Week 5

Dear all,

Thanks for all the letters and emails! They really brighten up my week!
So, for this week.
On Monday we re-committed one of our less-actives to the quit smoking program and he's been doing really well with it so far.  On Tuesday we had a lesson set up with another one of our less-actives and it went really well. We taught the first lesson, but focused on re-establishing his connection with God through prayer. It's amazing what can happen and how much more the Spirit is able to work within someone if they pray and have that good connection with God. We had one of his neighbors with us who is also becoming re-activated (almost all of the work up here is re-activation) and he was so excited at the end of the lesson, he asked if he could come teach with us again. Can I get a "woot woot"? That was super exciting. 
On the way to the lesson, we were driving down Central and we almost missed our turn. So I wasn't able to brake completely when I went into the turn. Now, on a normal road, that wouldn't have been a problem. However, this was a dirt road. So we ended up in a ditch next to the road, but then suddenly we were up and out of the ditch and back on the road heading to our appointment without a single scratch. I can only say that God protects his missionaries. When we drove past that spot in the day-time, we saw boulders, a pole and a fence that would have been impossible to miss, so I have a renewed testimony that God looks out for all of us. Oh, mom and dad: I'm fine. And no, there weren't any scratches or dents on the car haha.

Next order of business: the smoke. Everyone up here has wood-burning stoves and so every night smells like a massive bonfire and reminds me of home when we would sit around the fire pit and roast marshmallows and bacon. This really reminds me of home. Everyone is so kind and even though it's a small town, there is so much work that we can do. Like I said, most of it is reactivation, but we're fortifying the home-front, which is so important, especially in keeping the new converts active and bringing everyone closer to Christ. The only downer to my week was that both my companion and I have come down with something. We don't know whether it's the beginnings of the flu or strep, but we've been kicking it as quickly as we can so that, hopefully, we won't have to be out of commission for much longer.

My companion and I will be able to go to the Gilbert temple open house a couple times this month and so I'm super excited! Also, we live so close to the temple, we need to go as often as we possibly can! I didn't realize how much I would miss it until I couldn't go whenever I wanted to.

I love you all so much! Keeping sending me mail/letters/emails! I love them! And, who knows? Maybe it'll make these 17 months pass by faster (yep I hit my 1 month mark on Saturday!!!) I'm praying for all of you (I haven't forgotten ANYONE) and I hope you're all great!

Love,
Sister Stephanie Lee

I attached interesting pics of the week. The double-yolked egg, Eager Arizona, and my companion and I.