It's May! It's Me!

Hello! Welcome, welcome Monday morning!

This week was so lovely. We had some cool experiences this week, and we are working hard to teach the people of Sioux City. We had interviews with our mission president, which is always good. As my interview with him concluded, he asked if he could pray for us then paused, and said, "I'm just going to see you again in two days!" And he did! We had a meeting in Omaha on Friday, and whom should I get the wonderful chance to see, but Sister Harris, my trainer! I was so excited to see her. We haven't seen each other since we were companions, a year ago! She leaves at the end of this transfer (which happens to be my birthday), so I was really excited to see her, even if it was for just a short while.

We learned a lot at our meeting in Omaha, and then we rushed back to the Sioux City area, because a family we have been teaching invited us to their daughter's choir concert. We were able to get there just a few minutes before it started, and we felt sure that, in a large auditorium, it would be impossible to see the family we'd come to support, and that there would be few open seats. We entered the auditorium and saw a few seats open near the back, and who was sitting right behind them? The family we wanted to see! It may seem like such a small thing, to be able to see them and sit by them, but to us it was just another demonstration of how Heavenly Father loves each of his children, and when we are obedient, he blesses us with miracles, even something as simple as being able to show support for families we teach. I love this family, too! They are a sweet family, and I just know how much Heavenly Father loves them.

We also had the chance on Saturday and Sunday to attend Stake Conference. They were calling a new stake president (the current one had been serving for 9 1/2 years, and had been in the presidency for 5ish years before that, and a bishop before that, and... Whew! He needs a change, I am sure!), and we had Elder S. Gifford Nielsen come to the conference to help select and call the new president. (He spoke in the October General Conference, and his talk was "Hastening the Lord's Game Plan.") In the adult session, he asked for any new converts to stand. The sister whom we have been working with, Jami, stood, blushing, and allowed him to question her. He asked her how she found the church (a friend asked her to learn more), and how she came to be a member (it took several months) and to share her testimony. The cool thing was that we had taught her a lesson barely 2 hours before the meeting, and in that lesson, we finished the Book of Mormon with her. When she shared her testimony, she was able to say she had read the whole thing and finished it that day. It helped her to be more confident in her testimony and it was really neat to hear her talk about it.

On Sunday, of course, they called the new president. Sister Gomez and I had taken an informal poll of members: who do you think will be called? There were many guesses (some of them right!), but they didn't all agree. It reminded me that when Man is in charge, we can disagree, and dispute, but when God is in charge, we can feel confident in the person called and know it is Heavenly Father's choice.

I love you all.

Love,

Sister Loradona May