3/28

Hey Family!
So this week has been pretty crazy, but also pretty awesome. First of all, best news ever! Miguel is getting baptized!! Unfortunately I wasn't there, and I won't be able to make it to the baptism because I'm not actually going up to Springs this week. Its me and Sister Tu'alau in Pueblo without Sister Hilbert and I'm not sure how I feel about that, but good thing the Lord is in charge, so its all good! But I can't tell you how extremely excited I was to find out Miguel is getting baptized!! Also we have an investigator here that we're working with, his name is David and he is so awesome! He was supposed to get baptized this coming Sunday, but he didn't make it to church yesterday, so we have to push it back. But I'm still super excited about it! So this has been a super crazy P-day because its Sister Hilbert's last, so this letter may be shorter and more scatter-brained. But basically I learned this week: 1. When you have something kind, nice or important to say to someone, say it right away, because you may lose out on that opportunity. I've learned things happen fast here, people are transferred, or leave, or whatever, so never waste a moment. Also this next transfer pretty sure the Lord will be teaching me some important lessons including but not limited to having more confidence, and patience, and teaching skills and not stress out. Its going to be filled with trials, but thats where we grow the best.
I'm really sorry this is short! Thanks for being awesome and supportive, I love all the letters! And love you! Miss you lots!

Sister Pratt

3/21

Hi family! How was your week? Mine was awesome! I'm back in Pueblo and enjoying every minute! I hate that feeling at the end of the transfer that everything is going to change, especially since Sister Hilbert is going home, and there's that whole possibility of leaving for Brazil at any time, which is nerve wracking. But I've learned tons and worked hard this week. We still don't have any one super solid that we are teaching, but there are a lot of potentials that we are teaching. Today, I'm back in Colorado Springs though. The President is doing this little training thing, and so Sister Hilbert and Tu'alau are there, and I'm on exchanges with the other Singles ward sisters in the Pikes Peak ward today and tomorrow. Its been pretty good, plus I get 2 P-days this week! :) (I don't think I get to email again on Wed, but I can check and see). So basically I've had 6 companions and 3 areas this transfer. The Lord knows I hate change so He is teaching me a lesson, and I'm learning a TON from it. Then after Sister Hilbert leaves next week, I'll be back up here in the Pikes Peak ward over Conference weekend, then its transfers and who knows where I'll be after that? Back to Pueblo though, we've tracted a lot, prayed a lot, and there are potentials, some that I feel really good about. This week is going to be a great one! As far as companionship goes, we have rough moments, but we all know how much I LOVE Sister Hilbert and I'll basically cry my eyes out when she leaves, but thats okay. We'll deal with that when it comes :) I'll be honest with you family, I would be perfectly content with serving my entire mission in this area. There is so much work to be done, and I'm getting to know the people and really learning important things. I know, I know, I'm going to Brazil some day and the Lord is in charge, so what ever and whenever things happen is all for the best. I love that I wake up in the morning and am completely happy and excited for the day ahead of me. The first little bit wasn't like that, I stressed out about being a missionary and having to talk to people. But pretty much its the best thing ever and I'm going to do it for the rest of my life :) I love you all, and hope everything is going great! Thank you for all your letters and support, I love you tons!
Love, Sister Pratt

