Nov. 19, 2012
First thing is first- Happy Birthday Mom! I hope your day is awesome, and not completely full of packing and moving boxes :)

I have come to the conclusion that this area is magical. We have been able to tract and find people who are humble and looking for additional truth ALL the TIME, and this transfer we will be have the blessing of two baptisms. I have never had multiple baptisms in the same transfer before! The companion, district, and zone goals that we have set we are regularly meeting, and sometimes even exceeding! It is so neat to see how prepared this area is! It has been very easy to see His hand in the work.

For our next zone conference, we will be going to Kirtland, and having our meeting in the temple and then on sites. We are so excited! President Vellinga has asked us to memorize some scriptures about having the faith to find. Amazingly, it has been so fun to memorize scriptures! I forgot how much I love it! Plus, it is so nice to have those scriptures on instant recall and be able to pull from the truths and principles it teaches in our lessons. I have felt like th spirit can work through me better as I am more prepared with scriptures in mind. Memorizing scriptures is so amazing! (You were totally right Dad, I wish I would have listened to you earlier ;) 

Thanksgiving will be fun. We have a short P-day today, then on Thanksgiving morning we will have P-day schedule until we go eat with members. We have been invited to so many dinners!! I will refrain from any pictures for the next few weeks so you don't have to be too subtle with your fat comments. 

Sister Joseph and I have come to the conclusion that we are very strange, because we are enjoying tracting. Neither of us particularly enjoyed it in our other areas, but here, it is almost fun to get out and meet people! Most of them are very respectful and nice. One lady that we met invited us in and proceeded to tell us about how she was out with a friend for hours, then her friend noticed that she lost her ring. They backtracked for hours trying to find it, to no avail. This lady began praying in heart that they could find it, and then she did! It was in some completely random spot, like under the aisle shelves in Target. Then she testified to her friend that God really does answer prayers. She was so awesome! She was hesitant to take a Book of Mormon, but when I explained how it has come to help direct me in my life (Alma 32- going on a mission) she was very curious about it. By the time we were done sharing how He has helped us in our lives, and left her with prayer, she was crying. There are so many amazing people out there who really are looking for truth, they just don't know where to find it!! I love having the opportunity to get out, meet amazing people, and make a difference in their lives by helping them get to know Christ better. 

We have had the opportunity to get to know a lot more members in our ward since Sister Joseph is new (so I had a good excuse to be able to ask people's names again :) I should know them after three months!) Ohioans are the best! I love the people out here. Even when they deny that they have hick accents and they totally do. 

I love you all so much! Good luck with all the moving. Good thing you have a train car.

Love, 
Sister Mahrt