Time Flies When You're Having Fun!

Another week has come and gone! It was a very good week, not much happened but what did happen was good! But to start out... Thanks to Jessie Brimhall for her letter and pictures! And a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Emily Sabins on the 26th, Jonny on the 28th, and Uncle Chuck today! Love you all and hope you have amazing birthdays!!

New haircut

This week went by really fast. On Monday the 27th, after Pday, we had a Family Home Evening lesson with the Moran family in our ward. We taught about the Gospel of Jesus Christ which includes Faith, Repentance, Baptism, Receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost and Enduring to the End. It was a very good lesson! The Moran family are very missionary minded and they brought great insights to the lesson. It was very powerful! And so much fun!

On Tuesday the 18th we had another lesson with Kellie and again, the Spirit was so strong. We had a lesson on the Plan of Salvation with our main focus being the Atonement. I know in my letter last week that I said that during her first lesson I'd never seen the Atonement work so hard on anyone, and it was the same for this week. I have really loved being a part of this change in Kellie. I know that it's been about six years since she's been to church and it's just amazing to see her turn around and come back. I've decided that if I don't get any baptisms the rest of my mission, it's ok because I want to help members of the church who have lost their way. I have loved seeing the change in Kellie. She has a strong testimony and I thank my Heavenly Father for letting me be a part of this change.

Also on Tuesday we had a lesson with some former investigators, the Hoch's. We met them about a week and a half ago and they let us come back. We had a really good lesson about the Godhead and about the Holy Ghost. They have some questions and concerns about how Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost are three seperate beings but we are helping them to understand better. They asked us a question about the Holy Ghost and neither Sister Carrell or I had ever asked that question ourselves or heard anyone else have concerns about it so we weren't able to answer that question. But we told them that we would study it and when we go back tomorrow we will be able to tell them what we learned. It was a very good lesson and I hope that they are coming to understand a little better what we as Latter-day Saints believe.

Then on Thursday the 19th, Sister Carrell had her interview with President Becerra in Hacienda Heights. When we got there, it was so weird because Elder McKee and Elder Williamson were there and it was like a mini district reunion haha And after her interview, we went out to lunch with Sister Lehman (my MTC companion) and her trainee, Sister Fogavai. It was so much fun to spend some time with them! I couldn't stop laughing!

Then Friday the 21st while we were weekly planning, I got a phone call from Mama J (I had called her a couple days earlier) and she told me that she was back in the hospital :( It was really sad to hear that. But she said that she is doing ok. I just hope she doesn't have to spend too much more time in there. We are hopefully going to go out to lunch when she gets out though!!



After Dinner with Sister Carrell and Emma

And also while weekly planning, Sister Carrell got a phone call from Sister Filimoehala saying that one of their investigators was back in town and she was getting baptized that night!! What?!?!? So after dinner we went to Walnut for Adri's baptism. It was so amazing! The Spirit was so strong there! Adri has come a long way. She used to be Athiest and really didn't even care about anything. But because of her friend who she met at school, she was brought to the gospel. Adri has gone through so much in her life that it was so cool to see her baptized. When she came up out of the water, she was in tears and you could just see a totally different light in her eyes. It's really an amazing thing to go to these baptisms and see the difference in people and see how far they have come. The gospel really changes people! It's just incredible to see!

Then on Saturday the 22nd, we did a lot of contacting. We went through the Area Book on Friday and wrote down names and addresses of people that we felt we should go see. Most of the people weren't home but there were a few that were super nice and we talked to them for a while and they said that we could come back!



Sister Lehman and Sister Wheatley -- MTC companions at Yogurtland in California
 

And that night we went to Brother and Sister Gute's house to follow up on a challenge that we gave them. We have been inviting the members of the ward that we have dinner with to pray about who they could share the gospel with. All we have asked is to pray and we would follow up with them before they did anything else. So when we went over to their house, they told us that they have two friends who have come up lately that they haven't talked to in a few years but things have happened where they have had contact with them recently. So that was really cool! So we are looking forward to moving forward with the Gute's on how to share the gospel with these people. We have been taught that you have to have a social conversion with someone before a spiritual conversion. You can't jump right into sharing the gospel with someone. You have to show people that you just want to be friends and from there all you do is be an example and the people will ask you about the gospel. As members of the church you have to show people that we aren't just friends to convert them. We are friends with them whether or not they accept the gospel message. So that's something that we are now teaching members. And I think that's really true! Social before spiritual and if they don't accept the spiritual, at least you can still be friends!

