4.14.14 Sis. Jensen

Dear Family,                                                                                                                                           April 14, 2014

The subject line is actually kind of ironic because there is a dam here in Rockford but we should hope that it doesn't break. That would be bad. I'm talking about the Missionary Work Dam! Whenever we ask our mission president what he would like us to do in Rockford he tells us to keep working hard and that "it only takes a few cracks in the dam for it to burst". We have seen a couple cracks this week!

Thursday was a MIRACLE DAY. We had a long day of planning and we were worried about getting the most out of the time we had left. So we said a prayer and headed out. Because the snow has melted, we decided to save some miles on our car and walk to the area we wanted to work in. As we were walking we came up to a street and I asked Sister Mortensen, "Has this street been done?" She was like, "I don't know. Let's knock it." First person we meet: "Yeah I had a friend 15 years ago who talked to me about the Mormon church. The Book of Mormon? Yeah, I've read parts of it." The second person: "The Book of Mormon? Yeah, I read it with my Bible. When I don't understand something in the Bible, I pull out the Book of Mormon to clarify it. My friend used to take me to your church." What?? That never happens! People usually don't like it when we bring up the Book of Mormon but out of the three people we talked to on that street, two of them had positive experiences with the church AND the Book of Mormon! 

This was the CRAZY part. So we continued our "Knock and Walk" and we decided to turn down a street we had done a month ago to get to another street we hadn't knocked yet. As we reached the corner on the end of the street, this guy in a car passing us frantically waved at us and pulled over. We were close to a member's house so I thought it was a member and waved back. Suddenly this man appears and I have no clue who he is and he asks, "Are you those Mormon girls?" Usually when we hear that, someone is about to bash us. We said "yes" when really what we wanted to do was cover our name tags and run away. He says, "I haven't seen you in years! I love the sister missionaries! They used to come over to my house for dinner."....Wait. WHAT. It turns out that this man and his wife were best friends with the sister missionaries ten years ago and still keeps in contact with them. He then told us that he's read the Book of Mormon twice, been to church, and we could come over and "talk religion with him" because he had questions. Excuse us while we pick our jaws up from the sidewalk. Things like this don't ever happen to us. We are hoping that this is a miracle we have been praying/working for. Last night he told us that he gave his two copies of the Book of Mormon away to other people and he wanted another copy. Larry is incredible. He says that he won't become a Mormon but I can tell that he is honestly seeking truth. 

What really baffles me about all of this is the timing. There have been elders in Rockford who haven't met them. When the sisters opened Rockford last October, they knocked just about every street including that street and didn't find them. Sister Anderton, Sister Mortensen and I knocked the street LAST MONTH, even knocking on that house and talking to a person in that house, and yet we didn't meet them. And then we happened to be walking down Ogden Street at just the right time to catch him as we has going to a meeting and he recognized us. CAN ANYONE ELSE NOT SEE HOW INCREDIBLE THIS IS?? There are no coincidences!!! Prayers are being heard!!! God is orchestrating this work! It still blows my mind to think about it. I am hoping and praying that this is a sign that the timing is right!

I am so grateful for my Savior Jesus Christ. I think Easter is probably my favorite holiday. Not only are there really pretty happy colors everywhere but we have a day to be grateful for the resurrection of our Savior. When he rose, no longer would death be an end. With the resurrection, he gained victory over the grave and allowed God's plan to move forward, for us to return "home to that God who gave [us] life." I am so grateful that the Savior chose to suffer for me. He didn't have to suffer for any of us. He being perfect would have made it back into God's presence. But because of God's love for us and because of Jesus's desire to do the will of the Father, he suffered so that we could be free; free from death, sin, sorrow, pain, anger and all other human imperfection. I know that my Savior lives and loves me. I know that it is only through his grace and mercy that we can be healed. It has stuck out to me this morning how often in 3 Nephi  Jesus Christ asks us to come to him so that he can heal us. I know we can be healed through his atonement. Because of him, I have been healed. 

 There are a lot of good things happening here in Rockford. We are making progress, slow but still moving forward. We have a lot of potential investigators we are planning to see this week and we are praying that we will see some good fruit soon! Thank you for your continued prayers! They are producing miracles!

Love always, the Michiganary