Go Catholic Bro

Dear Family,

We got a phone call last night about transfers this week. I almost didn't believe it. I'm once again staying in the same area. This will be 8 transfers and a full 11 months. Good thing I love it here :) I was ready for a change in scenery but that'll have to wait another 6 weeks. My greenie companion and I are stoked to make some miracles happen.
Speaking of miracles, last Sunday after General Conference and toward the end of a zone missionary fast, we met a guy outside his house named Alvaro. Upon meeting him he asked where our church was and said, "I'll go next Sunday." People always say that, so I wasn't quite convinced. But he let us come by and teach him twice this week and sure enough he came to church! During our first visit he asked, "So how long does it take to get baptized?" He's so humble and wants to make changes in his life. He's also really smart, and answers questions so well. On our second visit (which ended up being in the laundromat across the street) we asked him if he had read 1 Nephi chapter 1 and what stood out from his reading. He said he had and then made a connection between Nephi killing Laban and David killing Goliath...that's not in chapter 1 :) This guy is good. For one, I know that fasting can bring us blessings from heaven. I know that the Lord hears our prayers. I know that He is preparing individuals and families for His prepared servants. When we met Alvaro, he said that he had seen me before, months earlier, one night when we had walked up and talked to his friends. When teaching another investigator, her husband said that he also saw me a few months ago and remembers it perfectly. It's neat to see some of the fruits from the seeds planted throughout my time here.
We got 6 new investigators in total this week. Each one is a miracle. One of the better stories is from a lady that we approached outside her house one night last week and she asked us to come by this past Wednesday. It was a really spiritual lesson. She doesn't know much about the Gospel or God's plan, but she feels and understands that God loves her. She has a lot of faith in Jesus Christ. She shared a story with us that helped teach her those things. It was great to then share with her a way to strengthen her relationship with the Lord. Toward the end of the lesson I realized that we had run out of copies of the Book of Mormon and didn't have any to give her. So I went out on a limb and let her borrow my personal copy until we could come back the next day with a copy of her own. Thursday when we returned, she told us that she had read the night before, Thursday morning, and then again before we came over. What?!? She loved it! She is a great lady, so humble. The Gospel will bless her life tremendously.
One afternoon this week we were locking up our bikes before going into a lesson and a car drove by with a guy who yelled out, "You should go Catholic bro, Catholic!!" So classic! It was hilarious, what he said and the way he said it. So now we're considering the idea :)
Thank you, Mom, for sharing that insight with me. I think you're right. And there must be so many more symbols in the scriptures than we realize. One of the saddest things to me is when people don't see us as representatives of Jesus Christ. We tell people every day that we share a message of Him and they say that they are already members of a church. They don't recognize the truth we share. I want others to hear the Savior's voice through me and help them draw closer to Him. I love you all and pray that you are well. Have a great week!

Love,
Elder Joshua Gathro