If it's important to you, it's important to Heavenly Father.

Hello everyone!! 



It was a wonderful week full of many wonderful miracles. 



On Monday evening we went over to teach one of the recent converts from the YSA branch. His name is T. We were sitting out on the porch when his roommate came outside to take a smoke break. He ended up sitting down and listening to the lesson. We talked all about the power that the gospel of Jesus Christ can add to our lives. I (the roommate) began opening up to us about the experiences he's had with his life and family. The lesson related perfectly to everything he said and he was very interested in learning more! We set up an appointment for the next day. The next day, we taught him the plan of salvation. He absolutely loved it. He has had many relatives pass away and it gave him a lot of peace and comfort. We invited him to baptism and he accepted! He will be getting baptized on September 28th. We have had daily contact with him and he is doing great. He already has a solid testimony of the Book of Mormon and loves Joseph Smith. I am grateful for the opportunity we have to work with him. I have already learned so much. 



A couple of weeks ago we reached out to a lady who used to meet with the missionaries. She is married to a currently inactive member of the ward and was very close to baptism a while back. It never worked out for us to be able to meet with her and we kinda put the whole situation in the back of our minds. On Tuesday she sent us a message and said she wanted to meet! We saw her and her husband the next evening. She already has a strong testimony of the Book of Mormon and really wants to be baptized. She is on date for September 28th! I love D! She is amazing. They are both working full time and are extremely busy, but are still making an effort to meet with us each day. We are super excited for her. 



Last night we picked up the cutest little Spanish speaking family!! I love teaching through translation. It makes me want to learn Spanish and it takes longer, but it is always the coolest experience!! The mother is named M and she has a few children. They love Jesus and really want to follow him. We will be teaching them again tonight!! 



There was one night where we went with a couple of members to teach a lesson at the church.... It ended up being more of a bash than it was a lesson. The members didn't let us get a word in as they went back and forth with the person we were teaching. They were talking a lot about the historical side of things. I am by no means a scriptorian, and I am also not a historian. At the end, I finally had the chance to share my testimony and I felt the spirit very strong. As I was speaking about Joseph Smith and the Godhead, the individual we were teaching busted up laughing. He thinks I was speaking a bunch of nonsense. It didn't feel too great in the moment, and I was praying hard for charity. As we left  the lesson I began thinking about the experience and I realized how much of a blessing it was. I thought about the Savior. Jesus Christ lived and died entirely for everyone else. He didn't have a single selfish moment. Literally EVERYTHING he did was for someone else. He spent his life being mocked, spit upon, laughed at, cast out, etc. He went through more pain and suffering than we could ever imagine. He never got angry or upset at those who mocked and caused pain. He immediately forgave them and felt LOVE for them. I am in awe of Him! I am grateful for the moment I was laughed at for sharing my testimony because it has given me a better understanding of what Christ went through. I really want nothing more than to become like Him! 



I have a very strong testimony of prayer. I personally think that prayer is one of the greatest gifts our Heavenly Father has given to us. It's the ability we have to communicate with him daily. It's often how we receive personal revelation. I have been making prayer a focus over the last few weeks of the transfer and it's been a wonderful experience. As I pray each night I try to imagine that Heavenly Father is sitting right next to me and I pray out loud. I would invite each of you to pray out loud at least once this week. As you do, imagine that he is physically next to you. Sometimes it's easy for us to get very rote in what we pray for. We pray for the same things all the time and that's not how Heavenly Father wants it to be. I promise that as you pray with the image of Him sitting next to you, it will help you be more sincere in what you say. Prayer is real! Heavenly Father truly desires to hear everything.  Tell him what you are grateful for and ask your questions. He cares about the little things. If it's important to you it's important to Him.   



If you start school this week, have a happy first day! :)



I love you all! 



Sister Sedlacek