Michael Francis Mission: Miracles happen every once in a while

Hey everyone! This has been an incredible week. One of the most successful weeks of my mission probably! We had several amazing miracles last week, and the greatest of which happened at the beginning of the week. Late Tuesday night we were visiting some people in an apartment complex, but nobody was home. Even the neighbors of the people we tried to see didn't open up. We hadn't had any success at all in that complex, so we decided to leave and go somewhere else. On our way back to the car, Elder Sirrine and I passed a door with a homemade paper craft on it, obviously made by a child. We passed the window and saw a big playhouse and a woman sitting at a table. Immediately the spirit prompted me to knock on their door, so I stopped. Elder Sirrine also stopped simultaneously, undoubtedly by a similar prompting. Without a word, we went and knocked on the door, and after waiting for ages, the woman opened up. "Oh! Elders come in come in! It's so great to see you! We weren't
expecting you this late." Confused and a little stunned, we entered the apartment and this woman proceeded to introduce us to her husband and two children. She sat us down on her couch and said, "Well I take it my sister sent you over here." We had no idea who her sister was and we told that we were just walking through the complex and felt prompted to try her door. She was a bit surprised, her name is Marlin, but she was happy to see us nonetheless. She explained that she has been inactive in the church for nearly 15 years, since she got
married, and has been wanting to come back. Her family just moved into that apartment, and she finally felt like she could start going again. She had even downloaded the app and tried to find out which ward she
belonged in. We were speechless Her husband and her daughters, Samantha (age 12) and Sophia (age 5),
were baptized Catholic, but she told us that Samantha has been asking her a ton of questions lately about the church, and that is what has sparked her interest in coming back. They took a tour of the Newport Beach Temple and Samantha fell in love with the idea of it. We asked if we could teach the first lesson to their family, and they readily accepted. The husband left the room for work and never came back in after that point. We taught them the Restoration and invited Samantha to be baptized. She quickly accepted! We continued, "We will be
holding a baptismal service on July 31, would you be willing to work towards that date for your baptism?" She smiled and said, "I would be happy to." There was such a special and sacred spirit in that living room. I know
that the Lord has been preparing that family for years, and their time has finally come for them to accept fully the gospel of Jesus Christ! We got back to the car and I just sat in wonder at the amazement of it all. What an incredible experience, one of eternal import, and surely one that I will never forget! Marlin, Samantha, and Sophia came to church yesterday and they absolutely loved it. We implemented the covenant path and started involving ward members immediately and that will be crucial as we continue working with them, especially for the husband. Once he meets more of the members and gets more involved in the ward, I think he
will soften up to the church.

The rest of the week was great! We met and taught another mother and her two daughters too! We invited them to be baptized and they all accepted! Alondra and her two daughters, Valerie and Ariana, are on
date for August 7. So we put 4 people on date for baptism this week! My mind is still blown! The Lord blessed us in abundance this week, and I'm so grateful for it. Have a great week everyone and happy Fourth of July!
-Elder Francis
1) some cool apartments in Koreatown