Dear Family ( August 8),

Sounds like you've had a great summer so far! My summer days are filled with the stench of the lake and the city of Clearlake. It's been pretty hot up here, in the upper 90s. It hit 100 a few times and it just got miserable. I hate walking around and tracting in that kind of heat. But that's the work, right?

I'm excited for football season to start even though I can't watch. I'm pretty bummed I have to miss it...but you guys will keep me in touch with everything I'm sure.

So, we have a recent convert that got baptized a week before I got here. In her house she has her mom, who is 58, and I love her to death. We call her Grandma, and she has her son (8) and 2 nieces (11 and 15). Grandma has changed a TON since I've been here and she's changed even more since Elder Gardner has been here. When I got here, she would sit in on our lessons with the kids and she would have input, but she always said that she is NEVER going to be baptized. She grew up in Missouri and used to be a sunday school teacher in a baptist church. She even says "warsh" and it cracks me up. Mom would feel at home. She is a very strong and stubborn woman. She's been abused by men all her life so she's really independent and is quite opinionated - don't let that be your view of her though. She is one of the most loving people I've met and I love going to see her. Anyways, she has some medical issues that prevent her from doing what she loves, especially fishing. So Elder Gardner and I went over one day and we talked to her. She was severely depressed and on the verge of suicide. She talked with us and with a counselor and got her out of that thinking. We left that day helping her feel better. We really wanted to give her a blessing but we really had to go to another appointment -- so we went back the next day and gave her a blessing. That blessing was one of the most spiritual moments of my life. I annointed and Elder Gardner sealed the annointing and gave the blessing. The Spirit was SO  strong. Before we gave the blessing Grandma kept saying, "I'm not a Mormon! I don't believe in this!" We just told her that it wouldn't hurt and she agreed to have the blessing. Afterwards, the look on her face was one of awe and amazement. She said that she has NEVER had an experience like that in her life. At the time of the blessing she had a massive headache and pain in her shoulders and back. After the blessing she said that it was gone. She also said that she felt this great warmth flow over her from her head down to her shoulders and to her feet. Since that day she has been listenin intently. She has even changed herself, which is a huge thing for her. She has so much hate in her heart for some people, one of those people were at her house the other day (he is the Dad of her daughter's sone and they have been divorced for a long time) and she apologized for hating him. Everyone was in amazement. Now the best part of all...she said that it's time for her to give her life over to God and she told us that she wants to be baptized. She is going to get baptized on August 28th.

This is what the work is all about. If this isn't a miracle than I don't know what is. It truely is amazing. we went over yesterday and she said that earlier in the day a Jehovah's Witness knocked on her door and Grandma answered and told them that she was a Mormon. Can you see the change?! These words can't even describe how happy and how blessed I feel.

I hope this brightens up your day and lets you know that I am working out here in the vineyard. I am enveloped in the work. As for online work, it's kinda distracting, and I'm doing okay with it. I'm still in the process of finding people to teach. I've taught 1 person online so far and they weren't too solid.

Love, Elder Edwards