"don't give up on me"

I'm currently writing you in my mom's BYU sweatshirt, Nike sweats, and tattered white vans from a year of shoveling dirt.

Life is good.

Alicia got baptized this weekend which pretty much beats everything else that happened. Well, and I got Chipotle again.

Alicia is so happy to now be "Sister Cota." It's pretty cute. We went over a couple times this week to get her ready and make sure she was feeling good! She was so excited. Along with her bear named dog.

jk - It's the other way around but let me tell you, that dog really is a bear! But we love him because we love Alicia. It's funny how that works. Don't kill me for saying this, but usually I'm not a dog person. The problem is I just don't know how to interact with them. You can blame my mom for telling me as a kid when I asked about a dog:

"you get a little brother, not a puppy."

But wow I can't believe the miracles. We met Alicia a little over a month ago, and in that time she's changed so much. That fact alone testifies that this stuff is true. Something fake and persuasive and wrong could not bring such a genuine change in someone. It just wouldn't make sense. Seeing how the gospel of Jesus Christ can change a person is miraculous every time. She can't wait to go to the temple, and I can't wait to be there with her.

We had the coolest experience with a couple on Friday night. If you've ever wondered if you can feel the spirit in a Cracker Barrel when a waitress drops her water tray... you can.

There's this lady in our ward whose husband isn't a member. They feed us occasionally, and the husband listens to our lessons, but doesn't necessarily do much about it. Until recently.

We taught a lesson a few weeks ago, and invited him to pray, something he had never done before. His wife had her doubts that he would do it, but we just kept inviting. Then we planned a dinner with them, but found out the husband probably wouldn't make it.

But miraculously, when we walked into Cracker Barrel, he was there. We had no plan, but then the spirit prompted me with exactly what we needed to do.

We've been doing this thing with our members recently where we ask them to pretend to be people we meet on the street. We then do a short, powerful lesson, and ask them for feedback. I had the most random thought to do this with this couple.

It was SO cool. We shared Joseph Smith's experience in a grove of trees as he sought to know which church to join. And for those who need a refresher and want to feel the spirit, here it is:

"I saw a pillar of light, exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me. When the light rested upon me, I saw two personages whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name, and said, this is my beloved son. Hear Him."

For the first time ever, this man admitted that he felt the spirit. He said he couldn't deny it. He invited us over for next week to tell the rest of the story.

Oh and guess what, we found out later he did pray.

In this letter, I've talked about two people. One who, after one month of hearing about the gospel, was baptized. The other has been married to a member for 40+ years and just now admits to feeling the spirit. We all have such different time tables and God has a plan for each of us. God really just doesn't give up. Which brings me to the song lyric this week thanks to Andy Grammar. "don't give up on me". Even though he's not talking about God in his song, it just reminds me of how God feels about us

"And I will hold

I'll hold on to you

No matter what this world'll throw

It won't shake me loose

I'll reach my hands out in the dark

And wait for yours to interlock

I'll wait for you

I'll wait for you

'Cause I'm not givin' up

I'm not givin' up, givin' up"

I know that Joseph Smith saw Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father, in that grove of trees near his boyhood home when he was only 14 years old, and what they said to him changed the world forever. What they told him has changed me. I'm so grateful for this gospel, and the knowledge that Jesus Christ's church really is here on the earth in 2022.

Don't forget that Jesus loves you,

Sister Wallace

Pics:

1-2. Alicias baptism ♡

3. The cutest girl we are teaching

4. Our friend James!!! This is the guy we read the Book or Mormon with

5. Kekeli said my name today!!! For the first time!!

6. We love our red Tacoma