I had a great week, it flew by. SO. FAST.  This whole week only felt like a day.  I can't believe it's P day again today already.  It's kind of scary how fast time is flying by.  I hope it doesn't go by too fast....I don't want to miss a thing!  I want to make each second count. 

This week was just another great week.  Working, studying, planning, and sharing the gospel!  We had a great experience with one of our investigators, Aileen.  We have been teaching Aileen (14), and her sister Novi (13) for a while now.  They are interested, and they have a baptismal date set, but they struggle with coming to church and setting time aside for us to teach them.  They are very busy!  But, we were able to teach Aileen this week.  We decided to show her the Restoration video.  We taught her about Joseph Smith the lesson before, but we wanted her to understand and feel the truthfulness of the message more.  As we were watching, I felt the Spirit so strong.  Watching the Restoration in Tagalog makes me pay attention more, because I have to focus a little harder to understand what they are saying.  That extra focus made me feel the Spirit and the truthfulness of the message that much more.  I couldn't help it; I just started tearing up.  When I looked over at Aileen, she was crying too!  After the video was over, Sister Teabwabwa and I each shared our testimonies.  We said we knew that Jospeh Smith's experience was true.  Aileen smiled and looked at me straight in the eye, and said, "I do too. I know that it's true."  (In Tagalog though, of course.)  I have watched that movie a million times, and I've heard the story of Joseph Smith about ten million times.  But seeing Aileen, who has heard the story of Joseph Smith maybe two times, testify with asurity that it is true, touched my heart.  That's how powerful our message is!  It doesn't take long for the truth to touch someone to the very center.  It was a very wonderful experience.  

There is also one beautiful scripture that I want to share.  I randomly was flipping through my Book of Mormon, and just opened it and started reading in Alma 26:15.  It says:  "Yea, they were encircled about with everlasting darkness and destruction; but behold, he has brought them into his everlasting light, yea, into everlasting salvation; and they are encircled about with the matchless bounty of his love; yea, and we have been instruments in his hands of doing this great and marvelous work."

That's us!  We are the hands in this marvelous work.  How lucky we are to be encircled about with so much light and love.  I love being those hands in this work.  You can all be those hands too.  It's the small and simple things that show people the most love.  After all, "by small and simple things are great things brought to pass."

xo Sister Anna Ray Allen