Liebe Familie,

This was another crazy week, as per usual:] But, as per usual, it was great!

Everyone wants to have Wanni over since she is the newest member of our ward, and nobody doesn't love Wanni. So, on Monday night, we had FHE with the bishop and his family. They are so cute; the mother comes from Wales, and her kids have fabulous British accents; the dad comes from the Phillipines, so they are cute to look at, too. Anyway, they absolutely loved Wanni, and it was a really fun night:]

In August, Sister Stewart and Sister Taysom found a girl from Peru named Karina. She left for Peru before I got here because her mother was dying. She was supposed to be back in September, but Sister Stewart and I could never get a hold of her. Then, Sunday night, she called us! We met a couple of times this week (she wants to meet everyday...), and she told us her mother had died, and she didn't want to leave her dad alone during the holiday season, so she stayed. But she is back now and very cool! We tried to meet with her originally on Tuesday, but she was in the first district (not the 17th, where she lives), and couldn't get back in time (although we had an appointment...). We decided we should visit a woman from our ward who was in the hospital because of a stroke. We showed up just as her sister was leaving. As it turns out, her sister had asked if anyone had visited her yet that day. The one who had the stroke explained that no one had come yet, but she knew the sister missionaries would be coming. It is amazing how when plans fall out, it is because there is something else Heavenly Father wants us to do. We had a really great visit with her, and she was in church again yesterday! She is recovering quite well.

Friday night, we met with Binod, Sarita, Om, and Kavya for FHE (Nita had to work). They made us a fabulous Nepali feast! We had asked Sarita to think of a scripture in the Book of Mormon that really touched her. We came in and Sarita just took charge. She called on Binod to say the prayer then started talking about how she loved 1 Nephi 3:7 and why. Sarita is so wonderful. Her return to activity has been so neat to be a part of. And without her help, Binod and Nita would surely not have been ready for their baptisms yesterday. Anyway, after Sarita shared, Sister Schulze and I both shared scriptures we really liked. Then we talked about the power of scripture study and kind of had a testimony meeting on the Book of Mormon. Binod said, ''I don't understand all the words. But I feel a power when I read in the Book of Mormon. I feel good and warm. The book shows me that God has a plan for me. It teaches me the will of God, and what my destination in this life is and how to achieve it.'' When asked how his reading was going (earlier in the lesson), he told us, ''I read everyday! Don't worry about me." Nita told us Tuesday night (when we met with them) that she always has her Book of Mormon in her purse. She reads on the bus, U-Bahn, wherever she can. She tries to read on breaks at work, too. She also said she knows it comes from God. Binod and Nita are so humble and accepting of the gospel. They genuinely know that this is what God wants them to do. 

Yesterday, they were both just beaming all day. When Nita's baptism was announced in Relief Society (they got baptized after church), she was sitting by me, and she just put her head on my shoulder and gave me the biggest hug. Binod was also so excited. And although Nita was too small for even the smallest jumpsuit we had, she was just so excited to be in all white, ready for her baptism. Being around them and feeling of their spirit was so wonderful. They were so grateful that they had the opportunity to get to know the church and us. They could not contain their joy. I really am so glad I had the opportunity to be a part of their stories. 

Have fabulous weeks!!

Liebe,

Sister Stephanie Reid