After Adri's Baptism
 

Well, like I said, not much happened but everything that did happen was good! Sister Carrell and I are really working hard and well together. I have learned so much from her these past two weeks! I hope  that everyone back home is doing well! I love and miss you all but as of today, only ONE YEAR left. (No I am not counting...) I can't believe everything that I have learned in the last six months and I look forward to learning even more in these next twelve! I never thought that I would be serving a mission. But now that I am, I'm so happy that I made that decision, that I decided to listen to the Holy Ghost! It's already something that I know I will never regret!

Love always, Sister Wheatley

Hey Hey!

Ok, so there is a lot that happened this week! This was seriously one of the best weeks I have had on my mission so far! It's been very amazing!

First off, Happy birthday to Sarah Jane Dudley tomorrow (the 18th) and Sarah Alder on the 21st and Diana Fleck on the 21st! Hope you all have amazingly wonderfully fantabulous birthdays :) Love you all!

So last Monday, the 10th, we had transfers. In my email last week I mentioned that and that my new companion is Sister Carrell. She's from Lehi, UT and she is a very good missionary! I have already learned so much from her! She's been out for less time than me and I thought I was going to be the one teaching her and training her a little more but I think she has taught me more than I could ever teach her. She's very outgoing and bold and it's just been fun to have her here. It's also been a little rough just because our personalities are so different but that's ok! That's what is good about us as a companionship. We both bring different things to the table! And things are really looking up here!

Monday night we had a lesson with a new investigator, Chris. It was a very good lesson and the Spirit was there. He had so many questions that it was hard to get a set lesson plan in but that's ok! We were able to answer his questions and also do a mini lesson. So that was cool! And we set up a return appointment with him for the next day. He really didn't want to have too many days in between lessons so that was cool!

Then on Tuesday the 12th we had the lesson with Chris. This time we had the Elders over the Singles Ward, Elder Lindsay and Elder Nielson, come with us because Chris is 19 years old and he would probably be better off in the YSA ward than in the family ward. That lesson didn't go as well as we had hoped for (he was a little high...) But he accepted a church tour with the Elders for the next day and now they are teaching him.

Then that night Sister Carrell and I went over to Dirty Dennis's house. Dirty Dennis is a man just down the street from where we live who does metal work. Sister Davidson and I, when we first got to this area, noticed a bunch of roosters in peoples yards and one day we asked someone about it. So we went to Dirty Dennis's and talked to him for a little and he said he would make us one! We thought that was so nice! Well, that was when we first got to the area so after being here for 5 1/2 months, we figured he forgot about us. We saw him a couple weeks ago and he said, "Don't worry girls, I haven't forgotten!" And then on Monday night, he text us and said that he was finished with our rooster! Sure, right after Sister Davidson leaves haha So on Tuesday we went to pick it up! He is such a nice guy! I offered to pay him a few dollars but he said, "No, I just want to show that there are still people in this world who actually do something when they say they will." So that was really nice! And now I have this rooster to carry around while on my mission! I wish I could send it home but it's way too big! I might have to leave it with a member wherever I leave from and come get it sometime after my mission LOL ;) But it's pretty cool!

Then Wednesday the 12th Sister Carrell and I had a lesson with Kellie. She's a member of the church but has been inactive since she was 17 and a couple weeks ago she texted us asking if she could have the lessons again! So of course we said yes! And the lesson we had with her was amazing! The Spirit was so strong! We both started crying within the first five minutes of the lesson! haha It was just amazing! Kellie is a wonderful person and I'm so happy that she wants to change her life back around! She has a two year old boy and she knows that she needs to give him a better life. And she also said that she's never been able to imagine herself getting married anywhere other than the temple and she knows that in order to do that, she needs to be going to church and living the life that she's always been taught to live! It was just amazing! I could really see the Atonement of Jesus Christ working on her that morning! It was so powerful! I've never seen anything like it!

