Ooh-deh-laly

Dinner with Rachel went well (the investigator turned dinner appt). She opened up to us and is having a hard time right now, so we shared some things from the BofM that will help her a lot and asked if we can teach her the lessons. She accepted. However, we were supposed to officially teach her tonight but something came up and her niece is in the hospital so that's not gonna happen, but she did reschedule for next week. Satan is going to try her so hard I just feel it. It'll be rough, but she needs the strength only God can give her through His properly established way.Isaac said he's going to prepare himself to be baptized on May 18th. We're going to teach him later this week so I'm praying he will continue on the path he has decided on =]. That makes me happy.We met with Tina last night....the girl who didn't know a lot about God...and she is amazing. Still thinking about the baptism date we gave her, but she keeps all her other commitments so we continue to teach her. She prayed at the end of the lesson and it was so good! She always gets nervous and feels kinda weird to pray, but her prayers are always so heartfelt. I just keep thinking about the first time she prayed in her life, and her member friend (Steve) who helped her by saying a sentence so she could repeat it. It was the cutest thing I have ever seen!!!!!!! I can't wait to see her make a sacred covenant that she will never regret or forget.Today we only have p-day till 1pm because on Saturday the whole mission is going to a nationals baseball game! They do it every year, so Saturday is going to be a blast to be with other missionaries.I hope you are all doing well. I heard about the 2 temples in Arizona........I thought they would've announced that in General Conference or something?!? Looks a little weird to me, but that's cool! Temples have a HUGE impact on the growth of an area. When the temple was built here there were 3 stakes and 1 mission which covered more than the state. Now (only 40 years later) there are 3 missions and thousands of members in probably about 50 stakes (I'm not exactly sure on the numbers). That's some awesome growth! I'm excited to see what will happen. The gospel continues to go forward and will not be stopped =]. That also makes me happy.Well, have a good week! God keep and bless you.

~Sister Witbeck~

Happy April 16th---my favorite day of the year =]

Well, transfers happen today and I'm staying. That is 3 months already in the singles ward and staying for another month and a 1/2. The area is just beginning to bloom though so I was hoping to stay. We're finally getting a handle on the area (as big as it is...) and working well with the ward. The Bishop is hard to work with (he's not too excited about missionary work) but we try our best. Our relationship with the bishopric has become a LOT better since I first came, so it's improving slowly.Music has now been approved to listen to in the cars!!!!!!! WAHOO! Only hymns though, which I'm totally ok with cuz I love the hymns. It also helps S. Cardoso who doesn't know many of the hymns in English, so we sing along and I explain the phrases she doesn't understand. It's been so good! Music always brings the spirit, and just makes for a better day.This week we met a former investigator who has a testimony of the Book of Mormon, and of the church but has not been baptized. She KNOWS this is God's church here on earth, but kept making excuses. That was a year ago. We went to check on her to see if she would want us to come back and she was so welcoming and kind. I didn't know what to do or share with her cuz she had been taught all the lessons many times, so we began by getting to know her a little. We asked her straight out why she hasn't been baptized yet (I prefer to ask straight out cuz that's when you get a straight answer...most of the time) and she blamed it on her parents, so we talked a little about agency and how no one can force you to make any decision. You can't place blame on anyone but yourself. As we were talking the spirit just directed us to ask her the baptismal interview questions. As she answered those questions she just had such a light and amazing testimony, and yet I sensed that something was missing. I asked her if she has a testimony of the living prophet today, and she answered without hesitation. No. That was our key! It was perfect cuz we had just mentioned general conference, so we committed her to watch it online, and set a time to come back and discuss it. I am so excited about her! I don't know if she'll decide to finally take the step to be baptized, but she will definitely change more than she has before. I felt that so strongly when we visited with her. She's going to be amazing and it'll be unforgettable. I just know it.We also met another girl who had investigated the church last year who was super nice. She told us outright she doesn't want to convert, but she wants to feed us dinner and talk about the gospel. I told her our purpose is to prepare people for baptism, and that we would be inviting her, but she was free to decide for herself if that's what she wants. She agreed and a time was set. I've never has someone (not a member) offer to feed us the first time we walked in the door. We only talked to her for 5 minutes and we got a dinner appt out of it!! That's what I call awesome pants. That's next week on Wed. night, so you won't hear about it for 2 weeks...unless our p-day is changed to Thursday for some reason. You never know though. It happens.Well, I love a miss you all. I hope you are trying hard to be better everyday. I don't care if you're perfect, cuz obviously you're not gonig to be yet, but you can try. Do a little more today than you did yesterday. Be a little more kind. Be a little more unselfish. Be a little more proactive in living what you know.Have a fabulous week!