3/14

Hello from PUEBLO COLORADO! Confused? Yea me too...So this week was super crazy. Wednesday was a pretty rough day for me. I was stressed about going to Brazil, and stressed about companion struggles and basically I just wanted to go back to Pueblo with Sister Hilbert for just one day because I felt I raelly took it for granted down there. Then Thursday, I woke up, knowing that I needed a change of attitude and just threw myself into the work. I decided we were going to teach, and find, and I was going to love the people and I would just forget myself. And so thats what I did. All three of us worked hard, and we taught and amazing lesson to this girl named Sarah. Her friend is a member who invited her to church on Sunday and she came. Then we taught her on Thursday and before we even shared the first vision, her friend asked her if she wanted to get baptized, and she said yes! Then we shared the first vision and she felt the spirit so strong. She said she felt as if she was there in the grove, watching the whole thing happen. She is excited to read the Book of Mormon and is getting Baptized on March 27th! Then the day just went so well. We have 2 investigators we've been trying to meet with. THey just called us up and asked to come meet with them that day! We did and it was so amazing! The day continued on, we ended up teaching about 6 lessons that day. Then that night, we were helping a recent convert with wedding decorations, and the phone rings. Its Preseident Pfile. Of course, I start freaking out because Sister Hilbert has predicted from day one that I will get my visa on March 10th. Sis Jones hands me the phone, and he says, "Hey Sister Pratt, I was wondering, how would you feel about going down to Pueblo to help out Sister Hilbert? She is struggling a little with her greenie she's training and you're the only solution I can come up with." I wanted to shout "Yes that would be AMAZING!" but I saw the look on my companion's face, which was on the verge of bursting into tears, so I said, "yea, that's be okay with me." Poor Sister Gilson was sad that I left, but I think she and Sister Jones have a lot to learn from eachother without their mediator (me) there. SO I packed my bags, and Sister Hilbert picked my up at 9 the next morning! I was back in my old district, with my awesome trainer, and my amazing zone leaders, and all through district meeting I could not wipe the smile off my face.
Not to say things are all peaches and cream here, we have no investigators and there is a little bit of stress to deal with in the companionship. My other new companion is Sister Tu'alau from Tonga. This is her first transfer, and she struggles with the language, and the culture and is pretty homesick. At dinner that night, one of the Elders made a comment to Sister HIlbert that he hasn't seen her smile in 3 weeks. I guess I didn't realize just how hard it has been for her down here, especially since its her last transfer and she is dealing with all that too.
We fasted as a companionship to be able to find investigators this week. I full faith we will see a lot of success. I'm so excited to be back here, I really took my time and the people here for granted. Every day I love being a missionary more and more. Now I pray I don't get my visa until the end of the transfer. But I really want it by the end, thats for sure. Its in the Lord's hands, luckily, because He knows what He is doing.
Thats the biggest news of the week, and its been pretty crazy! I feel like I never left! I also see how much I've grown since being away. I love it here so much and I'm so excited to be here! I love you all and miss you tons! I hope you are being nice to missionaries in your area, and that you are continuing to grow in faith. Have a fabulous week!
Love always,
Sister Pratt

Hello Everyone!

Hi everybody! This week was full of HUGE ups and downs. Some miracles though, I will share with you! We had about 30 minutes to tract on Friday afternoon. We felt good about an apartment complex, and the second door we knocked on, a man named Nick answered. He let us in, and said he was in the army and had just barely moved in about 2 days before. We sat on the floor and talked to him about his beliefs and attending church, and we taught him the first lesson. He accepted baptism! It was so amazing! We gave him the Book of Mormon, and he was excited to read it. In his prayer at the end, he thanked the Lord for revealing this new path that he finally found. We visited him the next day, and he had been reading. He also came to church and really enjoyed his time there. What an amazing miracle!

We've been teaching Miguel for a few weeks now. He came to FHE last week and was having a pretty bad day. We talked to him for a while and he said he felt so much better coming to meet these wonderful people, and how nice everyone is to him. He told me he has slammed the door on Mormon missionaries so many times, and now he feels so bad. One time, he said he answered the door completely drunk, and threw up all over the Elders on his door. Then he said, "Yea, that was definitely the lowest point in my life." I laughed so hard! I think he didn't expect that reaction, but I told him that those Elders had a great story to bring home, so its okay. He has really opened up. That night he read in the Book of Mormon, the next day we met with him and he told us he knew the Book of Mormon was true. We were totally shocked! (Unfortunately, he still won't commit to baptism) but the real miracle here is that every time we meet with him, he opens up a little more each time. Its amazing to watch him change his life, just in these few weeks.

Church on Sunday was a miracle. Two different members brought friends to church. We set up return appointments with both of them. It was so exciting to see people in the ward being supportive and welcoming and really diving into missionary work! It was a truly amazing day!

Another miracle was we met a lady named Susan. We taught her twice, and then had to transition her to the Elders, because we can only teach YSAs. But It was incredible! The Elders committed her to Baptism and she is so completely solid. She asked us if there were any activites where people get together and sew or cook or do service projects because she loves all those things. We were like, WELCOME TO RELIEF SOCIETY! :) It was awesome. She is living with her fiance though, so we're fasting and praying that all will work out for marriege before March 20th. I have full faith it will, I've seen it happen a few times in Pueblo! I'm so excited for her!

