**AMAZING MIRACLES ALERT!***

Menomonee Falls Library

HELLO! I'M BACK!!

So I might only have 1 more P-Day in the Lake Michigan ward!

(...nothing is "for sure" but I feel like I'm leaving- 

I have been here 6 months...YET.) <---- Wisconsin-ese

It's going to be so hard to leave my first area! I love these people like I grew up with them. 

It's the craziest thing. & I have to be honest, it was hard to think that at the beginning of my mission. While I tried to stay positive- I was always thinking of home. Now, I don't feel like it's my "duty"- 

I feel like I am a part of a community. I look forward to seeing these people and being with them! Seriously! I am constantly thinking about how I can help them or what scriptures to text them or who we should introduce them to at church.

This week we had a lot of open time because many of our investigators were on vacation before school starts up again! haha

(Speaking of which: Good Luck Zak, Wyatt, and Bella! I'm only a couple states away thinking about and praying for you that it's an awesome first week of school!)

So we called it "Miracle Time" because we knew that as long as we prayed and worked and did our part...Heavenly Father would place the people in our path that we needed to meet.

& boy, did He ever!

YES...

"Everything Happens for a Reason."

But Guess What? It really does.

I have had WAY too many experiences in just this one week to know that this is true for the rest of my life.

Like yesterday, I felt like I should call this random girl we have been trying to get a hold of FOREVER.

So I did... because when you really feel like you should act on a good thought... that's the spirit!

Yup, She answered. We're going to lunch with her this week after months of calling and texting her with no response.

-OR-

When the Elders serving in Appleton call you and tell you they just gave your cousin a Book of Mormon!!
-He is from Utah and just happened to be visiting Wisconsin!

REALLY! I started tearing up when they told me this.

*It was great also because they told him that if he read the Book of Mormon his performances would go better.

Those 3 Elders felt like they should talk to these guys on the street in Appleton, WI and sure enough...!

When my cousin introduced himself they asked him if he was related to a Sister Osmond with blonde hair, the Elders didn't know my first name... He responded, "Sophia is serving here? Tell her what's up! I didn't know she was on a mission."

I was so overwhelmed on the phone. I was so full of gratitude that those Elders listened to the spirit when it told them to go and talk to him or that would have never happened. After I hung up I had this overwhelming sense of commitment  come over me to share the gospel with EVERYONE! 

The gospel blesses families!! MY FAMILY!!!

Yesterday during church, one of the speakers couldn't make it so the missionaries were asked to bare there testimonies!

I shared this experience about the missionaries meeting "my cousin" and was pretty emotional.

Later a lady from Utah came up to me and said she was visiting her son and daughter-in-law in our ward... and asked if she could share that story with my cousin's brother who just happened to be in her ward back home!! Which she did, instilling hope and a testimony of the power of prayer!!

Of all the Sundays she could have been there!

Everything Happens for a Reason, Folks!

***ANOTHER AMAZING MIRACLE***

Lauren is getting baptized this Saturday! AH!

It has been a long time coming.. Phewfta. :)

Because she has been thinking about baptism for SO LONG... she has had to deal with a lot of adversity for SO LONG.

(I may have told you about her one of the first weeks I was in the area!)

She was introduced to the church by her boyfriend, Gary, and has been investigating the church for over a year now! So you can imagine how happy he is! haha

It's the coolest thing because she wanted to really take the time to find out for herself if everything she had been taught was true! As soon as she started diving into the Book of Mormon and sincerely wanting to know for herself if it was true she finally gained her testimony! She is now being baptized because she knows it's right.

There have been so many people that have been waiting for this day! Especially Lauren.

I am so grateful that I am going to be here to see it.

THIS IS A GOOD PLACE.

I KNOW I NEED TO BE HERE. :)

Have a GREAT week! I love back to school!!

I'll miss reading President Hinkley's Stand a Little Taller every morning!!

Steadfast & Immovable in Christ!

Love, 

Sister Osmond