Letter 14 - READ THIS LETTER!!!

Hello!!!

Haha coolest experience EVER!! My letter writing had to be put on hold for a minute because the man sitting next to me - a 23-year-old boy named A... from India - turned towards me and said, "Excuse me, but are you a Latter-Day Saint?"...... :) Of course I stopped writing and turned to talk to him. He met the missionaries on the street like five years ago and they gave him a card but he never called them. Later, he talked with some people from the church and they told him about the Book of Mormon and he was curious as to where he could buy one (if Walmart had any haha.. not YET). So I gave him one right there, taught him the Restoration, read from the Book of Mormon with him, committed him to read from it (He is SO EXCITED), taught him how to pray, and HE said a prayer with me right then and there just before he left...... I'm sitting on Cloud Nine right now haha this Gospel IS SO TRUE!!!!!

I loved all your letters so much this week :) Thank you so much for the support and prayers! It is so much fun to hear the work that is happening back at home. All the missionaries going out, coming home, getting calls.

G... F... has been renamed to be called "Sponge." He has been soaking up everything. The Book of Mormon. The members who come over. The missionaries. We're still working on making prayer meaningful with him. And we are working REALLY hard on the Word of Wisdom. G... KNOWS that the Book of Mormon is true now, and he KNOWS that Joseph Smith is a prophet. His baptismal date is for March 9th and he is hoping to move it up to sooner. We are working on helping him quit smoking which has been difficult because it has been a part of him for 25 years. BUT HE CAN DO IT!! Some of my favorite lessons we have had since I've been out have been with him and helping him recognize the Spirit, come to know the Savior more, and figure out ways to overcome this addiction. He is so amazing. PLEASE keep him in your prayers.

Another amazing experience. Sister Mendenhall had the feeling we should drop by a man named K... real quick on our way home one night. As we parked, we got out of the car, I looked and saw a lady quite a ways away sitting on her porch smoking a cigarette, and the tiniest, quietest feeling hit me that we should go and talk to her. When I say it was small, I mean it was SMALL and could have been easily passed over. We started walking towards K...'s house, and the thought came to me that I will always have a regret of not talking to that woman if we don't go, so I grabbed Sister Mendenhall and we ran over to her. She was definitely taken aback when she saw two girls in skirts and back packs running over to her, waving, with Huge smiles on our faces haha - I'd be scared if I were her. But as we talked to her, we found out her name was C..., she is from Chile. And She had a bunch of friends back in Chile who were members of the church. She said she was really close to being baptized but life got busy and it didn't end up happening. She said she read some of the Book of Mormon before, but she always borrowed her friend's and never had her own. So we gave her one of course! We prayed with her just before we left, and as we closed we looked up and saw that she was crying. She said "I really needed that." We both hugged her, and as I wrapped her up in my arms, I said "I love you." That will be something I will never forget because I KNOW it was not me saying it. As a missionary, I am a representative of Jesus Christ, acting, speaking, and serving in His name. And I KNOW that those words came from Him to C..., a daughter of Heavenly Father, who He knows and loves PERFECTLY. I love being a missionary for that reason. I AM A REPRESENTATIVE OF JESUS CHRIST!!! As members of the church, we not only know who Jesus Christ IS, but we have the fulness of the gospel that He taught, and we know 100% what we need to do to BECOME like Him and taste of His sacrifice for us. What a blessing.

I love this gospel. I love missionary work. I love my family, the members in this ward, prayer, commandments - everything that encompasses the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is all so amazing and I will never leave it. I will never forget it. I will never be the same again because of it. For all those who are not members of the church, and for those of you who are - If you want to feel this way also, read the Book of Mormon. Go to church and see what it is like. Talk to the missionaries. Call your friends or family who are from the church. PRAY. I CAN PROMISE YOU that you will FEEL the Atonement of Jesus Christ wrap you up into a peace and happiness that you have never felt before. Just try it :)

And I DO say these things in the the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

I love you all and hope you have an amazing week :) Make it amazing!!

Sister Bodine