made the first surrender. We asked how that felt and he said that he felt better but still nervous. He explained how he thought it would be difficult for him but that he had faith enough to do it. He asked what would be required of him to be baptized. We told him about the smoking issue and that he'd have to marry his girlfriend, Stephanie. He quietly and contently said 'okay' and he started to ramble about wedding ideas. He said he wanted to do this because he loves Stephanie and because he wants to be baptized. He said that one day he wanted to marry her in the temple. He talked about a civil wedding with a reception and being able to, a year from his baptismal day, go to the temple. We asked if setting a baptismal day would help him. He asked if we could do it August 13,2013 because that is his lucky number. We agreed, happily. As we left he and his girlfriend looked at peace and happy with the meeting. But this isn't where the story ends. We saw him again on Sunday at church for Fast and Testimony Sunday. We were so excited to see him! Later on in the meeting, we saw him walk up to the stand and bear his short testimony that he knows the church is true! He pointed at us and mentioned he's been meeting with us and he's been able to develop a testimony. Tears clouded his eyes as they clouded ours, too and he simply ended in the name of Jesus Christ. We were absolutely silent with the Spirit. This man that had shown no progress in the 3 1/2 months that I have been in American Fork has now been off of cigarettes for a week and for the first time bore his testimony in Sacrament. How amazing of miracles Heavenly Father is able to perform! When we are faithful, obedient, and prayerful we are blessed!! President, I love this mission and the people in it and I am so grateful for this opportunity that Heavenly Father has given me!! What an amazing blessing!!

         I have never felt so much happiness than I do right now! To know that we have investigators on date, our numbers are improving, and our area is growing! I can't help but feel so much love for this area and yet be so exhausted at the same time! I've shared some pictures from this week. Enjoy!

Love,

Sister Maren Schultz