Blessings from Heaven

Hola,
This has been a completely incredible week for me as well as the Ventana Ranch area! I was not able to write yesterday due to it being Memorial Day and everything being closed, and today my time on here is limited, so I am going to try using bullet points so I can get everything down here.

I don't know how many of you remember me talking about the Healy family, but there is great things happening in their family right now. They are a part member family, the wife being the only member and her husband and 3 kids are not baptized (2 of the kids are old enough). She has not been active since she moved out at 18, and both her and her husband have been smoking since they were legally old enough to do so. Early last week we started the Stop Smoking Program with them, which includes not drinking coffee, and it worked great. We met with them on Sunday because the program ended on Monday and we were trying to figure out some way to keep him from starting back up on coffee, since he said that was the hardest part of the program. We started the lesson by bearing testimony of the blessings that come from the restored gospel and focused a lot on eternal families. I was overwhelmed by the spirit and teared up as I related how happy I am knowing that my family is going to be together forever, and that I want them to have that same confidence, but it can only come through living the gospel standards and being sealed by priesthood power, which starts with baptism. Then I asked him if he would be willing to prepare to be baptized the week of the 19th of June, and he said YES!! It was one of the most powerful experiences I have ever been a part of, and from then on everyone's eyes were watering. He is already talking about how excited he is for the temple. Needless to say, he has agreed to stop coffee, permanently. (PS, he is wondering what good tasting coffee substitutes there is because he is already having withdraws just because of the taste, lol)

My ward here is starting to feel like a second family and I'm hoping and praying that I can stay here for several more transfers. Last week I had prayer and after wards one of the mothers came up to me and said that she was sitting out on one of the couches at the time I prayed and right away one of her kids looked over and excitedly said that Elder Inman was praying because he recognized my voice. Later that day another parents came up and said that a bunch of the kids were playing hang man and the word everyone had to guess was "INMAN". I love having such a great ward to work with, especially when I know I can bring any investigator here and they will be welcomed and loved the same way I have been.

When I was in my personal study I read a verse that talked about sitting with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and had an impression that has helped me strive to live a more worthy life. I realized that I don't know much about any of them, so I thought of others that mean to me what they meant to the people at that time. Names like Mormon, Joseph Smith, Gordon B. Hinkley, Thomas S. Monson, and others who dedicated their lives to serving god began coming to mind, and I started to wonder if I am worthy to sit with them in the Celestial Kingdom, and that if I'm not that must mean that I am not worthy to be part of the highest degree of that glory. Can I honestly say to myself that I am worthy of the same Kingdom as they are?! It hit me pretty hard when I thought of this and realized that I need to dedicate my life to becoming worthy of returning to Heavenly Father with great people like them.

Oh, and Grandma Williams sent me a great letter this week that had a page for Elder Sumpter. He loved it so much and said to say thank you!

It was great seeing all the pictures from your Memorial Weekend :-) Everyone make sure you tell Tawny how great she is going to do this weekend at her graduation speech thing! I have such an amazing family!!!

I love you all!

Love,

Elder Inman