SMALL MIRACLES

Halloween in the mission is fun.  We went to two trunk-or-treats this week because we're in both wards.  And normally we do our weekly planning on Thursday morning, but since Halloween was Friday, we just did it that night instead so we weren't out while all the holiday stuff was going on.

 We live with a threesome of Hermanas in our apartment.  And there's some Elders a few blocks away from us.  I think Sister Muir and I are the only English-speaking Sisters in the Sumner and Puyallup wards.  There's one pair of Elders in Sumner and one in Puyallup.

Yesterday was AWESOME!  I thought MTC Sundays were the best, but when you get out to the field and you have three investigators come to church and one less active also come AND bring a non-member friend on your first Sunday out... THAT is the best!  We're teaching a couple of part-member families and one of them had two of their kids blessed yesterday in Sacrament meeting.  Brother Lemke (lem-key) is the member, but he's kind of less active.  His wife and his mom are both our investigators.  His mom's name is Neysa and this week was the first time she's come to church and she liked it! :D  She can't really hear very well, but when we visited the Lemkes last night, Bro. Lemke said that she told him she could hear everything.  He said, "That's because the Man Upstairs opened your ears 'cause you needed to hear this."  Miracles happen in such small ways.  I've really grown to love the Lemke family so much.  They're working on quitting smoking and their goal is this week.  You can really see a difference in their life.  They're happier and more unified in their relationship with each other, and I can even see that change after less than a week knowing them.

Another small miracle was on Saturday night.  We were driving to a less active member's house around 8:00 and we saw a guy who could barely even walk forward he was so drunk.  It was really sad.  When we got to the member's house and said our regular prayer before a lesson, we decided to pray for that guy.  I said the prayer, and I prayed that he would be able to be safe and that whatever was going on in his life that he might be able to overcome it.  Later, when we were driving home, we saw him again and another guy was walking beside him.  I knew that was an answer to our prayer.  God's tender mercies come in so many different forms.  During Sacrament Meeting yesterday, I was thinking randomly about the song Praise to the Lord of the Small and the lyrics.  "Praise to the Lord of the small, broken things, who sees the poor sparrow that cannot take wing, who loves the lame child and the wretch in the street, who comforts their sorrows and washes their feet."  The part "and the wretch in the street" stuck out to me in a way that it never has before, because of our experience Saturday night.  I told about that when I bore my testimony yesterday.  God loves all of us, "even the least of these, thy brethren".  It doesn't matter where we are in life right now, or where we've been,  He knows what we can become.  He "comforts their sorrows and washes their feet".  Being on a mission, I've really come to view people in a different light than I ever thought I would.  I love that God has been able to show me a little bit of how He sees people, not with worldly eyes, but with unshakable and unconditional love.

Also, one girl from the Sumner ward bore her testimony.  She's going to the MTC in 17 days.  She was a Primary teacher as well.  The lady that got up after her said that she needs to take the spirit of the little children with her on her mission.  So, when I got up, I told that I was a Nursery leader and that both of my MTC comps. were Primary teachers as well.  I think it's really interesting the way God works.  We do need to have the spirit of the little Primary children to teach all of God's children.

I love you all so much!

Love, Sister Rebekah Joy

P.S.--I got to see Mt. Rainier once while the sun was shining on Wednesday!  I haven't seen it since...   Also, I thought it was cool that I'm by a volcano just like Rachael is.