Gaerwen Week 9

It's been a great week! We've seen so many miracles, especially with our friends Moruf and Bijan. With Moruf, he came to church this week for the first time! He was really engaged in all of the lessons and quite a few ward members came up and said hello. We also presented him with his baptismal calendar after church. Because the baptism is only a few weeks away, we asked if we could meet several times a week. Thankfully, because lectures are over for the holidays, he has time to do that. I'm amazed at how well the timing is working with his baptism. We asked Moruf how he's feeling about his baptism and he said he is feeling good.

Bijan is someone that lives in Colwyn Bay (which is right next to our area but there are no missionaries there) but he was referred by his sister in America so we've been teaching him. We've taught him twice now with a member from the Colwyn Bay branch. We invited him to attend church in Colwyn Bay and he said that Sundays were his lazy day and that he would be working the night before so he probably wouldn't come. Sunday afternoon, we got a text from a woman in Colwyn Bay telling us that Bijan was at church! She said he felt welcome and he was very engaged, especially since he only had two hours of sleep. We are seeing him again this Tuesday so we'll be able to ask him how his experience was.

We also has the chance to meet with a friend of one of the members here named Alex. It was a great lesson because he was already comfortable with his friend so he wasn't afraid to ask questions or be engaged in the lesson. When the investigator is already close friends with a member of the church, learning about the gospel is so much easier. And the member is blessed as well for fulfilling his mission responsibility. The holiday season is an excellent opportunity to share the gospel with others. For the last week of light the world, it suggests thst we invite someone to a special Christmas sacrament meeting on Dec. 23rd. I wanted to invite each on of you to think about who you can invite to church that day! I can promise that you will be inspired to know who to invite. This gospel can bless everyone and as we share it we show heavenly father we are grateful for the blessings we receive. What a glad message!

This coming week will be busy but fun. On Wednesday, we have exchanges with the STL's in stoke. It's about a 2 hour drive so exchanges will be a bit shorter this transfer but I am excited to see what I can learn from them. We also have a mission Christmas conference (it's a party but they don't want to call it that) this Wednesday in Manchester. I'm excited to see all the other missionaries and celebrate Christmas together!