Then that night we had a Relief Society enrichment activity on Emergency Preparedness! I was so excited! I've decided that mom has ruined me ;) During the whole thing I just felt like I was back at home! It was so fun for me! I was talking to a lady in our ward, Stacie, and her friend Erin about it after and I told them about learning about most of these things while back home and that I have bought my own food storage supplies and water containers and they just started to laugh and said, "Wow, I'm married and I don't even have that much. I guess I better get started quickly." It was just kinda funny! It was just so fun to go to that!

On Thursday the 13th we had a great District Meeting on working with the members. We've had this topic before but it was just something that really hit me this time around. That's what we have been trying to do since we came to this area but it's been kind of a slow process. But I know that things are working out the way they are supposed to and that working with the members will increase! I'm so happy that I'm able to be here for so long to see the growth of the area and the ward! It's very cool!

And that night we went and visited a former potential investigator, Beverly. She is super nice and she was going out of town but she said that we could come back this next weekend! So we are excited about that! Sister Davidson and I have tried a few different times to see her but weren't very successful. So it's cool that we were finally able to talk to her!

Friday the 14th, that was a long day! We had weekly planning and that took us a while! And then that night we went out and visited some more formers and we got to talk to one, Sonny, who seems like he's interested. He said he's busy but he knows that he needs something more in his life and he's happy that we stopped by. So he accepted a church tour and we're going to do that this week!

Saturday the 15th was another long day! Our stake put on a Family History Seminar and we as missionaries had a couple booths in both of the church buildings set up. We weren't able to talk to people unless they talked to us (I guess President Hinckley said something about that in the past...) so we just sat around for four hours. It was a very long time but after it was all over, Brother Collinwood told us yesterday that another set of Elders got a new investigator out of it so that was cool! And while at the seminar, Emily Sabins' aunt came and I was talking to her and she told me her name and I was like "Wait, you're Emily's aunt?!" And I just got so excited that I finally got to meet her! And we had a very nice conversation! She is so amazing! But I should have known that since she is related to Sister Sabins and Brother Walch!

Then that night we were about to go do thank you cards because we didn't have any appointments set up for the 8:00pm hour and we're not supposed to be out in the dark knocking on doors that late but before we did that I felt like we needed to go to one more formers house. So we went to see Mr. and Mrs. Hoch. And they answered they door and we talked to them for a couple minutes and set up an appointment to see them tomorrow (Tuesday.) So that was exciting! Just when we were about to call it a night, Heavenly Father leads us to one more house!

Then Sunday the 16th, that was a good day! Church was good like always! Sabrina wasn't able to come because she and her parents were out of town but she text us and said she wanted to go to church in Anahiem Hills where she was but wasn't sure if she should (we of course told her that the next time she wonders, yes, she should go!) She also said that she feels "lost without church." And that's not the first time she's said something like that. So I thought that was really cool! Sabrina is an amazing girl! She has such a strong testimony already! She wants to get baptized now but will more than likely have to wait until she is 18. But she keeps saying that she can't wait til she's baptized!

Then last night we had a meeting with Brother Holland. He's our new ward mission leader and OMGOSH!!!! He's incredible! He has so many wonderful ideas about how to get the members going on their missionary work. He has a theme for each month of the year to help with getting non-members to come to church acitivities, or to have members give out pass-along cards, or things like that. He is just wonderful! I know that as soon as we get these final plans set, there's going to be success in the Carbon Canyon ward area! I wish I could stay in this area for my whole mission! I have loved seeing the growth so far and I know that it's only going to get better! I can already see it! This church is amazing! I feel so blessed to be apart of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints! I have seen so many wonderful things happen in my life because of it. And I've said it before but I feel so lucky to be here in the California Arcadia mission at this time in my life to be a full-time missionary! There are so many other things I could be doing back home, but I don't know if I would learn the same things that I have learned while being out on my mission these last six months. It's just amazing! I love this work! I know that this is the true church of Jesus Christ. If I didn't know that, I wouldn't be here right now. If there is anyone out there who is wondering if The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is true, whether you were born in the church and your testimony is a little rocky, or if you have been investigating the church, do as it says in Moroni 10:3-5, read the scriptures and pray to our Father in Heaven with real intent and He will manifest the truth of it unto you by the power of the Holy Ghost. I know that He will. He never breaks promises!

