Hellllooooo Familia!!

       WOW!!! Grandpa is 91!!! 

         Well this week has been a very cool week. Amber was baptized a couple of days ago and confirmed yesterday! What was really neat was that when we went to fill up the font really early in the morning, there were some guys there playing basketball, so we went and got in a couple of games with them:) Ha so it was just a really good start to my Saturday! But Amber looked really happy to be a part of such a big family now and to have all this support behind her, because before I don't think she had hardly anyone. But the ward did a great job fellowshipping her and letting us teach her in their homes. I was looking through the teaching record and we did not teach her once with out a member there. So now the ward needs to love her to death!!

          So crazy story.... It was Tuesday and we had a couple of appointments here and there but our afternoon was pretty open. So I was looking through the area book at some of the formers and potential investigators lists and copied down a few names that I thought would be good to go and try out. So I had Elder Ragozzine type in the gps this address of this one guy that lived pretty close to where we were at, and we headed over to our destination and couldn't find the exact address. So there was this one building that was a little farther down that had the tree covering the number of the apartment complex... and it still wasn't the right number. So we just decided to knock on a few doors while we were there. Second door we knock on this teenage girl comes to the door and we tell her who we represent and what we are doing, and she turns and tells her mom that the missionaries are here. Her mom then comes around the corner and invites us right in and starts telling us that one of her foster families that she lived with when she was a little girl were Mormons and stuff like that. But she never was baptized or anything. She also told us of all the hard things that she had been through throughout her life and there were some pretty horrible stories, but she said that she prayed for the first time in a long time that God would help her or send something to help her and we showed up the next day:) She was in tears for quite a while and just listened to everything that we had to say. It was an incredible experience. Then we called up some members and got her in a member home and taught her the Restoration and she seemed to like it quite a bit. Then the next day we tried calling her and she wouldn't answer and she was supposed to come to the baptism the next day so we were worried. So we went over there and she was just bawling her eyes out and really really scared. I guess one of her ex-boyfriends beat her like 3 weeks ago and she called the cops on him and sent him to jail. Well he got out, and said that when he did he would kill her...... Man I felt like I was in some sort of a movie because I didn't think things like that really happened. We calmed her down really well though and made sure that good safety precautions were being made. Then we got her and her 3 kids to come to church on Sunday. She has two other boys that live with her ex husband or are both baptismal age and they all liked it!! So we set a date for March 1st for the Mom and daughter, have to get permission for the other two boys. But it was really exciting and they were all really excited to come to church. Brother Moon was a little late on picking them up and I think that they were debating on walking there. Haha that would've been a long cold walk that's for sure. But from meeting her I just realized how much happiness that the Gospel can bring into peoples lives and how when you have the Gospel it will keep you on a good safe track to keep you away from any of those aweful situations.

      We also set a date with an unmarried couple so this week we will help them to understand the Law of Chastity and what they are going to need to do to enter into a covenant with God. So things are going great and it makes me a little sad because I'm probably leaving next week to some different area but I think it's about time for a change. Glad everything is going great though!! I love you all and hope you have a great week!!

Love, Elder Polatis 

Amber being baptized!!  Great day