Still praying for miracles

Dear Mom and Dad:

THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRAYERS!! I believe everyone who has prayed for the Galapons has helped in their progression in the Gospel. This week was full of miracles. We ran out of kilometers for the car so we were walking and busing most of the week and it was getting me kinda down because I wasn't having much success in commitments to church. Then Sunday comes and we had 4 less actives there!

In our lesson with the Galapons this week, one of the first things Jenalyn says is, "Danny (husband) wants to be baptized!" We taught the gospel of Jesus Christ and tried to set a date for their baptism but this is where the next trial is. They will be in Brisbane on Dec 12 and they move to Mckay (north Queensland) on December 19th. If they go to church on the 5th of December then all but the father will have been to church 2 times and we can't baptize the family without the father. So what we are praying for and fasting for is that a miracle will come again and we will be able to baptize them before they go to Mckay- or that work opportunities will allow them to stay. Please continue to pray for miracles.

The Galapon's came to Church yesterday and it was amazing. I can't tell you how many miracles I have seen with this family. A member in the ward that is half Filipino had her mother visiting who knows Tagalog so she was able to stay by the mothers side the whole Sunday.

On Sunday night we were invited to a Uniting Church activity. A former investigator that is such a good guy invited us to a "CD launch" of church music and some of the music was really good! Elder Auld and I walked over to the church and Elder Auld got a weird feeling about going in so we stopped and prayed to see if it was a bad idea. While we were out there a member of our church comes walking out and talking to us and his wife was performing a few songs.... so before you know it she got Elder Auld and I to sing with her in front of heaps of people from other faiths. I have never sung into a microphone before and I could tell that no one could hear me so I started to sing louder. At the end Elder Auld said I was singing pretty loud! :) (* As his mom, TRUST ME -- that right there was a miracle.) But this member lady was way awesome. She invited us up and introduced us as missionaries and told everyone not to slam their doors in our face. :) And these members got us a dinner appointment with a non-member! :)

But as I heard these people sing about Jesus Christ I was thinking about what good people they are. How nice and loving and how much they want to follow Christ and then I thought about how unless they accept the truth, they cannot attain the full glory of Heaven. I really just want to give my all in every way. Having 5 weeks left can be pretty distracting. I am aware and its not really bothering me but the fact that these souls who might endure endless torment began to make me tremble at the thought. I felt like- maybe for just a moment- that I knew what the sons of Mosiah felt like when they said that the very thought of a human soul enduring endless torment caused them to quake and tremble. I'm not saying I'm anywhere NEAR the sons of Mosiah, but looking at a few kind, loving people who are so close but so far did help me give another push to work harder for these people I love.

I was studying about pride a lot this week and dad, you're right. I like how President Uchtdorf in his priesthood talk, talked about pride in "your team." Then at church on Sunday one of our Bishopric talked about how pride was the downfall of NATIONS. (I think the Lord is trying to tell me something). I think if we asked ourselves introspective questions about pride consistently, there might be a little less contention.

I love being a missionary. The work is true.

Love you mom and dad.

-Elder Hales