Love, Sister Rachel Anna Wheatley

Transfer #5, Area #1, Companion #2

Well, another week has come and gone. And today starts a new transfer! I can't believe how fast the six weeks go. I feel like we just had transfers a couple weeks ago. But I am staying in Chino Hills in the Carbon Canyon ward but no I am not training, there aren't any English Sisters coming in for the next two transfers. But Sister Carrell is my new companion and she's barely off her 12-week program so I am "senior" companion...even though technically we don't have junior/senior companions here in this mission. But yeah. Not gonna lie I'm a little nervous about being the senior comp but I am excited. I have been here for 24 weeks now, I think it's time for me to "spread my wings and fly" like I told Cherryl on Sunday. So I think this will be good for me.

Ok, now to let you know what happened all this week. on Tuesday the 4th, Sister Davidson and Sister Filimoehala had zone council so Sister Carrell and I spent the day here in Chino Hills. It was funny because our ward was on the edge of their seats all week knowing that we were getting transfer calls this week so I didn't want to freak them out by going past some of their houses so I just told Sister Carrell that we would go to potential investigators and see them. Well, turns out we could have gone to members houses since Sister Carrell is now here in Chino Hills with me haha But it was a good day and we got to go by and talk to a few potentials that we've been needing to see.

On Wednesday the 5th we had interviews with President Becerra. I was really looking forward to this interview for some reason and by the time Wednesday came, the interview lasted for maybe 10 minutes. It went SOOOO fast! I was totally bummed! But he asked each of us to find our favorite obedience scripture and as I was praying to know which one I should use, I just kept coming back to 1 Nephi 3:7 where Nephi says "I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded..." And I was totally confused because I didn't know what that had to do with obedience. But the more I read it and thought about it, I realized that when the Lord commands something, we have to "go and do" and when we "go and do" we are being obedient. I never thought of that scripture in that way. It is now one of my favorite Book of Mormon scriptures. And now everytime I see the word command, I think to myself, "What is the Lord wanting us to obey?" So I thought that was pretty cool!

Then on Thursday the 6th we had Zone Meeting. President Becerra started this new thing where the first Thursday of every month we meet as a zone. So I was happy about that! And the meeting was SO good! I learned so much from that meeting. At the beginning of the meeting, Elder Lindsay and Elder McKee asked us to think of a question we wanted answered by the end of the meeting. And Sister Davidson and I had been talking earlier that morning about something and she said, "You should go into Zone Meeting with a question." So I had been thinking about it and when they asked us, I really thought even harder about what question I wanted answered. And by the end of the meeting, I didn't really get an answer. But then they asked another question, or a statement, that said, "After this meeting I now know...." and as I was writing the answer, I was almost done and my hand just kept writing and by the time I was done writing, I realized that the question I had at the beginning of the lesson had been answered! I just couldn't believe it! It was something that had been on my mind for a while and I was finally able to move on from the question and be happy! After our zone meeting, we all went out to Cici's for lunch! It was so good and so fun! I just love my zone! It's been so much fun to spend time with all of them these last 24 weeks! I think it will still be fun but every companionship in our zone had a change so it's not going to be the same. But that's ok! I'm sure we'll have just as much fun together!

Then on Friday the 7th we had a lesson with our investigator Sabrina and Rachel Hendertilo from the Young Singles Adult ward came with us! Oh my goodness! It was an amazing lesson! The Spirit was there so strongly! Everytime we asked Sabrina a question, she answered it better than I've ever heard anyone answer these questions! Sabrina has such a strong, special Spirit! It's been so amazing to see how much Sabrina has grown in the last two months that we've been meeting with her. She was amazing to start with, but I have just seen so much growth! She is so happy! She has so many questions and just loves learning about the gospel. She can't wait to be baptized! Sadly she will most likely have to wait until she is 18 years old though. But she is so strong! It was just an amazing lesson!