I won't share as much about the downs, but we did get dropped by some investigators we were working with. It was painful, and hard to do, but I learned some really valuable lessons in it. Another down was some of my struggles with Portuguese, however that discouragement has been lifted from working with a member here who served his mission in Brazil. At first meeting with him just stressed me out, but the last time we met, I felt uplifted and ready to really study and prepare for Brazil.

I love you all so so much! Thank you for your letters and support and love! I hope you all have a wonderful week!
Te Amo!
Sister Pratt

Hello!!

First off: HAPPY BRITHDAY TO MY CAILEY!! :) Now, Hey everyone! So excited for the big news? transfers this week, I'm packing up my bags today and heading up to Colorado Springs! I'm in a group of 3 and working with Sister Gilson (who I came in with) and Sister Jones, who I tracted with my first day, and is the sweetest person in the world! I'm really excited, we'll be in the Cheyenne Mountain Ward which is a singles ward up there. Sister Hilbert says its an awesome ward and the best news is, I'm close enough to Pueblo that I get to come down to Bekah's Baptism this Sunday! Which was something I was worried about, considering I've been with her throught the whole process towards baptism. I'm going to miss the people I met here, and my Zone Leaders and other missionaries and especially Sister hilbert, BUT The Lord is teaching me a lesson: to love change. So I may as well learn that lesson now BEFORE I get thrown into a foregin country and my life really gets turned upside-down. This week was pretty awesome, we continue to teach Bekah AND she came to church, and loved it. It was amazing! ANd the elders are teaching a 17 year-old boy who is totally solid, he called them Sunday night and told them he finished reading 3 Nephi, what else should he read? They've taught him twice. There are miracles happening all over the place here! On Friday night, I was feeling a little stressed about the changes that were coming up, So Sister Hilbert decided to make me senior companion on Saturday and I would be driving, deciding where to go, who to teach, and would be leading all the lessons. Turns out, I know this area better than i thought, and I can have confidence that the spirit will always lead and guide. It was a littler nerve-wracking but I learned a lot from it. In other news, frank was confirmed, and he is so awesome. He came in a 3 piece suit, and a white shirt, and he is asking all sorts of questions about the Temple and how he wants to be worthy to go when he hits his year mark. It has been so amazing to see this man go from a depressed drunk to reading the Book of Mormon everyday and quickly recognizing the truthfulness of the gospel. Its absolutely amazing! And we were excited because Adam has been reading the Book of Mormon, and says its going well, and he is reading it with an open mind, and the possiblity that it is true. Although, he still hasn't come to church. But we're working on it, and trusting that it is in the Lord's hands. Yesterday was a little rough, since Sister Hilbert knew she was training and staying in Mesa next transfer, which meant I was leaving, but didn't know where. I was sad to leave my comfort zone I've created here, but this morning I woke up, ready for the changes, feeling the peace that I will go to where and with the people I need to be with, and it will be amazing. I love you all! And miss you tons! Have a great week, and don't forget to write me :)
Love always
Sister Pratt

Hello Everyone!

