Dear Family and Friends,
First off, shout out again to Mom and Audrey! Hope you both had great birthdays!! And thank you to Kristen Parker for the letter this week! :)
Holy smokes! I can't believe 18 whole months has gone by already. I hit my 18-month mark last Wednesday, March 4th. And I am so thankful that the time I had in the MTC is made up with 2 extra weeks in the mission field - I love being a full-time representative of my Savior. I hope I've lived worthily of His name on my chest the past 18 months.
It is so crazy to me to think by this time next week, I'll be at the mission office getting interviewed by President Alba and then going home the next morning. Whew. I am going to work my absolute HARDEST this week, though! I am so excited to spend my last full week in the Lord's vineyard in Vacaville YSA :) It'll be the best one yet, I'm sure!
So, life is good! No complaints! Living the high expectations has become a part of our daily life, and we've seen miracles from it! Last week Sister Belnap and I dropped all our investigators except 3 (none of them were progressing besides Max, Blake, and John) and so this week we get to do some intensive finding! I am stoked because you know what my favorite part of missionary work is?? FINDING!! I love talking to new people and seeing the light in their eyes when the Gospel is introduced to them for the first time. It really is a Gospel of hope and peace and love.
This week was great - we have been helping so many less-active members come back into the fold :) It's neat to see how many people are starting to let us teach them and are coming back to church. Probably 6 or 7 people we've been teaching the past 6 months I've been here are attending church weekly now! Yay!! Alex Wixom's family is a miracle - the family ward missionaries are now teaching Bro. and Sis. Wixom and William!! And Bro. Wixom and William go to 5th ward every single week. Alex is really understanding the Sacrament and the Gospel and the Savior much more and is almost done with Alma in the Book of Mormon!
We also taught Max this week and he is doing so so good! He even had us over at his group home for dinner, which was...interesting haha. I thought we were going to sit with all the other members of the group home, but nope - they put us outside in the cold all by ourselves, and with Max and John, of course haha. It was kind of awkward, but really neat to eat dinner with them and get to know them more.
We had an AMAZING lesson with Blake this week!! Yesterday we brought a girl - Samantha Hancock - who is leaving on her mission March 18th for Mexico to our lesson with Blake after church. We taught the Restoration and I had just finished reciting Joseph Smith's first vision when Blake just broke down into tears. He said something along the lines of, "God never left. He was just waiting for someone to reach out to Him so He could restore it all again. I know it's true" Wow. I had never thought about that before - then we ALL started crying and the three of us sisters individually bore our testimonies to him. Then we all cried together for a little bit and we recommitted him to be baptized on April 25th and he said yes and that he was nervous but excited for that day.
He is so ready for the Gospel. I am so thankful I have the privilege of seeing the Atonement work in Blake's life! He also attended FHE last Monday night and loved it - we helped clean out a widow's rain gutters. He loves to work hard and serve.
Aside from that, Sister Belnap got sick this week, so that was a bummer haha. From Thursday-Saturday she was down and out but Hermana Hancock's companion, S. Holguin, was also sick, so Hermana Hancock and I worked together in both our areas and got 40.6.2. for a few days haha. CRAZY days, but we did it!! I am thankful for the opportunity I've had to stay busy, productive, and diligent this weekend.
I am so excited for this last week! I know that I truly was meant to serve in the California Santa Rosa Mission and I know that this work really is God's work. I know that the Atonement of Jesus Christ is real and that there is no sin we have committed that cannot be wiped clean through His grace and mercy if we turn to Him and truly repent.
This week I learned a lot about repentance, especially helping Sister Belnap through some hard times she is going through. Repentance is such a gift, and is given to us through our Savior Jesus Christ. It may be a little uncomfortable and painful at times, but there is no comfort in the growth zone, and we are growing to eventually become like Christ: "Therefore I would that ye should be perfect even as I, or your Father who is in heaven is perfect" (3 Nephi 12:48 C.R. to Matthew 5:48).
I am truly changed through the Atonement of my Savior, and have gone from bad to good, good to better, and hopefully through the rest of my life, from better to best and from best to Saint.
God bless you all this week and remember that God truly, truly loves you. He knows you personally and hears your prayers. So talk to Him, please. He will answer you through His messenger, the Holy Ghost. "And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all thing" (Moroni 10:5). :)
Have a wonderful week everyone!!
Love always,
Sister Nikole Decker
P.S. We have an all-mission conference on Wednesday and I am SO excited for it!! It goes from 9:30-4pm.