Ok...Now onto Saturday the 8th. Transfer calls! We had a district lunch at Chili's (which I was happy about because I have been craving chips and salsa FOREVER!!!!) That was fun! Then Sister Davidson and I went tracting and went to see a family we're trying to set up a tour with but they weren't there, so we just walked around their neighborhood for a few minutes. As we were walking, Sister Davidson cut infront of me haha and walked over to a couple guys at their house. It was really cool because one of them was really interested in learning about what we had to say and he had so many questions that he had been wondering about for the last couple weeks. So we ended up talking to him for almost an hour! It was crazy because there were so many things that kept happening where we knew that it was the adversary trying to get in the way. But we were able to keep talking to him and we actually have a lesson set up with him tonight! So we're excited for that! The only sad thing is that we'll probably have to pass him off to the Zone Leaders because they are over the singles ward and he's 19 years old. But he's very happy to be meeting with us because he's had so many questions on his mind lately that he even said himself that he's been wanting answers and he recognizes that Heavenly Father sent us to him! So that's way cool!

Then that night, our district all met up at the church to see Elder Yoshikawa do the "Gallon Challenge." He wanted to drink a gallon of milk in 30 minutes! Crazy right?! But he wanted to. So we got together and he failed! :( But it was fun to watch it as he was trying! Then we all got our transfer calls! It was a very bitter-sweet time. I had a hard time with it, worse than Sister Davidson! haha She was so excited to leave because she likes change but I've never been good with change so I was sad. Plus Sister Davidson has taught me so much that I was sad to have her leave. But I know that Heavenly Father trusts me to be with Sister Carrell so it will all be good! I'm excited to still be here in Chino Hills! I'm thinking I could stay another two or three transfers and spend half my mission here! haha I've already spent 1/3 of my mission here so I'm excited!

Then on Sunday the 9th, WOW! Such an amazing day! Sabrina came to church! Cherryl came to church! The Spirit was amazing at church! Just so wonderful! I felt bad for Sabrina though because she was having a hard time knowing that Sister Davidson was leaving. We have both grown to love Sabrina and Sabrina has grown to love us! So it was hard! But at least they can still keep in contact with eachother! And having Cherryl at church, just so happy! It was just a good day! And last night we went to Arcadia for the farewell of the missionaries going home! Such an amazing Spirit there too!

Ok, I know this is a short email but we have a lesson so I had to write this as quick as possible! We didn't have much time to do anything because we were in Arcadia all morning for transfers. So yeah, so sorry this isn't as long as other emails. But I hope that everything is good back home. Thanks for the letter and pictures this week Jessie! Grace looked so happy in those pictures! And a very happy birthday to Jose last week, Allie and Mandy today, and Trent and Cameron McKee on the 14th! Love you all and hope your days are amazing!

Gotta run!

-Sister Rachel Wheatley

 

PS - Could I ask for something??? Anyone reading this... Could I possibly get conversion stories from anyone who is willing to write and send me theirs? Whether you were born in the church or you're a convert, we each have our own conversion stories and I would love to read each of them and I know that it could help having conversion stories to tell people that I come in contact with. Thanks tons!

6 Months Say What?

WOW! I can't believe that this week I hit my six month mark! It feels like just yesterday I entered the MTC! It has gone by so fast! But when I look back at everything that has happened, it's amazing! I have learned so much! I am a different person than I was when I left. And I still have a year left... I wonder what I will be like when I get home! We were at dinner the other night at the Peterson's and we were talking about how long Sister Davidson and I have been in this area and they were laughing because when I first got here, we went to their house for General Conference and I barely talked! And they said that I have really grown! It's really nice to have people tell me that because when I look back I have seen so much where I have grown but at the same time I feel like I'm still the same person. Which is good! I've just grown in being a little more confident and a little more talkative LOL

Rach and Yendia, an investigator, and her son Nathan!
 

