Developing Talents

Fahhh, I don´t have a ton of time left, because I´ve been trying to email a bajillion people. Mostly Presidente haha, but oh well! This week really has been kind of insane, stressful, just SO FULL OF MIRACLES.

 

I can´t really go into too many details about all our miracles, but let me just tell ya one: VIVIANA. And her gorgeous family! She has been SEARCHING. Praying. Waiting. I made her wait an extra two weeks, unfortuantely. ): SO...About 2-3 weeks back, I told Hermana Cox that I REALLY wanted to go knock doors along this one road. Esquiú. She gave me a funny look, because she knows I legitamately hate knocking doors haha. But I had a specific area in mind. The weeks passed, and other things got in the way. Well we finally had a little time, and we were wicked  close, and so away we went!!...We got to walking along one side, and dang. I was so determined to find that person along Esquiú...I don´t just knock every door, that´s a huge waste of time. INSPIRED door knocking, we call it. (; Haha. And wow, was it inspired...The first house  that catches my attention, and I knock it. This woman comes out, Viviana. "Hooola chicas, ¿cómo andan?" We get to talking, and WHAT?! This woman is so prepared haha. She talked about how she had met a couple elders like 10 years back who said they´d stop by and give her a book that she´d ask for...They never passed by. She told us she always sees us, and she always sees something different in us Mormons haha. And then she got to talking about this book. She remembered having had one when she was little, and she was always so mesmerized with a few photos inside it. I chuckle inside, and I pull out the Book of Mormon that I´ve got in my bag, and her eyes get all big. "Yes! That book!" And then, knowing exactly which photo she was talking about, I turn to the photo of Joseph Smith near the front of the Book of Mormon. She gets this intense, yet quiet excitement all around her, and she reaches for the book. "Yessss. Smith, right? Ah, I had always loved his story..." FAH. She asked us to come by on SAturday. So we had our first lesson with her and her beautiful family, and she told us that she knows the book is true! Haha. And then we invited her  to church, and she tells us, "Oh yeah! I saw the schedule you had written on this pamphlet, and we were gonna go. I just don´t know who all of my kids wants to go with me." WHAT?! Flip haha. So we stop by the next morning, and Viviana with her two girls come out in DRESSES. (The day previous, she had told us we´d never catch her in a skirt or anything haah). Her husband had to suddenly work, and her son went with, but they´re coming next week! :D FAH. They´re wicked great haha.

 

The baptism...Haha, okay, so that didn´t happen. Verónica really just needs some more time. Her daughters are SO ready adn willing, but they want to do it as a family. SO...We will continue to help prepare them. (:

 

Okay, now you´re all curious...What is this new talent I´ve developed? Haha, you´re all gonna bust up when I tell you...

 

HUGS.

 

Weird, right? I´ve never been a person to just hug everyone. I mean here it´s normal to kiss the cheek, of course, but hugs are something different. It´s kind of opposite of the US. Hugs are more intimate here, and they mean something more personal. Yes. I´ve come to hug people I don´t even know. For example, we went to contact a referral from a member. Her son had died a year ago. We sang her a song, and she was crying...I HUGGED HER. Then I keep hugging all these other hermanas that I hardly know. And investigadoras. And...WHAT?! Yeah. It´s weird. But I knew it before the mission, that I´d be going back from the mission, being a bit more open and willing to show my love for people. (: It´s a good thing, I think haha. Just not normal :P

 

One of my favorite quote this week, from the book, Jesus the Christ??

 

"But those who diligently labor, knowing that the Master will give to them whatever is right, and with thought for the work rather than the wage, shall find themselves more bountifully enriched." -Parable of the Laborers Matthew 20:1-16

"Why Do I Feel Like We´re Going to the Mission Home This Week??"

WHOA. This week has been NUTSSS. Where do I start?! Here´s my To-Do List for this update:

-Entrevistas

-Intercambios

-Familia Poblete

-Mendoza

-Trio---> We´re getting a child!

-Hermana Flores

-Milagro

Haha, sorry, it´s half in Castellano. But! Entrevistas! Interviews. (: Sooo the first time we had interviews, I went in with Presidente, sat down, and we got to talking about the area a little bit. I randomly broke down crying after an inspired question from Presidente Ávila haha. I was in there for a good 45+ minutes. THIS time?? I go in, sit down, and asks me how it´s going. He asks about the other hermanas, how I´m doing with the new hermana líder calling, and explains the intercambios papers that I need to fill out when we do exchanges...Walk out 15 minutes later. Listo! Haha. But it really was great. (: To give him reports about the other hermanas and how they´re doing and such. Such a wonderful Presidente!

Intercambios! Exchanges. I went to Pocito!!! And DANG, it is ALLLL fields and country. I kind of burned inside, because it reminded me so much of home haha. So nuts. But the people were so humble and kind. (: Got to go visit their investigators and help out in their area and get to know the other hermana better. And then I´m going again tomorrow to work with the other hermana! (: So fun. I love getting to know these gals. I´ve decided that if I have no other reason to be here on the mission, I am here to help the hermanas. Help these gals love their missions and love the Gospel!

Ahhh the Gospel. (: The Gospel plus the familia Poblete! We had their entrevistasss!! The gals, Ariana y Lourdes, walk out and are all like, "Alright! Elder Gomez says now we just gotta talk with you all to figure out what day we´re having the baptism!" **JAW DROPPED** I mean, I KNEW they were ready, but DANG. They´re on fire. I love them to death. (: We went back on Friday and started filling out paperwork with just the gals, and we got talking about after the mission. Their questions made me want to die, cry, and smile all at the same time.

You serve for 18 months...But do you have to leave after?

