This week was extremely FULL. It was really
fun, really busy, really spiritual, and at times really difficult. But I
wouldn't have it any other way! One of the things that's been a huge
blessing is to know that each day as a missionary is full of the things
that matter most. At times it can be easy to forget that and focus on
details that don't really matter, but this week was a good reminder of
why all of this is happening--for the progression and salvation of God's
children!
Last night there was a baptism in the ward for an
investigator the elders were teaching and a little 8-year-old from a
part-member family that Hna Osborn and I teach every week. Both stories
are very touching. After the baptism, the convert shared about how the
elders had knocked on her door at just the right moment in her life,
and how their invitations for her to pray to her Heavenly Father changed
everything. She thanked them for searching for the right words to say
to her to help her accept the gospel. It's always humbling to hear
someone express their feelings about how the gospel has changed their
lives. The dad who baptized his little girl also shared his testimony.
A year ago he was addicted to alcohol and receiving multiple DUIs. He
had fallen away from the church for over 20 years, and just recently
came back and received the Melchizedek priesthood. He bore the most
humble testimony of the Atonement I've ever heard as he talked about how
blessed he felt to be worthy again to perform his daughter's baptism.
I had to get up and lead the closing hymn at the end of the meeting and
couldn't help but cry as we sang "Senor, Te necesito" ("I Need Thee
Every Hour") and I thought about the power of repentance, both in this
brother's life and in the life of the sister who was taught by the
elders. It was kind of embarrassing to cry in front of a congregation,
but the Spirit was stronger than I was. :)
We've been extremely blessed this week with our
investigators. We're teaching a woman named Nancy that just amazes me
with how readily she accepts the gospel and how prepared she is. She
accepted a baptismal date right away, was already living the word of
wisdom before she even knew about it, and came to her own conclusion
that working on the Sabbath is not right. We left her a chapter in the
Book of Mormon as a reading assignment and when I asked her what her
experience was like, she told me she'd read it 4 times just to make sure
she understood! In the first prayer we ever heard her say, she thanked
Heavenly Father for helping her to find the right religion. Amazing!
She also came to sacrament meeting this week and loved it. She's truly
amazing and understands the gospel so quickly and readily. It's a
reminder to me that as we teach people about the gospel, we're really
just reminding them of things that they already learned in the
pre-mortal life. Her only barrier right now is church attendance
because she works on Sundays, but she's already working on changing it.
We're excited to see her continue to progress!
I also had an amazing experience with one of our
investigators, Leslie. We were teaching her about obedience and the
Atonement. She opened up and told us about some mistakes she'd made in
her past and talked about her desire to repent. Instantly my love for
her grew dramatically. It's so hard to watch people struggle with a lot
of the pain that's entered into their lives because of their mistakes
and the mistakes of others in their lives, but it's so wonderful to see
them realize that there is hope through the Atonement and Gospel of
Jesus Christ. President Holland once spoke about how we need to go with
people into the "highways and byways" of their lives to understand
them, and then take them to the Sacred Grove and Gethsemane to help them
see how the gospel can help them. I feel like this experience was one
of those in which that happened, and it strengthened my testimony of the
Savior's power of deliverance.
On a more lighthearted note, this weekend we had a
giant Latino cultural festival in the ward. The sisters from all
different countries shared dances and food from their countries. It was
so great and I realized how attached I've become to the Hispanic
culture, even though I'm still in the U.S. :) It was sad when after the
"party" they turned on the dance music and started the REAL Hispanic
party and we had to leave. Haha. :D I'm hoping that their rhythm will
rub off on me and I'll be a better dancer when I finish the mission and
am allowed to dance again.
Anyway, I hope you all had a good week and that this
week will be even better. Stay tuned for more adventures from the
Chinese program and the Tagalog program in next week's letter! I love
you all!
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