Well, I guess I should probably start writing about what happened this week. It was very eventful! Lots of miracles happened!

Monday the 27th, Sister Davidson and I went to the Norton Simon Art Museum in Pasadena with Sister Hruby from the ward. It was a good field trip! There were a lot of beautiful paintings! There was especially this one called Explosion or something like that where they took these flowers and froze them in some kind of chemical and then took a gun to it and they captured the explosion (hence the name.) And it was beautiful!!! I wish I could have taken a picture of it but it was in an area of the museum where we couldn't take pictures :( I forgot to write down the name of the artist but I hope that when I get home I can find it online because I would love to have it in my future home! It just took my breath away!

As we were walking out of the museum they gave us this free print by a famous artist (I can't remember his name...) of a ballerina, so needless to say I was excited for that! And that night we were going to go visit this lady that we met a couple weeks ago and as we pulled up, Sister Davidson felt like she should take this print and give it to her. She didn't know why but she took it anyway. So Mary Joan answered the door and sadly she wasn't available to talk but before we left S. Davidson asked if she liked art and Mary Joan said yes. So then S. Davidson gave her the print and Mary Joan looked at it for a second and then said, "This is my daughters favorite painting! And she just started a ballet class at school, today." Creepy right?! And then Mary Joan said, "And we just remodeled the living room and I was looking for something graceful to put on the side table." OMGosh! We couldn't believe how good creepy that was! It was amazing! Even the smallest promptings to give a picture to someone is amazing! So at that point we talked to her for another 15 minutes or so! And it was just amazing! We walked away with our jaws dropped at how amazing it was!

Making water conservation bracelets at city hall for service
 

On Tuesday the 28th, not much happened but this little bit of funny I liked! We went up to the very edge of our area/ward boundaries to visit a inactive family that we've felt prompted to go see for a couple weeks but never really felt like we should go. But on Tuesday we felt like it was right! Well, turns out the family that lived there had moved in July to Ohio. But we got to talking to the guy, John, that lives there now and we talked to him a little about what he does for a living and other things. And guess what...he's an actor. I thought that was pretty cool! And then we asked him if he's done anything that we might have heard of and he said that he was on the show "Rob" starring Rob Sneider. I kinda freaked out a little because I watched that show before I left! haha It was only on for like one season but hey! At least I knew what show he's been on and he told us what episode and I totally remember it! haha That just made me happy! But what was even cooler than that is that he's looking for a church in the area and he said he would love a tour of the church sometime! So we have to go back up and see him sometime this week! Plus his brother and sister in-law are members in one of the wards in our stake so that's cool! And he seemed really interested!

Sister Davidson made us breakfast yesterday (9/3/12)
 

Wednesday the 29th was a good day! The biggest thing that happened is that we got a text message from the Jones' daughter who has been inactive since she was 17 years old and she said that she's been going back to church the last month or so and she's wondering if we could come teach her the lessons since it's been so long! So we are very happy for that! We had dinner with the Jones' the night before and her boyfriend was over, he just returned from his mission in March, and we all had a good time! So we are happy that she is going back to church (she's going to the singles ward) and that she wants to take the lessons so that she can learn again!

Also on the 29th we had a family home evening lesson with the Monroe family in the ward. We are working really hard with the members and we felt like we should go teach the Monroe's. We had a lesson about the Gospel of Jesus Christ which consists of Faith, Repentance, Baptism, Receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost and Enduring to the End. And that was a very good lesson! We made stepping stones and explained that you need each one of these to return to our Father in Heaven! We had Brother and Sister Monroe sit on the couch and had each of the kids try to get to them without stepping on the "lava" which was the floor. But because there were no stepping stones to start with, they couldn't do it. But then we read scriptures and had a good discussion about each of these steps and by the end each of the kids were able to walk on the stepping stones over the "lava" and make it home! So that was really fun!

