Mostly........Conference! :)

Well. Hello!

This week was good, a little slow, but then we had CONFERENCE! :) Oh, my goodness.

I am so  blessed that you keep praying for me and our investigators. It was amazing during conference, how, in almost every single prayer, they prayed for the missionaries. Have people always prayed so often for missionaries in conference? I don't know. But I felt an overwhelming feeling of love and support from you, from the general Church membership, because I belong to those missionaries that they are praying for. It felt so special. And every time Lorena (when we're teaching her) prays, she says, "We're thankful that the sister missionaries can teach me," and I feel so special---I am a sister missionary! And it is wonderful!

So. This week! I may just give you the highlights. We're reeeeally low on time.

Wednesday was fun. We were going to have a lesson with B, but then we had to catch a train, so we wanted to talk to her and see if we could move back our lesson to Thursday. She wasn't at the museum when we got there, which meant that if we didn't see her in the next five minutes, we'd lose all contact with her. But then she came walking up the street and said that she was busy and could we maybe meet tomorrow? Which was a total miracle.

After that, we went to Pottschach and went by on a less active, who asked us to come back in a couple weeks. Then, we were walking back to the other side of Pottschach to go take a Book of Mormon to a potential that we'd found there on Monday, but then a train came. So we had to walk around, but then we met F, who seemed really interested! We gave him a Book of Mormon, and he asked us to call him back in five weeks because he's going to be in London for a while.....but that was amazing.

Friday, we showed up an hour early to bowling, which is our Sport Abend for the first Friday of the month. Normally, Sport is at 6.  So we assumed bowling would be at 6 as well.........but it wasn't. And no one told us........ :) But it was fine. We went by on some people, then went back to the bowling alley.......to find that the only people there were the elders and Bishop. So we waited for a few more minutes, and finally José showed up! With L and N (his daughters, the ones with nametags that one week), and his friend Renee, and his two children. Then it really got fun, because then A, G, S, M, and P showed up, too! What was so wonderful was that Africa was so amazed by my hair. (I'd done French braids that day.) So I did it on her hair (she has a lot of veeeeery curly hair), and told her how to do it. Then Sister Scoggin came over and did something like an inside out French braid, which was so fun. We were the only women there, so none of the men got it.......but that's okay. It was just super sweet and super fun. Just to be braiding hair and talking in Spanish. AH! I LOVE it.

Saturday! We had a lesson scheduled with a former investigator, O, which actually fell out. So we decided to go by on another former. And while we were walking there, we met a woman, Lisa, who was interested in the Book of Mormon. It was a pretty cool conversation. :) 

And then........we biked up to the Hladkys for CONFERENCE.  Oh, my goodness, I could not tell you how absolutely EXCITED I was for Conference. I was so excited all day.  You can ask Sister Scoggin. She heard about my excitement a lot..…  Anyway, for those who don't know, Conference is about as good as Christmas when you're a missionary.  Oh, my goodness. I always loved conference, but not as much until now. Good heavens, it's INCREDIBLE. :D

Here's the schedule for WN: Saturday morning is played live, from 6-8 p.m. Then we sleep. Then, we watched RS/Priesthood in different rooms at 11 a.m. on Sunday morning. Saturday afternoon is played at 2 p.m. Then Sunday morning is live again at 6 p.m. Sunday night. But.......unfortunately, we don't get to watch Sunday afternoon.  :(  But that's the schedule.

I felt like the Spirit was talking a lot to me about obedience. And that was so interesting. I know I need to be 100% obedient, but lately, I want to be obedient! It changes so much, whether you have to or you want to. There's a C.S. Lewis quote that Sis. Scoggin showed me. I don't have it here, but it says something to the effect of, "If we are following Christ, it will be reflected in our actions. We want to be obedient not because it will save us, but because Christ has already begun to save us." It goes along with the principle that Brad Wilcox talks about, how we are not earning heaven, but learning heaven.

So, that was my week---pretty amazing, and Conference was just marvelous. It is miraculous that during ten hours, just these talks speak to so many people and mean so much to people! They apply to us so differently, but everyone hears all the same talks. Again...another logistical nightmare that Heavenly Father makes work every single time. Crazy.

Oh, by the way, transfer calls are this Friday! Because I'm now done being trained (well, at the end of the week), I could go anywhere. One of us could be transferred, maybe neither, probably not both (because we opened this area). We will see. So, you will find out next Monday what's happening!

I love you all so much!

Love, love, love,

Sister Elizabeth Jill Winters. :)

With Schwester Hesina! She is a miracle in our lives here in this ward.

Apple picking!