It's a bright and cheerful day here in New England, and I have EVER so much to tell you!!! Our schedule wasbooked this last week! We were determined to not have any empty space again after all the opposition over the last couple of weeks, and our efforts and prayers have paid off. Running from event to event is exhausting, but so fulfilling. :)
First of all, we had our final interviews with President Packard this week. Can you believe that? It's breaking my heart. He held interviews at his home this time, and Sister Packard was also able to meet with us individually. I loved the one-on-one time with them. Their last formal counsel is something I'll cherish and remember. They made this place home when I thought I'd left home far behind; they have my love and loyalty. Through inspiration, they have helped shape me into who I am, and forever changed my trajectory on who I want to be.
My favorite event this week was in Hartford, Connecticut! I'd never been there before! The Spaceship was packed up tight with the entire shebang, and we set it up throughout their tiny building (bottom floor of another building, really) for a stand-alone open house. It worked out beautifully, because the weather was perfect and we were able to set up our Jesus Christ display right there on the busy street! Because of Him was playing as people walked by. The PERFECT eye-catcher. The entire Zone came together to support this event and personal contact like crazy. It was amazing. The open house went from 3-9, and we had a steady stream of people coming through the entire time! We tallied it; over 60 non-members from foot-traffic came through. Everyone did all of the jobs--personal contacting, guiding tours throughout the building, and navigating the videos on the displays according to the Spirit and the needs of the people they were teaching. I loved every moment of it. And you know what? Miracle upon miracle came of it. There was one family that had been looking for a church. By the end of the tour they had committed to baptism. Another woman broke down in tears when the Elders approached her, saying that she had just been praying that God would send someone to talk to her. Otherpeople hardly said a word, but cried as they watched the videos. I can't describe how it feels to watch someone discover Heavenly Father's love.
We stayed with the Canton Sisters that night. It was a cute little house. :) We loved our time there. Then the next day we drove North, back into Massachusetts for a Springfield Event. We set up an open house with Elder Cathcart and Elder Sanabria. They are so cool. :D I'm telling you, the missionaries here in the MBM will be my life-long friends. All of them. Their ward had a fundraiser for Boy Scouts, which included dinner and a talent show. It drew quite a few non-members! The talents were amazing, and it was a lot of fun, but understandably not very many people came through the tour. It was still so worth it--the Elders took a recent convert and his wife through, and we were able to talk to the leaders about future events! We got to bed by about 1 AM, though. We certainly have different schedules than typical missionaries. . .
Next events: baptisms! We went to three of them! The first one was in Worcester (Wuh-stah). The man, Rajiv, had quite the conversion story. President Packard actually ended up attending. (Which was nice, because we told him all about our successes!) From there we went into Cambridge for a Portuguese baptism. We went back there again on Sunday for another Portuguese baptism. All were neat experiences, and they loved our Portuguese displays and videos. I had lost my voice though (from a mild sickness), so of course that's when the Elders asked Sister Bybee and I to sing a musical number. Hahaha, it was rough. I squeaked my way through it. :)
And then last night, we set up two of our displays at the Longfellow Park chapel. They had an incredible Men's Chorus singing for a fireside. It was beautiful! That, too, drew a number of people, and many of them perused the video selection afterward. :) I met one man who went to the same Junior High as me. How funny is that? It's a small world.
So that was my busy, successful week! I have an even more busy one coming up, and it looks like the success level is just going to keep climbing! Tomorrow we're training the mission on the Portable Visitors' Center via Webex, and then we're training the leaders during Missionary Leadership Conference! It will really be exciting! Prayers would be appreciated. We want the rest of the mission to catch the vision.
Thanks again for everything! Happy Mother's Day, and make the most of every moment!
Love,
Sister Merkley
MBM PVC Missionary
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