Week 31 Stay away from Guys named Leonard

FRIENDS AND FAMILY, BROTHERS AND SISTERS, CHILDREN OF GOD,

WHAT A GOOD WEEK!! We have been SO busy! Things are really turning around here in Benicia and I love it with my whole heart. 

This week we started a rescue mission for all the inactives in our ward!! Basically when missionaries come into new areas they don't know anything about the members. Who is active, who is not...why they are not. So we are fixing that. Basically in both of the wards that we are in we are organizing the members so that we know as well as missionaries in the future know how to best serve them. We have been visiting a lot of inactives this week and a lot of them have said that we could come back and practice our teaching! 

Not only is it great to help inactives respark that testimony they also have the most nonmember friends that they can refer to the missionaries. So we are working really closely with these members to help return them to the covenant path and help them reach out to their friends. So far it has been AMAZING and I have felt SO grateful for all of the amazing people who have reached out and supported us in this work. 

We had an awesome lesson with a guy named Tom this week! Tom and his wife Sovanny have a daughter that is a member in Conneticut. Tom has looked into the church a lot and he supports how it is organized and recognizes how happy his daughters family is. However, he had a reallly hard childhood and struggles with even believing there is a God. They were both SO receptive though and even committed to praying for the first time in their whole lives. It was a cool lesson that I am grateful that I got to be apart of. 

COOL STORYx2: 

1. We knocked on this ladies door and introduced ourselves and told her we were talking to people about where we were before this, why we are here, and where we will go after. Well turns out her husband died THAT DAY AND HE WAS A MEMBER. She is not but asked that we would tell the bishop and told us that she would definitely call us in a few weeks because she would like to know more. SO THAT WAS COOL. GOD GUIDES US. 

2. We were knocking on doors the other day and the cutest teenager named Abby told us about her friend Taycer who is going through a hard time. She told us we could stop by but she only knew the apartment complex, not the number. But we tried anyways praying that God would lead us. AND HE DID!! 9 DOORS IN WE FOUND HIM!! It was incredible, God is good and He guides this work. Sadly the guy wasn't interested but I definitely believe that we planted a seed. 

We had Ward Conference in the Lake Herman ward yesterday and our Stake President reminded me of something that I LOVE. SURRENDER. The last couple of weeks have been amazing. The biggest thing that I have learned is that as we give it up to God, He makes more out of our efforts than we ever could. I have been praying more than ever before, acting on promptings more than ever before, and putting what I want aside more than ever before. THE RESULTS HAVE BEEN UNREAL.  Instead of thiking about what I want to happen I just ask that God will help me to be humble enough to do whatever He needs me to do. What a blessing that has been. I owe it all to Him, every good thing that has happened is because of Him. I don't remember if I have shared this before but I don't really care I am going to share it again. The first verse of my favorite hymn says: 

"It may not be on the mountain height

Or over the stormy sea,

It may not be at the battle’s front

My Lord will have need of me.

But if, by a still, small voice he calls

To paths that I do not know,

I’ll answer, dear Lord, with my hand in thine:

I’ll go where you want me to go.

I’ll go where you want me to go, dear Lord,

Over mountain or plain or sea;

I’ll say what you want me to say, dear Lord;

I'll be what you want me to be." 

May we each strive to be what He needs us to be. 

Mucho Love, 

Sister Tams

Other/Funny Stuff:

-So if you go back in time you may remember a guy that we taught named Leonard in West Sac, well he was a little crazy so we stopped teaching him. We were knocking on doors the other day and we meet a different Leonard, who turns out to be pretty kooky too. So my advice is to stay away from guys named Leonard...lol. 

-We went to dinner at a members house last night and they made Tongan food for Sister Moala (suprisingly pretty good) it was so sweet. 

-My Tongan vocabulary is growing more and more everyday. English is hard, I might ditch it all together. 

-I am just chilling, making my lunch the other day when I turn around and see Sister Moala cutting a sweet potatoe in half with a legit machete. Pic feat below. She scares me sometimes....

-We get new of transfers on Saturday and I am praying that we both stay. 

-We had interviews this week and my mission president told me that if he could clone me and put one of me in every zone he would. That was honestly the best thing I have ever heard. I could have died and gone to heaven right then and been fine with it. 

-Denise reached out to me on Facebook and it made my heart so happy.