This Week from Hollywood

Friends and Family, 

So many miracles this week! I think just listing them will be  the most efficient this time.

Miracle #1 : Angel vs. Pei Wei. So earlier this week Sister Schiel was moaning her devastated moan, as she tends to do, because we learned that Angel's new job was requiring him to work Sundays for the rest of eternity. I told her not to fret and that he'd figure it out mostly just to calm her down, but also because I felt confident that he would. Next thing we know one of our ward missionaries informs us that he went over for a new member lesson and Angel had already taken care of it. Get this. He basically told his boss that if he had to choose between his faith and his job he would choose his faith. Not only did they rearrange his schedule, but they told him they could see him becoming a manager.  Is that like ensign material or what? Go Angel!

Miracle #2: Richard is perfect for Brother Kennedy. The first time we met him he made coming to church sound like an impossibility. We met with him and brought Richard twice this week and when Richard invited him he was like, "Yes, I know I need to. I can't come this week, but I'll ask if I can change my work schedule so that I can be there." The buddy system. It works! Their family situations are very similar and Richard joked that while he has been praying for us to find someone like him he wasn't expecting God to be quite so specific. He just meant someone that would be interested in our message, but what he got was someone close to his age with similar obstacles. They really are adorable together. Richard was showing him how to listen to the scriptures on his phone and I thought I was going to overflow with pure delight! So cute. I told Richard that this is his prayer being answered even more specifically than he had anticipated. He agreed and said as usual, "I love doing God's work!"

Miracle #3: Tristen did not eat us. Tristen is the girlfriend that didn't take the money. We finally met with Tristen this week and I was SO nervous. I've been stressing about it for weeks because her boyfriend has been so nervous and telling us that she is basically atheist, very intellectual, "If you use the phrase, 'I know' she'll eat you alive because you don't have any tangible proof," etc. Then two days before the lesson he strolls into the Visitors' Center and wants to know what our game plan is. So we tell him and then he admits to us that he doesn't read the Book of Mormon regularly, prays probably twice a week, and rarely attends church. WHAT?! So we are being expected to perform a miracle with this chick and homeboy isn't even active?! I'm panicking at this point so we talked to our ward mission leader who literally said, "She takes a dump just like everyone else," and advised us to teach and testify as we would of we knew nothing about her and just leave the boyfriend out of it. So I'm still a little nervous, but feeling better because I've devised a fault proof lesson plan for a very slightly interested, but mostly closed off atheist individual. We finally meet with her and it turns out her step-family is Catholic, she is completely respectful, and asks us questions like, "how do you maintain a connection with God?" AND she said a kneeling prayer at the end of the lesson. So confused! So pleasantly surprised, although a little annoyed that I spent so long preparing a lesson for someone who definitely was not her. Maybe it will come in handy later who knows. Anyway, so she is going to read Alma 32 and pray about the Book of Mormon. I told B.F. that he better read it as well because he can't expect her to get answers and ultimately join the church if she doesn't read and pray and he can't expect her to do those things if he isn't willing to. Whew! If nothing else I hope he comes around. 

Miracle #4: I speak Farsi. No I really don't, but Sister Larsen does and she helped us teach our first lesson with Amir. He has a baptismal date for March 24, but we're not sure how that will work with his Muslim heritage. Funny little anecdote to go along with that. We were visiting a less active in our ward who is older and when we told her that we were teaching Amir her jaw dropped and she exclaimed, "I've never met a Muslim who was not also an Islamist!" Ha ha, Sister Schiel almost lost it. 

We had another mini-missionary this week, but she wasn't so miniature. She is 20 and in Los Angeles for an accounting internship. It's always fun to have them and get an extra boost of excitement about the great work we're privileged to participate in on a daily basis. 

As far as an update on Crystal. She is still doing well. She's been in the hospital this week because she went into early labor and they want the baby to wait, so lessons are kind of on hold, but prayers are always appreciated :)

That's all for now I guess. My fingers are crossed that I'll stay in Marina del Rey. So many great things are happening!

I love you all :)

Sister Jenna Michele Davis