On Friday the 31st we had dinner with the Dunn family! They are a part member/inactive family but they feed us dinner once a month and we had so much fun with them. After dinner we had a lesson which consisted of a tea bag, matches, and lighting the tea bag on fire and having enough faith that the fire would not touch our hands when we hold the tea bag in our hands. It was really fun! Then we went outside and played with the kids for a bit and then Sister Davidson showed them how she can balance things on her chin. And not just things but ladders! Yes, ladders! It's pretty cool! And we just had a lot of fun with them! We love their family!

After dinner with the Dunn family (Sister Dunn, Rachel, Christopher, Brother Dunn, David)

Saturday the 1st was an AMAZING day! First off, at church on Sunday, Brother Apgar came up to me and told me that we should have come over to his house to watch the BYU football game with him and his daughter on Saturday! You have no idea how much I wanted to watch that game! He kept rubbing it in my face for the last couple weeks! haha So I heard they won! Almost a shutout right? Anyway, I'm happy that mom and dad got to go to the game!

Cherryl's birthday sign (9/2/12)
 

Ok, back to Saturday the 1st. In the evening Sister Davidson and I didn't have any set appointments we had to be at so we were trying to figure out where to go. There is this family that we've been thinking about a lot lately that we met a couple months ago and have gone back a couple times in the last few weeks but they were never home or the wife wasn't home. So on Saturday we just thought, what the heck, we should go see John and Julia! So we went there and Julia answered the door and she said, "Oh my goodness, how are you guys?! I haven't seen you in forever!" haha What a welcome! So we just started talking to her about her kids and about school having started last week and things like that. Then after about 10ish minutes I asked if she had had anytime to read the Book of Mormon that we gave her a couple months ago. She said she hasn't read it but she's looked through it. So then we said that if there was a time, we would love to come back and kind of explain to her what the Book of Mormon is all about. But right then, Sister Davidson just explained in a quick couple sentences what it was. And that got her asking a couple questions and then she asked, "So I have a question... What's the difference between being a Catholic and a Mormon?" So we answered that and she understood a little better. Then right before we left I felt like I should tell her why we had come to her house that night. So I just said that her family had been on our minds recently and we felt like that night we needed to go by. I also said that the first time we met her, we felt something super strong and that we know that God has put us in each others paths for a reason. Then she looked down at her arms and she said, "Wow. I just got the goosebumps!" And it was so true! Sister Davidson and I also were getting goosebumps and the Spirit was just so incredibly strong! It was amazing! So she said she would like us to come back and she would also like to have a church tour sometime soon! So we are going to be setting that up this week! I know that Heavenly Father sent us to Julia that night for a reason. And I know He sent us to their house three months ago as well. It's amazing how Heavenly Father knows the perfect moment to send us places!

Cherryl's birthday was on Sunday (9/3/12) so we wrote her a happy birthday on the driveway

Then on Sunday the 2nd Sabrina came to church! We were so excited! She's been so frustrated the last couple weeks that her mom hasn't let her come to church and she made her mom promise that she could come this week, and she did! Her mom asked her that morning if she was sure she wanted to go and Sabrina said, "Mom, you promised! I really want to go!" So she did! And it was Fast and Testimony meeting so that was really cool! All the testimonies were so amazing and the Spirit was strong so we're glad Sabrina was able to come!

Also, Sunday was the ward fast to end our 40-day fast! And let me tell you, I have seen so many miracles from this fast! It's been amazing! And I know that there are going to be even more miracles to come! It's like Christ and His 40-day fast. After it was over, that's when He started His ministry. And that's how we feel about this area. Even though we have seen so many miracles already, now is the time that they are really going to start coming! But of course we have to do our part and work hard and be servants of the Lord! So it's just been amazing!

Beautiful night sky!

Well, that's all I have time for now! I gotta get going! But I want to thank Mandy Parrott, Brieann McDonald, and Renata Skousen for your letters/package this week! Brie and Renata probably heard me all the way in Heber get excited when I took those pictures out! haha ;)

And Happy Birthday tomorrow to Brandi and on the 8th to Aunt MaryAnn! I love you both so much! Hope you both have amazing days and you get spoiled! :)

Love you all so much! Thanks for everything! I can really feel your love, support, and prayers daily!

Love always, Sister Rachel Wheatley

RAINBOW!!!!