WEEK 11: Week Of Miracles

Happy Monday, everyone!

It's been a great week here in Vegas. A bit or a rough week, but we have definitely seen God's hand guiding us this week, and there have been so many miracles! A lot of unexpected things happened this week, but it's because of those things that we have seen God's hand directing our days and answering our prayers. So I'm going to tell y'all about some of them. 

Starting with the most noticeable miracle, it's been below 100⁰ this week! Which has not happened since I got here in July. The highs this week were in the 90⁰s, and I wanted to cry. It felt so nice, and the wind didn't feel like a blow dryer, it was actually cool! Fall is officially on its way, and I've never been more grateful for cooler weather. 

I have had really amazing personal studies this week! We get an hour of study time every day, and most of my studies this week have been very inspirational. I have found a lot of peace and answers to things I've been considering very heavily, and it's been wonderful. I often get lost in my own brain when I think about things deeply, but it was amazing to see how the Spirit of God can help make connections and help me see things in a new way, even while re-reading things that I've read my entire life.

Thursday night, all of our lessons and plans for the night fell through, seemingly simultaneously. We suddenly didn't know where to go or what to do. In weekly planning we had talked about praying to have more service opportunities, and to find families to teach, so we stopped to pray for guidance and ask for help finding ways to serve and meet families. I am not kidding when I say that literally mid-prayer, the phone started to ring. When we answered it, it was our next door neighbor. She asked us to go check on her apartment. We were at the bottom of Lake Mead Blvd, which is a long trek uphill to our apartment, but our neighbor really needed us to go to her place. She's going through some really awful, scary things with her young boys, and just wanted us to be there until she got back from the store. So we sat outside her apartment and made a few calls while we waited for her. When she finally got back, she explained a lot of things and expressed how grateful she was that we would do that. She said that, even though what she's going through is absolutely awful, she is feeling that this experience is God guiding her life and heart back to Him. She's in the middle of moving to a new home, but said that she really wants to stay in contact with us, and wants to teach her boys who God is, as well as re-learn for herself. We were so excited!! That was literally the answer to our prayer. We had prayed for a service opportunity, and for a family to teach. And voila, literally mid-prayer, we get a call from a woman who needed help and wants her family to learn about God. There's a lot to figure out as she gets settled into her new home and starts a new chapter in her life, but we really believe that with time and healing, she and her kids will meet with the missionaries in their new area. They are being prepared for something amazing. 

We left our apartment complex again, but still didn't know what to do. Usually 8-9pm is the most awkward time of day, especially because it's getting darker sooner, so more people are inside. No one wants to have lessons that late, and because of our location, there are certain neighborhoods and places we can't go into after the sun goes down (for safety reasons, and such hehe). So that last hour before we go home is kind of an awkward space to fill, and after leaving Jovan's, we didn't know what to do. We walked in multiple directions, but nothing felt right and we felt a little lost. We decided to walk around an apartment complex across the street from our own, but literally no one was outside. The few people who were didn't want to talk to us, and we sat down on a bench for a few seconds. This is the part of missionary work that's the most exhausting. There are just times where you can't quite discern where to go or what to do, and you feel a little aimless. But we got up from the bench and decided to walk down a different sidewalk. As we did, we looked down and saw an actual, literal arrow pointing the direction we'd decided on. It was created by the shadows on the steps, but it was a clear arrow nonetheless. That felt like a sign that we were doing the right thing, even though it didn't feel like it. It made us smile, and though we still didn't find anyone that night, we felt that God had again provided something special for us as an answer to our prayers.

I've had a few humbling experiences this week. There was a night where I had the thought to stop and talk to a family we passed, but I didn't verbalize that to Sister Van until we got to the top of the hill. We got up there, looked at each other, and knew we had to go back. But when we did, they had gone inside. We knocked on the door, only to find that they only spoke Spanish. Now, I know enough Spanish that I could have managed an introduction and conversation, but I second-guessed myself and kept my mouth shut. The Spirit kept pushing, but I ignored it. As we walked our bikes to the end of their driveway and started up the hill again, I was almost in tears. I had ignored the promptings twice in a row, and I felt so guilty. I can't describe the pit in my stomach and the guilt in my heart. I had multiple thoughts as we biked away, most of them along the lines of "Don't you trust God?" "Don't you remember that God has promised that if you just open your mouth, you'll know what to say?". For the rest of the night, we recommitted to stop and talk to every. single. person. we passed. And for the rest of the night, I was running Spanish sentences through my mind, practicing what I know, and preparing to speak the next time we would encounter someone who didn't speak English. It was a slow rest of the night, byt as we walked up the hill to our apartment, there was a man sitting on the curb. We got off our bikes and asked if we could share a scripture. He looked up and told us, in very broken English, that he only speaks Spanish. I looked at Sister Van, and in her eyes I could see that she was saying "if you don't speak to this man, I'm going to punch you in the face." So I turned to him and said what I'd been practicing in my head all night. Suddenly, I was having a conversation in Spanish, explaining that we were missionaries, and that we knew missionaries who speak Spanish fluently. He said he would like them to come by sometime, and we got his name and address. As we walked away, I cannot explain the feeling in my heart. I felt like that had been my second chance from God; to trust Him, and to open my mouth. The Spanish had flowed naturally, and I had understood him without even trying! There's no way that was done through my own skill level, which is very minimal. I know without a doubt that that experience was given to me, to show me what God can do when I humble myself, have courage, and allow myself to be fully committed to this work. 

Doctrine and Covenants 100:5-8

"Therefore, verily I say unto you, lift up your voices unto this people; speak the thoughts that I shall put into your hearts, and you shall not be confounded before men; For it shall be given you in the very hour, yea, in the very moment, what ye shall say. But a commandment I give unto you, that ye shall declare whatsoever thing ye declare in my name, in solemnity of heart, in the spirit of meekness, in all things. And I give unto you this promise, that inasmuch as ye do this the Holy Ghost shall be shed forth in bearing record unto all things whatsoever ye shall say."

I'm sorry this was a long email, but this week has been such a testimony builder of God's nature, goodness, and power. It's been a harder week, but there are always tender mercies that God sends to us to remind us to keep going. He is so involved in the details of our lives, and He sends us signs that He is there with us. My challenge to all of you this week is to keep open, or reopen, that line of communication with Him. Whether that's through prayer, searching the scriptures, attending church, or whatever you feel you need. Speak to Him, and let Him speak back to you. You'll see miracles!!

I LOVE YOU ALL. THANK YOU FOR EMAILS, LETTERS, PRAYERS, EVERYTHING YOU ALL DO FOR ME. It is so appreciated.

LOVE YOU BYEEE,

Sister Malmstrom

Pictures:

- 7/11 slurpees on our walk home from our district activity!

- GIANT. CACTUS. 

- Miracle arrow!

- Comp picture:)

- After the scorpion incident and the slight cockroach/cricket infestation in our apartment, I decided it was time to invest in some house slides. So I got some shark slides and I love them. 

- Birthday Boba for Sister Van! HAPPY BIRTHDAY HERMANA!!! (Don't worry, it's a smoothie, not tea;))

- Sunsets that outline palm trees >>>>>