7 Days Full Of Miracles

April 18, 2016

Dear Family & Friends,

Words can't even begin to describe what happened this week. It was 7 days full of miracles. Here's some highlights.

I forgot to mention in my letter last week that I am serving in the Cosumnes River YSA Ward. It's been a cool experience so far. It's different only being able to teach people that are around my age. It's cool though. The hard part is that we have to pass off most of the people we find. It's been good though because the other missionaries have been sending referrals right back to us. So it all works out. 

Anyways, On Wednesday Elder Campbell and I went over to CRC campus because we had an appointment with one of our investigators named Millie. We went a little bit early to go and contact people. We did some survey tracting so that was cool. I had never done it before so it was a new experience. We basically just walk up to people and ask if they want to take a survey. Then we ask if they believe in God and Jesus Christ. After that we basically just start teaching them. Haha. It's a good way just to start the conversation. We had a ton of success as we talked to everyone. We met so many cool people. One example. We met this girl named Camellia. She was sitting on a bench waiting for her ride. We started talking to her and she opened up and told us about how she had always seen missionaries and other people walking around and she wished that they would just come up and talk with her. She also told us that her ride was supposed to be there an hour earlier and she knew it wasn't coincidence. She thanked us for coming and talking with her. We briefly taught her the restoration and invited her to be baptized. She said she would but she would need some time to think about it and learn. She doesn't live inside of our mission but we gave her our number and we are hoping the missionaries down there can connect with her. After that we continued to walk around and meet everyone. We eventually ran into 2 recent converts and a girl that is getting baptized this week in our Ward and they started taking us around and introducing us to all of their friends! Haha I don't think there's a better group to go contacting with. It was so awesome! Then we had a great lesson with Mille and we invited her to be baptized as well and she said she would! We are just trying to meet more with her because she is always really busy.

Another cool experience. We prayed on Tuesday night about where we needed to go tracting the next day. We split up and Elder Campbell picked 10 streets and I picked 10 streets. We came together and found that only one of them matched up. It was Wire Dr. So we prayed and told Heavenly Father we were going to be there at 1 o'clock the next day and we would be searching for someone who is prepared. The next day we arrived just before 1 and we got out of our car. The second we stepped out a young man named Anthony walked out of his front door like 20 feet away from us. We hurried over and introduced ourselves and shared the restoration with him. We invited him to be baptized and he said he would keep meeting with us and work towards it! We actually ended up meeting again later in the week and met his girlfriend and she is interested too! After that we walked across the street and knocked on a door and we met Jackson. Another YSA aged guy. We set up a return appointment and then moved on down the street. We ended up meeting a man named Moses, an old lady named Miss Beech, and a really nice Spanish family. They were so solid and we sent them off as referrals to the other missionaries in our Zone. So in just under an hour we ended up finding 7 people that were ready to hear our message. We know God led us right to where we needed to be that day because we asked him in faith and he provided a miracle for us.

Another miracle. Haha so Elder Campbell was teaching this guy named Dave Hubbard before I got here to Elk Grove and he accepted a baptismal date and everything. But he ended up getting accepted into a rehab program to help him stay away from alcohol and drugs. He told them he was going to be gone a year so they thought they were never going to see him again. Anyway, last p-day we stopped by the bike shop because I had to get a new part for my bike and it was supposed to be there on Friday. So on Friday we stopped by to pick it up and it turns out they sent the wrong size. So they had to order another one. We were really bummed out because we wanted to get out on the bikes this week. So as we were leaving the bike shop, we pulled around the corner and Elder Campbell spotted Dave Hubbard walking down the street! We flipped the car around and hurried to catch up to him again. We ran over to him and he was so glad to see us. He ended up leaving the program because they wouldn't let him take his copy of the Book of Mormon in. And at that point he has basically homeless so he had no way of getting in contact with us again. We asked if he still wanted to get baptized and he said yes! So this week we are hoping to meet up with him and help get him baptized because he really wants to. He does have a lot holding him back but just because of the way it all came together, I think it will all work out.

I don't have very much time or I would keep on going with more stories. Something that I saw more than any other time on my mission so far was that we truly can be  instruments in Heavenly Father's hand if we will just ask him. Then if we act on the promptings he gives to us we will be placed in someone's path. This work is His and if we do it His way, He will work mighty miracles in our lives. My testimony has grown so much this past week. I can honestly say that this has been one of the best weeks of my mission.

Love each of you! Hope you all have a great week!

-Elder Gammell