Investigators falling from the sky!

2015 was good. It was great! It was super great! I got to be a
missionary for the whole thing too!

Not much to report on for this week except for making sure all of our
records were up to date, setting goals for the new year, and as always
trying to leave an area better than how we found it.
Here's some specifics though.

Tuesday I got to go on exchanges with elder Cespedes, my last
companion/trainee. It was awesome seeing how far he's come since first
arriving in August. I feel it's always much easier to see progress in
others than ourselves. His companion is also fairly new in the mission
but it's not stopping them working hard and teaching the world. We had
a couple new investigators fall from the sky in those few hours and
had 5 unplanned meals from members and investigators alike.
Thanksgiving is bad but you can prep for it. When you show up to a
lesson and they have a huge meal prepared an hour before dinner,
there's just nothing you can do. That's the culture here though and
the people mean well. At least the food is to die for.

On the note of people coming out of nowhere, that's a lesson I'm
learning here in Solano. That when you try your hardest to talk with
EVERYONE- the lord trusts you with people who are prepared. Sometimes
it comes from a street contact, but I believe that 98% of the time it's
because of nothing I've done. Last night we were looking for a Mesa
Temple lights referral and the address was wrong or they got shy and
decided they didn't actually want us to come by, because the family
there said that no one by that name lived in their complex. When
they shut the door, I decided to knock on the neighbors door with no
real reason in mind. Thankfully the spirit guided me and the lady who
answered was receptive and invited us to come back. I feel like we
worked up for that one because this whole week things were falling
though but we kept on trying to contact everyone. I just feel better
when I'm actively looking for someone who would like us to stop by and
help them increase their relationship with God.

Saturday afternoon I had my first baptismal interview. It was a middle
aged woman from Africa who spoke Ebonics. It was a challenge at first
but I could feel she was ready. She came to America with her husband and
four children and settled in Indiana. Two days after arriving her husband died. 
Being illiterate and not knowing how to speak English, she turned to
God to help her. By a miracle she made it to Arizona because she felt
she would find something that would help her, something Divine. Her
testimony was strong and I learned how wonderful the plan of salvation
is. We have the answers!

I love you guys, enjoy the snow!
Elder Bryan