When you go back, how will we know?

How will we get in contact?

I´ve tried finding you on Facebook, but I couldn´t. Will you look for us when you get home?

NOOO. Dang I about started crying when I told them, "FAH. You better BELIEVE that I´m not losing contact with y´all! I´ll be there everyday you need, and I will be asking you every Sunday if you´ve gone to church!"

We all kinda busted up laughing. (: These girls. They kill me. They´re STOKED for their baptism THIS SATURDAY! Booooom. 8 months into the mission, First baptism haha. That´s fine, I´m down. I know I´m a seed-planter, but dang I am so excited to be right by these girls this Saturday. (:

Oddly, a lot of last week, Hermana Cox and I kept feeling like we were headed to Mendoza. Buuut nope. I didn´t have Consejo, and we didn´t have to do tramites...Sooo we were confused. UNTIL...We got a call Tuesday morning from the zone leaders.

"HERMANAS...Special transfers. You have to go to Mendoza on Thursday."

FLIP. What?? My stomach dropped. I was so sure I was out of here. BUT...Lo and behold, NOPE! Rather, we were going to Mendoza to bring back a child! :D Well...An hermana straight from the MTC. (: She´s from El Salvador, and SUCH A CAPA! So rad, I love her. The training is going well, but dang trios are hard haha. They requier lots of planning. But it has been good! True end of transfers are in a couple weeks, so we´ll see! Haha. So nuts.

Milagro of the week! Miracle. So I already wrote this to Presidente in an email, so I´m just gonna copy and paste. Sorry it´s in rough-ish Spanish. I´m working on the grammar and subjunctive junk still haha. Don´t judge. Don´t have a ton of time, so have fun translating! :D 

Fuimos a contactar una referencia de un miembro, y les encontramos! Pero...Bueno, la esposa (Mercedes) contestó la puerta. Hablamos un poco, pero no quería que pasáramos. Y también dijo que después que su hijo falleció (hace 1 año), su esposo (Washington) decidió que no creía en nada. Estaba enojado con Dios. Mercedes nos dijo que él nunca va a permitirnos en su casa si pasamos en algún otro momento...Le cantamos un himno. Soy un hijo de Dios. Ella se puso llorar, y yo vi al fondo de su casa el esposo, Washington. Él nos escuchó. Lo vi, y él vino a la puerta. Puso su mano sobre el hombro de Mercedes, y abrió la puerta para que pasáramos...Entramos y tuvimos una hermosa lección. (: Son buenos y están sufriendo todavía, pero nos dijeron que podemos pasar. (:

That´s all for now!! Enjoy the fotos!!

How Great Shall Be Their Joy

Sooo there were a bajillion things I wanted to write about this week, but (of course) I happened to forget my life on my desk in the pensión. Aka, my planner. SOOO I´ll do the best I can haha. Therefore, let us start with the pictures. (:

-Las cucarachas!! Whoots! We found 3 more after that. And let me tell you, I was 95% positive that my companion was hyperventilating and dying when I heard her start screaming haha.

-Last P-Day! We went to Zhonda and had an asado with the zone on the riverbank. WHOA. It was delicious and gorgeous and hilariously fun! Why??

-Because we got to go tree climbing! Dang, it made me miss cliff jumping, because both Elder Johnson and I joked about just jumping off into the river...No worries. We didn´t haha.

-My comp enjoys taking pictures such as these haha.

-GORGEOUS, no??

-Cheeese

-Uhh yes. The zone leaders, Elder Steeves (left) and Elder Johnson (right). It was the birthday of E´ Steeves haha.

-All of us! Well...The majority. (:

Okay! Sooo I just wanted to mention something that my comp and I have been talking about a lot lately. Having to do with Faith, Miracles, and the Lord´s Timing...Let me start it out with a quote:

"Sometimes the Lord waits until after the death of Lazarus to perform the miracle."

The Lord, at times, legitimately waits until all hope is gone. When we think that there is nothing left we can do. We often are at "the end of our rope", and He still waits just a little longer. Sometimes, He lets us slip. BUT...That´s where the miracles and the faith comes in. Christ was a worker of miracles, miracles without end or number. Christ IS a worker of miracles, but His miracles aren´t just a free cupcake. There´s another ingredient added: Faith. Ether 12:12. The Lord can do no miracle until AFTER we have faith.

Sometimes we struggle. But I know that if we have NOTHING else, except a grain of faith? Then all is well. Walk with "the eye of faith"; expect miracles to happen; believe they will happen. And acknowledge where they come from.

All sorts of changes to the mission have been made, and not gonna lie...It´s been WAY harder for the work, but we are seeing MIRACLES. We are finding those who are truly ready to hear the Gospel. (: And ALL of us are a part of it. Catch the wave! Do missionary work! Go out with the missionaries! Pray for those missionary opportunities and then UTILIZE them. Give referrals to the missionaries. Take the promise of the apostles and help ONE person find the gospel before Christmas.

"How great shall be their joy."

-Hermana Lybbert

Not Much Time!

Whoops! Sorry. I got caught up emailing all sorts of people that I really don´t have a ton of time left. ): BUT...Here´s a couple pictures for you all! :D

-Went to my first Consejo as a Sister Training Leader (Hermana Líder de Entrenamiento), and it was GREAT. Went with the zone leaders, and wow. It is incredible to be on councils and throw ideas in and try to figure out what we can do better and...WHEW. Exhausting 5 hour meeting, but SO great! And yes, we celebrated a birthday haha.

-My comp has crazy thick hair haha. LION.

-Birthday cakeee! Happy Birthday to one of our zone leaders, Elder Steeves.

-Mmmm. (: