Merry (Late) Christmas to everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas weekend! I know I did! But I'll start from earlier on in the week. So there is an elder here who had bed bugs in his bed. Gross, I know. He had bites all over him, and wasn't getting much sleep. He was having a miserable week. They had a guy go to their apartment to check it out. He said that there were tons of bugs, as well as larva under his bed. I don't know the extent of the circumstances, but there was an emergency transfer, and he was transferred to a different district in the zone. He was still having a bad week, and asked the Zone Leaders for a priesthood blessing. I don't know why, but they called my companion and asked us to do it. As we were driving over, my companion told me that I was going to give the blessing. Well I had never given one before, so I was pretty nervous. I got there and said a quick prayer, asking for inspiration on what to say. I gave him the blessing, and It went really well! A couple days later, after an unsuccessful morning of walking around Walmart and best buy, we came back to the town house and got a letter. It was a referral. Someone in our area had gone online and requested to have the missionaries come talk to her. I was really excited! We drove over and knocked on her door. She let us right in! Her name is Carol. She is Methodist, but doesn't practice it. She is around 60 years old, and is taking care of her two great grandchildren. She is having trouble with her children and grandchildren making "healthy" choices. She likes how the LDS church is very family oriented. One of her good friends was converted to the church some time ago, and told her to listen to the missionaries. She didn't have much interested in it at the time, but years went by and she felt it was the right thing to do. Now, this was my first lesson ever taught to a real investigator. This is what I have been waiting for, and I loved it. I felt I was prepared, and had studied my tail off. I was able to answer everyone of her questions to where she could understand it. We gave her a book of Mormon, and she said she would read it. We committed her to pray about it, and she said she would. We committed her to come to church, and she said she would (she ended up not going, due to family issues). I asked her that if she felt that these things were true, and that if she felt that the book of Mormon were true, would she be baptized. She said she wants to! But she wants to learn more first. So we set up an appointment with her this Friday. It was a great feeling to have. The week got even better, because I was able to talk to my parents on Christmas! That was the best gift of all. It's going to be weird to have to wait another 6 months before I can talk to them again. I continue to gain a stronger testimony of this church, and of the book of Mormon. The light that you see in someones eyes when they grab hold to the gospel is unlike anything I have ever seen before! I know this church is true. Without a doubt in my mind. I'm so grateful to be out here sharing this message with others. It's truly an amazing experience

 

Sincerely,

 

Elder Litchfield