KEREN MOVED OUT AND IS GETTING BAPTIZED!

Hi my dear family and friends!! It sounds like you are all doing good and I miss you all and love you TONZ!!
Monday: President changed our P-day from Monday to Tuesday because all the libraries were going to be closed and didn't want all the missionaries to e-mail at members home... so we had a full day planned on Monday.. then we walked out to our car and realized that the miles had been added up wrong and we only had 10 miles for the whole day... so we called and tried to confirm appointments who were actually going to be there... everyone canceled because it was a holiday... so monday: no miles, no appointments, and a working day!! so we grabbed water bottles and headed out walking. We walked for over five hours.. it was hot but we got all our contact points and of course a miracle came out of it!! A couple days before a member had called us and told us that we needed to go by and try to teach Elizabeth's husband so we went by and he told his daugther he didn't want to talk to us.. so we didn't have plans to go back.. but because we had no miles and no appointments and Elizabeth lives really close to our house we decided to chance it and stop by.. It just happened that their whole family was there!!! At first her husband was just sitting at the couch and wouldn't come to the table but with time he came to the table and called for his daughters to come and listen. We got the opportunity to teach their entire family about the Restoration and by the end of the last prayer he was even crying! Elizabeth was crying practically the whole lesson because he never thought in a million years her husband would ever listen to anything about jesus christ or our Heavenly Father. The spirit was so strong and I was so grateful for the unexpected change of plans for the day!
Tuesday: It was a much needed P-day!! We played volleyball as a Zone and Elder Riggs.. a 6'5" elder that played volleyball in high school spiked it right into my face!! OUCH!! Keren also called us BAWLING to tell us that she decided to leave her boyfriend and move into her mom's house so she can get baptized and start a new life!! I felt bad for her because she is going to have a lot of struggles but sooo happy because I know what blessing await her! We taught Juliomar a lesson just about God.. he told us that he has prayed more to the Virgin Maria in his life than God and that he was raised to believe in more than one God... God of the Air.. God of the Trees.. so he is having a hard time grasping who God is.. he understands the plan of salvation and all the commandments.. but to him its more of... okay i can live with God if i do all these things.. But why would I want to live with him?? I am so grateful forthe knowledge i have always had of who God is and my relationship with him! During the lesson he just looked at us and asked.. "How do I know God loves me?" We shared John 3:16 and talked about the power of the atonement... he told us that everytime we come he feels such peace and thoughts come to his head and he has such a desire to change! Its so amazing to watch someone gain a testimony and receive an answer to questions they've always had.
Wednesday: After district meeting our first four appointments punched so we found four other people to teach.. dropping to of them.. Judith and Joana picked who they wanted to baptize them.. then we got a former investigator to agree to take the lessons again-her husband is a member and her brother served a mission! We taught a new investigator named Yolanda who is really into "hearing the word" but doesn't really get it! We had dinner with the Castros.. my first BBQ in Texas that was even semi as good as Dad's BBQ!.. then we went to contact in a trailer park and ran into the Bustos... that was sad.. but good to see them!
Thursday: We taught Keren and she was SUPER nervous.. she told her boyfriend she was leaving.. he begged her to stay for a little bit but she knows the anwser she got from God.. so we read with her a taught by Elder Holland and then she said the closing prayer.. we all kneeled in a circle and she jsut broke down BAWLING during the prayer. It was honestly the most heart felt prayer I've ever heard in my life. We also set a baptismal date with her for July 18th.. the Elders in Garland were really happy to get a referral WITH A BAPTISMAL DATE!! Later that afternoon we contacted a referral we had gotten fromt eh elders who is AMAZING!! She lives with a member named Aurora who is a recent convert bu tshe goes to a different spanish ward.. but we shared her conversion story with her roommate Martina and the spirit was so strong and of course she agreed to meet with us the next day for a first lesson! We had a lesson with Ariel and he tried to give another Book of Mormon away and his friend threw it back at HIS FACE.. then he tried to get his mom and grandma's addresses in Honduras and they just yelled at him and told him he was CRAZY.. he just told us.. well I guess I'll just have to do their work one day!! He is soooo strong!
Friday: We started the day by going over and helping Keren pack and clean.. we brought another scripture to share with her for comfort and we got there adn she was absolutely happy and smiliing!! She is excited for her new life! We taught martina a first lesson with the member Aurora and she is awesome... she will get baptized for sure! We then went and served the Marrero family who's mom that lives with them is in the hospital dying of cancer... Then we had dinner at a chinese buffet with the members and the Elders.. good change up! We then went to have another lesson with Elizabeth and her family again but her husband was sleeping so we just taught her at a members house but she told us that she knows everything is TRUE!!! That's the first steps so next week were going to conquer her fears!
Saturday: We did more service for Yolanda another investigator.. we helped her paint her front room BRIGHT BLUE!! Pretty much all of our appointments canceled on us.. we even showed up to our dinner at a members and she just handed it to us to go!! so we knocked lots of doors, but found a couple promising people!!
Sunday: We had kinda frustrating Sunday.. only one person at church.. but after the storm comes the calm right!! we are going to see miracles this coming week!!! I can't wait!!
I love you all... please pray for the people in Plano to be receptive to Hermana Mata and I this week!! Thanks for everything!!
Hermana Barber