August 6, 2019

Hello everyone! Another awesome busy week! We had exchanges this week and I was able to go with sister Fonseca! She is a doll! She is so awesome and so all in. I felt like she was the STL and I was the one going on exchanges haha! She is just so good! She is called Spanish speaking, so I was able to go to a pass off lesson from the elders with a cute lady named Lulu. She doesn't speak any English so the whole lesson was in Spanish! I was surprised at how much I was able to understand just because it is similar to french in some ways. That was cool and a real gift of tongues miracle haha! I was impressed by how powerfully sister Fonseca and elder Petit bore testimony. I couldn't understand much of it, but my spirit sure could! The language of the spirit is such an amazing thing. My mission has really proved to be the best way to practice and be enveloped in the language of the spirit. I am so grateful for this opportunity. Christ really has so much love for us. And the spirit is the means by which we feel it. We had such a cool experience with a bible referral. There was a lady named Belinda that wanted a bible, but we didn't have time to deliver it on Sunday, so we asked if she would be able to come to the church and pick it up. She told us that she would be there at 1 (which is when our church starts...) But she didn't come until like 1:15 which was the middle of sacrament meeting. So we texted her and told her to come inside and that we would come out of our meeting in a few minutes. So after Sacrament meeting, we booked it outa there! After a few minutes of searching, we found her in the foyer with the riverside elders. They were teaching her about the book of mormon. They are so stellar!!! She was like "I have my kids waiting for me in the car, but I want to make time next week to come to this church"... AHHHH It was so incredible! I am so grateful for those elders that were so on top of it and so focused on their purpose as missionaries to teach in every possible situation. That is how miracles come to be. We have a lot of hope for her. These bible referrals have caused us to have a lot of super cool experiences! I just love being a missionary so so much. I love the people I meet instantly. I hope that never goes away. I just love being a missionary. I just truly do! This work is true! This church is true! And I love it with all my heart! I hope that everything is going super great with all of you! I love you all dearly! Love, sister Bates