Timing, the Temple, Tender mercies, and Tongans! October 13, 2014

Before I forget, here's my new address: 3041 Alma St. Palo Alto, CA 94306

Good day everyone! This week has been full of miracles! We had so much going on this week: temple trip, Meet the Mormons, zone training meeting, ward luau, and other things. Even with all of those things, we exceeded our goals! 

The temple was absolutely phenomenal. It is always such a treat to go to the temple and feel the Spirit. We went with Sister Olive, one of the Tongan members of our ward. It was really stressful because we wanted to try and make the 9am session but because of traffic and getting lost and other things, we made it barely in time for the 11am session. So we went in there and who do I find in the dressing room? Sister Gregerson and the rest of my Livermore peeps! It seemed like a coincidence, but I know it wasn't. It was a tender mercy from the Lord because He loves me. Also, Sister Nelson's whole last zone was there so there were a lot of people we loved there. If we would've made the 9am session, we would not have had that experience. The session was so great and we all felt the incredible peace that comes when we enter the house of the Lord. Then we all ate lunch together in the temple cafeteria and had a great time. On our way out, Sister Olive ran into a long lost nephew of hers who is serving in the Oakland mission and just happened to be having District Meeting at the time we were there. The timing was just so incredible and it strengthened my testimony that the Lord loves us and cares about what we care about. We didn't NEED to have those experiences, but He knew that we would appreciate them and so He allowed them to happen. It was a miracle!

On Thursday, we all got to see Meet the Mormons in stake centers throughout the mission (because they didn't want missionaries in the theaters). It was a wonderful film! I loved the hope that it brought to me and all those who watched it. If any of you haven't seen it yet, do it. And bring a friend or two. If you have questions about Mormons or don't quite understand, watch it.  It will change the way you view members of the church and the culture of the church. So good! After that, we had Zone Training Meeting in Los Altos and it was fun to go back there for a couple of hours. 

On Saturday, the ward had a Luau and it was so fun!! I got to know a lot of the members of the ward (especially the massive Tongan population we have!). They roasted two huge pigs and had them for dinner! It was so fun! It reminded me of our time in Tonga and it made me really happy. I absolutely love working with those wonderful people. (:

Sunday was great. Since we cover two wards, we went to 6 hours of church! It was exhausting, but it was my first time going to church in the wards, so I met a lot of new people. It was a nice surprise when Steve Young got up to say the closing prayer in Sacrament Meeting. He's in our ward; no big deal. 

SO I'm doing really well and this week was excellent!

Palo Alto is a wonderful place and we also serve in East Palo Alto. They are very very different but both awesome! I'm grateful to be serving here and I love the people and place so much. It's insane how you can grow to love a place and group of people so quickly, but it's all because of the Savior. When we can tap into His love for us, we can feel it for those around us. Especially as we serve with all of our hearts. I love the work!

Go see Meet the Mormons!

Ofa Atu

Sister Julie Catherine Harris