Sister Layton In New York: 8 Miracles

Hello Everyone!!

Preparation day is today because we are going to the temple! The temple is also the reason why I'm emailing so early in the AM.

This week was completely fuulllll of miracles, especially for the deaf work! The day of miracles has not ceased!

Miracle #1- Hurricane Joaquin didn't come to Long Island! Thank the heavens. We kept getting warnings that it was coming our way and even bought extra food just in case haha! We did have a few crazy storms though. It was so cold!!!! I'm definitely counting my blessings that I don't have to spend another winter in NY. Sweater weather has officially begun!

Miracle #2- We met a deaf man on phone games- M. He wanted to meet us at the Bayshore chapel for a church tour!!!. He pulled up in his mini van with another man, his friend R, who is also deaf. The minute R saw our name tags as he walked in the church he said to us "wait a minute, I'm a member of this church! I didn't know it was here! I was baptized in Brooklyn years ago...... It's been so long." He was very clearly able to explain the process of missionaries teaching him, his baptismal interview, his baptism, and confirmation. WE FOUND A LOST SHEEP. yayyyy. Oh man this church tour was so great. As we approached the picture of John the Baptist, R turned to M and said "you really need to get baptized like Jesus did (pointing to the picture), I'll help you and come back to church so I can get the priesthood and baptize you." So we put M on date! As we went to the chapel, R looked at us happily, with watery eyes and said "I'm happy I'm here, meeting you and listening to you I feel the spirit, I feel so much better. I need to come to church again." MIRACLES. A LOST SHEEP WHO NOT ONLY WANTS TO COME BACK TO THE FOLD OF GOD, BUT WANTS TO BRING HIS FRIEND WITH HIM.

Miracle #4: Saturday after an AMAZING conference we decided to look up a former named D. There was no information about her, except that she had ordered a Bible two years ago. We weren't sure if she ever even got it. D, a cute little Spanish woman (or so we thought), answered the door and we explained that we weren't sure if she ever received her Bible or what. She said she never got it, no problem, we handed one right over! I asked if she needed a Spanish one and GUESS WHAT HER RESPONSE WAS. THE MOST UNEXPECTED WORDS CAME OUT OF HER MOUTH. "I'm not Spanish. My accent is because I'm hard of hearing." My companions and I looked at each other with our jaws dropped. We started signing to her and she was ecstatic!!! She let us right in to chat with her for a few minutes. She wants to come to the deaf group and learn about the church!!!!!! Our trio left her home with our arms around each other and prayed to thank Heavenly Father for leading us straight to one of his deaf children.

Miracle #4: Remember our deaf investigator S? He's the one whose family started to investigate with the Hermanas. Well the Hermanas put his family on date to enter the waters of baptism on October 17th! Sister Deuel and I were literally jumping around our apartment for joy hahah. They asked us to prepare S to be ready that day so they can be baptized as a family, so we moved his date up :) ahhh hopefully we can get him ready! On Thursday we went to their house with the Hermanas to teach them together. We taught two totally separate lessons because translation was too much to handle, but it benefitted S so much to have his family there! He seemed to really get what we were teaching... My companions and I looked at each other with smiles on our faces when we knew he finallyyyyy understood the concept we were teaching!

Miracle #5: WE ALMOST GOT HIT BY A CAR AND WERE SAVED BY AN ANGEL. IT WAS SO REAL. NOT FAKE AT ALL. An angel literally swerved the steering wheel. It was not me! we couldn't stop laughing afterwards because it was such a miracle that we didn't get hit. I love my guardian angels!

Miracle #6: Last week I was praying... I was expressing to Heavenly Father that I know I've had a successful mission and served him with everything that I had, but that I was a little bit sad I didn't always get to see the fruits of my labors. If it were possible, I asked, that I would be able to see one of my investigators be baptized before going home.

Well, the Hermanas arranged for S and his family to go see a baptism at the Bayshore chapel on Sunday before conference and asked that we go to interpret for S. I just assumed it was one of their Spanish investigators who was being baptized. Upon arrival I realized I was at the baptism of one of my very favorite investigators- S- whom I spent a lot of time teaching in Bayshore!!! I had no idea she was being baptized!!! We had given her baptismal date, after date, after date, but it never happened while I was there. I WAS SO HAPPY FOR HER for finally reaching her goal. and so happy I could be there to see her baptism. (A bit of background information, a new rule states that we aren't allowed to attend baptisms for investigators in past areas...... But since we were just going to interpret for S I got to be there!) God answers prayers

️

️ oh and to make it even better, BROTHER C WAS THE ONE TO BAPTIZE HER. miracles.

Miracle #7: WEVE BEEN READING THE BOOK OF MORMON EVERY NIGHT WITH P AND J FOR THE PAST FEW WEEKS OVER THE VIDEO PHONE AND ON MONDAY THEY SAID THEY BELIEVE ITS TRUE! It's a big deal.

Miracle #8: When tracking a few times this week, we had a surprisingly large amount of people let us in to teach a short lesson and accept return appointments........ It was kind of weird how many people wanted to listen to our message!

I could go on and on. Especially about CONFERENCE. loved it so much. My favorites were the "WHAT LACK I YET?" "PONDERIZING," and Elder Hale's and Elder Holland's andddddd all of them.

It was nearly a perfect week... But I've learned that weeks are never perfect. We always experience some sort of downfall. Today Sister Deuel is being emergency transferred to Terryville to be companions with Sister Larsen for 7 days. She's pretty sad, and to this moment keeps saying "I'm not going, I don't want to go." I about died when we got the call from President.