I Will Go and Do : Week 67: New Investigator Miracles

Hey everybody! This week was an exciting week in Bridgeport. At the beginning of the week, our District Leader, Elder Hoth, challenged us to pick up 16 new investigators as a district. This was a pretty big goal as we had been averaging around 10 new investigators a week. With this goal motivating and challenging us, this week we saw many miracles!

On Monday, we had a very fun zone P-day playing kickball on a baseball field next to the ocean. The AP's were able to drive down from Boston for our P-day and we were able to have an exchange with them all day on Tuesday before we had to drive to Boston for Mission Leadership Conference on Wednesday. During our exchange, we saw the best miracles. By the end of the day, we had picked up 9 new investigators together! I got to go on my 3rd exchange with Elder Ferreira. We had a super awesome day and reached our goal of finding 2 investigators before we even had lunch! Two of the investigators we picked up were former investigators who happened to be interested in meeting again!

Charles Asante was the first former investigator we stopped by. He agreed to meet with us and as we were talking to him it was evident that he thought there was nothing we could help him with. He told us how he would always pray and that he never felt like he received answers to his prayers. We had brought this awesome member named Daniel Mitchell to the lesson with us and he began to bear his testimony that God does answer our prayers, just on his own timing. He told Charles that he had prayed about something for two whole years before he finally received an answer. After Daniel bore his testimony, Charles whole mindset had changed and he told us that he wasn't too interested in meeting with us again until Daniel bore his testimony. It was a great experience for Elder Ferreira and I, but especially for Daniel who will be leaving on his mission to Argentina in two weeks. Never doubt the impact your testimony as an everyday member can have on those around you!

On Wednesday, we had such a powerful and revelatory meeting at MLC. President Miller gave a fantastic training on the importance of the Book of Mormon and how it clarifies truths that have been lost or changed. The AP's also gave a great training on the importance of pondering. In 1 Nephi 11:1 we read about how Nephi goes through 3 steps before he receives the revelation he was seeking. First, he had a desire then he believed that he could receive revelation and finally, he ponders. The AP's gave us a lot of counsel on how we could receive revelation for ourselves, our investigators, and for our zones. It was a great meeting with many great insights.

We really had such a great week and were able to find new investigators and see progress in those that we are teaching. We were able to set a baptismal date with Patrick for October 28th which he is very excited about. By the end of the week, Elder Sprehn and I picked up 13 new investigators and our district blew our goal out of the water and picked up 22 new investigators! Our goal this week is to give out 100 Book of Mormons as a district. The work is going so great here and we are working extremely hard as Elder Sprehn is running short on time as a missionary! This Friday I will find out who my new companion will be. Thank you everyone for all your support. I am loving being here and serving the Lord!

Love,
Elder Gutierrez