Hello! So here is the weekly update: This week was pretty awesome! Well, every week is, no matter what. We have a solid baptism for this coming Sunday, the 13th. Do you remember me telling you about Frank? He is getting baptized! And he is totally solid too! We were unsure about him at first, we weren't sure how much he was connecting with the gospel, turns out he was just under the influence of a lot of alcohol, and once we taught him the Word of Wisdom, he started going to AA classes and is now been 5 days off alcohol! We've been able to teach him a lot, and he even came to church yesterday! Speaking of church, here is a not so great thing about this week: our Bishop cancelled church. We're still trying to figure out why...I think maybe because of the roads. Its snowed a lot and they don't get that a lot here. Another rumor was that it was because the heater stopped working in the chapel, but it really wasn't too bad. So who really knows. But it was sort of frustrating because we have 4 solid people coming to church. We couldn't get a hold of Frank before he came, but we were able to sit and teach him. turns out he has a neighbor who is Jehovah's Witness who has brought some doubt into his mind about rushing into baptism. We were able to talk to him about the Book of Mormon and prayer, and he said he is still committed to the baptism. We are meeting with him everyday this week to make sure he stays off alcohol, and continues to feel the spirit. Just keep him in your prayers please, he is so awesome, and the Lord has been preparing him to be baptized. We also taught Adam again, the one who is married to a less active, and is unsure about the church. But we really emphasized the Book of Mormon with him. He committed to read and pray every day this week. I have no doubt that if he is prepared, and reads with an open heart, he WILL find answers to all his questions, and the Lord will teach him the way he needs in order to accept the gospel. We're meeting with him again on Wednesday. I love teaching him, because its one of the only times I feel really confident that the spirit will just help me know what to say. Sister Hilbert has been telling me I need to just do what i do with him in every lesson. But for some reason, I lose confidence so quickly. Its what we're working on this week :) A few days ago, we met this really cool guy, younger college student who seemed super excited about the church. We felt really good about him, and he was going to meet us at the church one night, we talked to him minutes before the lesson, and he never came. Now he doesn't answer calls and has never been home when we stop by. I started to think maybe it was a figment of my imagination that we never even met him before because he literally dropped of the face of the earth. We pray we will come in contact with him again, because he seemed really awesome.
Well, there you go for updates on the people we're teaching! It was my first zone conference this week, and it was totally awesome. I learned a lot. One thing was that I have the best district ever! I'm not just saying that either, its sad how quickly this transfer is going because our district is so awesome. I can't wait to tell you stories about our district meetings. But I don't have time now, sorry! Basically I love you all and miss you so much! Thank you for all you're support! Things are great here in (colored strings :) ) Colorado Springs, Pueblo, Mesa ward mission! (keep praying for my visa though...even though I do love it...I'm anxious to be in Brazil) LOVE YOU! Sister Pratt

Hey Family and Friends!

Hello everyone! I appreciate all the letters and e-mails, I love hearing about how things are going at home. This week was filled with some of the greatest joy and greatest disappointment I've ever felt. Welcome to being a missionary, right? So first of all we have an investigator with a baptismal date! The Elders felt good about tracting a street, that was out of their area, they just didn't realize it. But its this little old man, Frank, they taught him twice before they realized he was in our ward. So they passed him on to us. He is an interesting guy! He is really excited about the church, and he even came to church on Sunday! Then we met another girl tracting, April, she is a single mom and we taught her the first lesson and she seemed pretty interested in the church and learning more. We were really excited about her...and then Saturday Sister Hilbert called her to see if she was coming to church and basically...the phone call didn't go well. This is when sister Hilbert and I decided Satan is the WORST person in the world and we want him to go away forever!!! That was a really disappointing moment for me, luckily I have a great companion who can discern my emotions really well and always has helpful things to say. but the greatest most amazing miracle of the week was on Wednesday I answered the phone, a less active woman named Dawn called and told me her husband wanted to meet with the missionaries. I talked to her a little and set up an appointment for Friday, while Sister Hilbert was doing something else. Afterwards I said, "so this lady, named Dawn called and wants us to meet with her husband, who isn't a member I guess and so I set up an appointment for Friday." Sister Hilbert started freaking out! And made me repeat the conversation word for word. Apparently they tracted into this woman there first day here, like a year ago, and found this less active woman. She was a convert, then married in the temple, but her husband turned out to be a crazy abusive guy, very sad. So she left him and married a non-member who doesn't want anything to do with the church. She hasn't come to church in 11 years. He met with elders once, but it didn't go well. now, because of their son asking questions about God, he has sparked an interest in the church. His name is Adam, and we prayed all day the lesson would go well, and we'd know what to say. Turns out his 2 major issues is the trinity (that whole 3 seperate beings thing he isn't a fan of) and he doesn't believe in eternal families. A problem I didn't think I'd run into but, still, the gospel solves everythin. This was the first time I actually really taught a lesson. We flowed well together, I was listening to the spirit, it was totally amazing! Then I said the first vision, and just knew that he knew it was true. But I didn't know what to do with that knowledge. Luckily Sister Hilbert said to him, "Will you kneel down right now and pray and ask if Joseph Smith was a Prophet? If you do, I promise you will get an answer right now." Wow, man. I prayed so hard this would all work out..and guess what?!? It did! He got up and said, yes, its true. Joseph Smith was a Prophet. Ah! It was so cool you guys! He siad he still needs time before he decides to be baptized. Then of course, the most depressing thing was that they didn't come to church, like they promised they would, but the Lord is in all things. We know it will work out. Those are the most exciting updates from this week. I hope you're all doing well! I love you lots and lots! Have a great week!
Love Sister Pratt