Welcome to the psych ward! 8-12-2024

 Eldersss, Sistersss Friends, and family I am just gonna start off by saying this was a Rollercoaster of a week. We had some highs some lows and some unusuals. The week started off awesome after P-day that Monday we went knocking and this guy let us in turns out he has met with missionary's before and already knew the whole doctrine of Christ and has a testimony of it and prays everyday and listens to the book of Mormon every day and we both felt prompted to invite him to be baptized!! Turns out he was previously on probation and that's why he was taught everything but wasn't baptized he will need first presidency approval and will need to show commitment since being off poral so pray for him. His name is Daniel and he is really wanting to be baptized and I want to help him get there. 

This week I also got to teach a super sweet 8 year old girl the doctrine of baptism and her family is nonmember but super supportive and I was able to help her pray to her father in heaven at the end of the lesson and I felt the spirit so strong. Our father in heaven loves each of his children especially little children. 

Another little miracle on Wednesday we were praying in our car getting ready to go out and shar the gospel and in the middle of praying for those people that the lord needs us to meet we receive a call from an Ethiopian lady   ((everyone here is from Africa fr I can't understand any of their accents))  and she calls yelling "I need help I want to learn more about Jesus please come the holy spirit led me here!"

She gives us her name ""Makisetuvuro"" and her address which happens to be a hospital  so we go there at 5:30 during visiting hours and they won't let both of us visit her cause turns out she is in a psych ward and they have heavy security and only one person per visit so obviously that's not gonna work so we ponder for 15 minutes on what to do after calling dls zls and aps trying to get some ideas and then out of the blue we get a call from the same hospital number and it is a member who volunteered at the psych ward crazy stuff so we are able to meet this lady and have one of us visit the member and one of us visit the lady and we are able to sit at a table all 4 of us and visit. The security was so heavy they only let us bring a book of Mormon and took everything else. She speaks English but has such a thick Amharic accent we use an interpreter and she tells us her story and how she has been abused since she was 7 a lot of crazy things leading up to her immigrating to America and being institutionalized. It was so sad but I remember more than anything feeling God's love for her through her trials and afflictions and by the end of our lesson my knees were shaking from the spirit. We were unable to give her a Book of Mormon cause she was unable to read English so we stopped by the next day and by God's grace we were able to visit again and give her a lesson on the book of Mormon and gods love and leaving that room the holy Ghost testified to me that God is watching over and that we just gave her the most correct and most powerful Book in the world and it will change her life. 

 Besides that the week has been hard we ran into some periods of the day where spirits were low and despair was felt. But one night on a rainy Friday evening we ran into a basher and she wasn't bashing the church or the Book of Mormon but bashed my personal relationship with the savior and it lit a fire inside of me. I straight up said I do not feel the spirit after she said how filled she and her house was filled with the spirit and left her apartment with a new fire inside of me and I just prayed to the lord to provide peace to my soul and he did just that. I became more personable that night than on my whole mission and was determined to help some person that night feel of that spirit. 

Later that Sunday we had a lesson with an investigator who has severe depression through the passing of his wife and daughter and severe loneliness and other missionary's have taught him but did him no good as he was too sad to invite the spirit in his life. This Sunday after much prayer we were able to bring the spirit into his life and testified of God's plan for us and his work and his Glory and his restored gospel and ordinances and the spirit was so strong I had to take deep breathes to even speak.  He later asked us what do I need to do to be baptized he said for the first time in almost a year he felt peace and a glimpse of hope and that came from the spirit and the doctrine of Christ so please understand God has your back and has a plan for you and has given us his doctrine and ordinances to bring him into our lives. 

That same Sunday we were able to finally build relationships with the members and it was like a burden being lifted off of me and one of them Invited us to a once a year event at the George Washington mansion and have a picnic overlooking the Potomac river and was truly an answer to my prayers and let me know God cares about the small and simple things in our life and asks us to do things but provides peace and comfort throughout. 

The lord knows each of us and hears every prayer the lord wants all of us to be happy and sends us angels on both sides if we can just stop and recognize his hand in our life we can know. 

32 Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me. 

33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world

John 16:32–33

Stay sweet -Elder Williams