Editor’s note: Many are familiar with my daughter, Sara Arkell, also known as The Piano Gal. Sara has been called to serve in the New York Syracuse Mission. This is a series on her weekly letters that we will be posting on the site for those who wish to follow along with her mission. You can read her previous emails here.
Heyooo!! I don’t even know where to start. This was probably my most miracle filled week on my mission!! God was SO good to us this week!!!! If you have been praying for the people in Rome, let me tell ya. Prayers are being answered left and right.
Okay let’s start with ☆JIM☆
He is phenomenal and progressing so beautifully with the gospel. We had multiple lessons with him this week and he’s just soaking it all in. I can already see his countenance changing for the better. It’s so cool! He’s going to be such an amazing member of the Church!! He brought his daughter to an Easter egg hunt we did on Saturday and to church on Sunday, too. She is getting along so well with the other Primary kids! Yay! Then on Saturday night, they drove ONE HOUR to a town called Lowville to watch a baptism of someone in that area. We went with him and he loved it. I’m still blown away that he drove a whole hour!! He is COMMITTED. Please continue to keep him in your prayers that he’ll continue feeling the Spirit and have the strength to overcome things that are being thrown at him constantly. Ahhh he’s so cool!!!!
☆MELANIE☆
She’s the most amazing woman ever. She has so many unfair things happening in her life right now but she is so strong. She came to our Relief Society activity on Wednesday night and then on Friday, we put her on date for baptism!!!! Yay! This has been years in the making, so many missionaries have helped her up to this point. She also came to the Easter egg hunt and church on Sunday! The bishop’s wife is amazing and gives her a ride to everything. We love Melanie!
☆CYNTHIA☆
Oh my goodness she’s the CUTEST. She has 5 kids and we’ve only had 2 lessons with her but we feel like we’ve known her forever. She showed up to our Relief Society activity on Wednesday and got to know a lot of the women in the ward. She said she had such a good time! Then she came back on Friday with all of her kids for the Easter egg hunt. Her kids are so cute and we had so much fun playing with them! They basically doubled the size of our Primary, woot woot. It was such a miracle that they actually came because we’ve been struggling to get people to activities and it didn’t really take any coercing to get them to come! They’re such a fun family! One of her daughters who is 7 kept coming up to me and giving me hugs. She’s so cute!
☆JESSIE☆
Oh wow, this was probably the coolest phone call of my life. Sister Thompson and I had our jaws dropped for the majority of it. Jessie is a referral. She filled out something online to get in contact with missionaries in her area which is us, because she’s in Rome. We finally got ahold of her this week after a few missed attempts and she is PREPARED and ALL IN.
She has 5 kids and basically told us she’s been researching The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints but wanted to go to the actual source, not Google anymore. She said her and her husband are looking for a place where they feel at home and they think it’s here with our church. She asked if we could bring her a Book of Mormon and set up another time for us to call her. We were shocked. This like NEVER happens!! Most of the referrals we get never end up going anywhere.
We got to have Easter dinner with the new senior missionary couple living right down the street from us. It was nice to have a yummy meal & get to know them! Hopefully you all had an amazing Easter! Here’s a song that we’ve listened to SO MANY TIMES. It’s beautiful! Take a listen at this link.
We got transfer news this morning! I’m staying in Rome for the next 7 weeks and so is Sister Thompson! 🥳 This will be our 3rd transfer together. But I’m not complaining at all, I feel like we were best friends before this life. We get along so well! It’s going to be a party!
Missions are the best. I’ve never felt so much joy in my life!!! God is oh so good to us and is pouring out His blessings on Rome right now. I love you all!!
LaDean
Wednesday 20th of April 2022
What joy it is to read her letters. To hear the progress of missionary work and with insight to those they are teaching bring joy and peace to my soul. My prayers are with these to Sister Missionaries. God bless them.