April 7 - Miracles in 'Merica

Dear family and friends,

Hi from St. Helena Guess what?! I had an awesome week. But really.

AWESOME. We started teaching 5 new people!!! Jennifer Carrillo (11), Seamus Gilushenan (25), Todd Lanelli (63), Luis Hernandez (21), and Christian Guiterrez (21).

Cool story about Luis: we initially contacted him two weeks ago. We decided to walk all the way out to a former investigator's house (Ray Rader's) and see how he was doing. He was home but had to leave pretty quick to pick up a friend, so we didn't teach him a lesson or anything. We were kind of bummed, and started walking back through the trailer park we were in. Walking along the road we witnessed a sketchy drug-exchange with two Latino teenagers. One was in a white car, the other was handing him a bag with some drugs in it. I felt prompted to intervene, and Sis. Petersen followed right behind me. I went up to the two guys and asked how their night was going. They said fine and looked kind of antsy. I looked at the boy in the car and said , "Your body is a temple. You know that, right? You can do so much better than what you hold in your hand." The boy just shrugged me off. We left them both with a card and got the boy in the car's number, but nothing else came out of it. Haha it was super awkward and Sis. Petersen was saying, "Sketch." over and over when we walked away, but I followed the prompting!

THEN, a miracle happened! This week we contacted into him again while we were trying to contact our referral, Seamus. We reached the complex Seamus lives at and saw three boys standing smoking in the parking lot of the complex, so Sis. Petersen and I walked back and started talking with them. Their names were Seamus (our referral!!), Luis, and Christian. We said a prayer with them and before asked what they need in their lives. The boy who introduced himself as Luis said he needed more motivation to live and move forward. So we said a prayer and asked Heavenly Father for those things. It went quiet after the prayer, and they all were very reverent and said thank you.

Right then we ended up teaching them about God being our loving Heavenly Father and invited them to be baptized! They all said yes, and we have return appointments with each of them.

When we were talking with Seamus, Seamus admitted to us, "I need help.  I'll just come out and say it: I'm high right now. But I have a wife and 3 kids and I need to stop doing things like this. I need help." We were able to tell him about the ARP (addiction recovery program) in Napa on Thursdays and he is going to come this Thursday! We're also teaching him and his wife tonight :) Then I said to him the same thing I'd said to the boy in the car-drug-exchange: "Your body is a temple."

Luis was listening - he LIT UP and said, "No way! You're the girls I talked to a couple weeks ago! I was in the car, remember?" He proceeded to tell us that he has been having a really hard life. He has depression and doesn't have much family support. He's been stuck for the past few years. He told us that that night he had been crying and when we met him, he was going to overdose on the drugs he bought and kill himself. But when I said, "your body is a temple. You can do so much better" he felt something stir inside. He told me that those words repeated over and over in his head, and he didn't go through with it. We're teaching him again on Wednesday.

Wow. I am so thankful for the Holy Ghost guiding us to help save lives. Literally. I am so excited to meet with each of them and help them taste the sweetness and peace the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ brings. I am also so thankful that things don't work out sometimes because there is a bigger plan. We were bummed we didn't get to teach Ray, but that night we ended up saving someone's life and now we're going to teach that same person. God is amazing! I don't know how He does it, but He just does. He sure loves His children. I see that more and more.

And General Conference was SO great! My favorite talks were a tie between three (can there be a tie between three? Who knows.): Robert D. Hales' on obedience, Jeffrey R. Holland's on the cost of discipleship, and Dieter F. Uchtdorf's on gratitude. It is so inspired that we meet together in the middle of the week for ward activities, once a week for the Sacrament and church, every few months for stake conference, every 6 months for a General Conference...it's so needed!  We need to constantly be "nourished by the good word of God" (Moroni 6). I think there's a reason why there's not an exact number of times we meet together - we simply need to meet together oft!

Sis. Petersen is doing wonderful - she gets better and better at being a servant of Jesus Christ and being an incredible teacher. We're teaching almost 50/50 in every lesson we teach now. Also, she's been correcting me in areas where I'm slacking...I love it though! She really is helping me to push myself to be better, and I am grateful for her "greenie fire."

Funny quote from Sis. Petersen this week. We were about to visit a potential investigator named Ian on Grant St., and Sis. Petersen says enthusiastically, "Ian on Grant here we come! Jesus wants you for a sunbeam!" Haha I love her enthusiasm and positive attitude for the work. The work really is hastening here in St. Helena.

So I also had another funny experience. We call our branch president every night to report our day of missionary work in the area and I heard his voicemail hahaha. Here it is:

Jon's chicken is cooking in the pot.

Biscuits are ready and piping hot.

So hold on a minute and pull my knot.

I'll call you back later if your number I've got.

It was epic. So happy I heard that lovely voicemail this week haha.

I'm going to send pictures of our hike we took this morning for Pday to Linda Falls! It's in Angwin, a 20-minute drive from Calistoga and St. Helena. It was so pretty! I live in paradise. It is gorgeous here.  I am so blessed to be here :)

Keep choosing the right! Remember that even though man's laws may change, God's laws stay the same. Where is your faith tied? To God, or man? I know this Church truly is Jesus Christ's church back on the Earth today and I know that Joseph Smith was called as a prophet in these last days before Jesus Christ comes again. I know that Thomas S. Monson is a prophet of God. I know the Book of Mormon is true. I also know that there is so much to live for! Don't give up, don't give up, don't give up! Someone knows exactly how you feel - Jesus Christ. He lived, died, and lives again for YOU.

Have a wonderful week, and remember that I love you :)

Love,

Sister Nikole Decker

P.S. I tried pickled beets this week...yeah. They weren't the best. My breath tasted like vinegar and something rotten for a whole day no matter how many times I brushed my teeth. It was rough.

Picture: Linda Falls! They're actually much taller than they look in the picture haha...weird angle.