~Sister Witbeck~

I double heart DC =]

So I went to the city again today =]. I love it. Don't have a whole lot of time today, but I thought I'd let you know I'm alive and doing well. I forgot to tell you (mom) I got your package...still working on eating all the chocolate, and will be working that off for the next 500 years =]. Last week I had the best p-day of my life! I told you I was going to the city to play sports on the mall....well, play I did. ULTIMATE FRISBEE!!!!! I haven't played that since I left. We weren't allowed to play in the MTC and no one has ever wanted to play on sports days here, so finally we did, and it was in the middle of DC where random people were walking around and taking pictures of us. It was grand. About 20 missionaries showed up and we all played for about 3 hours. I didn't want to stop, but had to because of time. Needless to say I was SOOOO sore the next day, but I survived. Today I just showed S. Cardoso a few of my favorite spots and took some pictures with flat Ravenn =]! It was really fun. I'll send those to her school....I think that's how it goes. Anywho, I hope you all have a wonderful week! Live and do. Love ya!

~Sister Witbeck~

I heart DC =]

OK, so today right after I email you guys I'm going to the city to play sports with a bunch of missionaries on the mall (the green strip of grass in the middle of DC)! I'm so super excited!!!This week has been good. We just got a referral from some other missionaries last night for a man from Brazil, so we'll teach him this week in his native tongue...basically my companion will do most of the teaching and translate what I say. It''s gonna be an interesting experience. We also met a LOT of really mean people yesterday. Nothing like my first month here when I was condemned to hell about 5 times, but they were still really rude and it made me sad. So far my comp hasn't had too many bad experiences yet so thank goodness for that, but for goodness sake, even if you don't believe in what I testify of don't try to TELL ME what I believe or be openly rude! I've had to cut a couple conversations short with "we are not here to argue. We search for the pure in heart and when you're humble God will let you know that His church has been restored. Have a nice day." The first time my comp just looked at me with her eyes wide and I grabbed her arm and walked away. I LOVE being a missionary and I love testifying but it gets frustrating sometimes when people just want to argue with you. God is a God of LOVE!!!! Not just of justice, and even when He needs to judge someone it is in a righteous way. I read a scripture this week in passing somewhere (I really wish I can remember where, I'll have to find it later) but it was talking about being angry and it said "beware lest ye be overcome." That's the key folks. If you are overcome by anger than just don't be angry. Give up your selfish pride and fill your heart with love until you can rebuke with love and not be overcome with anger. I just wish I could help EVERYONE know the true nature of God and His love for them. It's so hard to give up my selfish will and turn my heart to God, but it's necessary for progression. I'm learning how to sacrifice what matters most to me for what matters more. It hasn't been an easy lesson, but as my heart changes to do God's will it swells bigger and bigger for the welfare of those around me and I feel love for people I've never met before and even people who yell in my face. I just wish I could transmit everything I'm learning into your hearts. It's so hard to explain over email, but whatever you do, DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF LOVE! It changes roaring lions into purring kittens. It has changed my heart and it will change yours.This morning I was reading the book Jesus the Christ (incredible book by the way) and there was a part that talked about how people profess to believe in Jesus Christ but then said, that's great. The devils also believe and tremble (James 2:19-20). Evil spirits know that Jesus is the Christ just as well as you know, and yet it didn't change their evil nature. You may believe, but where is your heart? Where do your priorities truly lie? What do you choose to do with your time? What does your mind dwell on in times of quiet? What works are you proud of or not proud of? Think on this. I've been thinking about this all day so far, and I'm sure it'll be on my mind for the next week. It's just so amazing to find the answers to those questions and figure out what you're going to do with your realization. I know none of you are perfect =], so think about where your heart truly belongs and what you're going to do this week to change and serve God more. I promise you as you love others and serve God, everything else in your life will work out. God watches over His faithful covenant people. Never forget that! I LOVE you all so much! I try not to think of you too much cuz it helps me to focus, but on this one day a week I think of you and just want the best for each and every one of you. I hope you will feel God's love today and share it with one other person. After all, God asks "if ye love me, keep my commandments."Have a good week!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

~Sister Witbeck~