Dearest Family and Friends,
How are ya'll?! I am doing great! I got Grandma's family Christmas Card yesterday and it made my day! I just keep looking at it and thinking how did I get so lucky?! Hermana Pierce will be very happy to see that she made it into the family because she already told Lyndell she was his cousin in the MTC.
Good news! I feel like I'm starting to get a hang of this missionary thing. I think I was overthinking everything and being a little bit too hard on myself but I have started to just ride the wave and give it my best shot and things have been a lot better! I have been under weather and not able to exercise this week which has been really frustrating mostly because we are being really well fed. :) It's not a bad problem to have and I don't feel like I have gained any weight! Maybe just the muscle I worked hard on in the MTC. I'm finally feeling a little bit better though so I'm hoping this week we can hit it hard! My companion and I are working super hard and are having some success. I wanted to share a couple of neat experiences with you really quickly.
There is a less-active older couple in our ward who haven't been coming to church for over 20 years. He was an elder's quorem president when they were active. He is a perfectionist and so the responsibility overwhelmed him and I think eventually he just decided to give up. They are awesome people though. The Walsers have been visiting them for some time now but we went and met them for the first time last week. They are so sweet and we really enjoyed visiting them. She still has a testimony and wants to go to church but he is the hold up. We invited them to church last week but they didn't come. We decided to stop by on Saturday to invite them again and let them know that we noticed they hadn't come the previous week. While we were there I was struck by what a good man Hermano Castillo is. I got the impression once again that he is a man of great integrity. So as we were getting ready to leave and were inviting them to come to church again I said "Hermano, yo pienso que usted es un hombre de su palabra (I think you are a man of your word)" and I stuck out my hand and smiled at him and said "Hasta manana?" He smiled back and shook my hand and said "Hasta Manana."
Sunday morning we were walking to Relief Society and there was Hermana Castillo coming out of Gospel Doctrine. She looked so happy to be there. She then said to me "Thank you for what you said to my husband. That is why we are here." I knew the spirit had helped me know what he needed to hear. It was something so simple but it got him to church!
We have had a really neat opportunity since I've been here to teach a lot of teenagers. This has been a really neat experience for me because I spent the last two summers working EFY throughout the country. I have seen how that experience prepared me for this experience. I was able to see how the gospel blesses the youth of the church. We have been using For The Strength of Youth to teach the commandments and the youth here are responding really well to it. Two of them, Ale and Gabby, came to church yesterday! We are hoping to put them on date this week. Their mom is a recent convert but is not active. They are really good girls though and they want to make good decisions. It has been an honor for me to be able to teach them.
Sunday morning we were walking to Relief Society and there was Hermana Castillo coming out of Gospel Doctrine. She looked so happy to be there. She then said to me "Thank you for what you said to my husband. That is why we are here." I knew the spirit had helped me know what he needed to hear. It was something so simple but it got him to church!
We have had a really neat opportunity since I've been here to teach a lot of teenagers. This has been a really neat experience for me because I spent the last two summers working EFY throughout the country. I have seen how that experience prepared me for this experience. I was able to see how the gospel blesses the youth of the church. We have been using For The Strength of Youth to teach the commandments and the youth here are responding really well to it. Two of them, Ale and Gabby, came to church yesterday! We are hoping to put them on date this week. Their mom is a recent convert but is not active. They are really good girls though and they want to make good decisions. It has been an honor for me to be able to teach them.
We have decided that now that the holidays are over we want to try really hard to get to know the members of our branch. We have been able to get to know them in our dinners but we wanted them to know what our message is and to have trust in our ability has missionaries. As a quick side note: We had our branch president and his wife come teach a lesson with us on Saturday that went great and I think it built his trust in our teaching and work ethic. But we scheduled a lesson with a member family last night who has a son on a mission right now but who are struggling financially right now. They only joined the church three years ago but they are awesome. I met their son in the MTC so it was really neat when I got here and was able to tell the mom that her son is a really good missionary. We were sharing a lesson on the Doctrine of Christ (2 Nephi 31) and as we talked I was reminded of a scripture that I read in the MTC. D&C 118:3 talks about how the Lord takes care of families which missionaries are serving. In the MTC I had read this and it gave me a lot of comfort but when I thought about it last night I thought about how it related to their situation. At the end it says something about the Lord opening a way for them. I told the mom that the message we had shared with them was the same message her son is sharing with the people of his mission and that I know how important it is. I also said that I know how hard it is for families to send a part of them on a mission but I told her that I know that the Lord appreciates that sacrifice. I invited her to read the scripture in D&C and as she read the last part she got really choked up. It was really neat to see how the spirit can call scriptures to our rememberance if we study them.
In my personal study yesterday I read an article in this month's ensign (which is full of good stuff) that contained a quote by Elder Neal A. Maxwell that said: "The same God that placed that stay over Bethlehem in celebration of the birth of the Babe has given at least equal attention to the placement of each of us in precise human orbits so that we may, if we will, illuminate the landscape of our individual lives, so that our light may not only lead others but warm them as well." I have seen already how there are people here whose lives I am supposed to bless and who in turn are supposed to bless my life. I'm grateful for these interactions with the wonderful people here. I am grateful that Heavenly Father saw fit to put me in this wonderful family! I feel so blessed every single day here. I am also grateful for the other people that God has allowed my path to cross. I'm so grateful for the way the light of my family and friends has warmed me, especially here on my mission. I'm am so grateful for every card, letter, package and prayed that have been sent my way.
In my personal study yesterday I read an article in this month's ensign (which is full of good stuff) that contained a quote by Elder Neal A. Maxwell that said: "The same God that placed that stay over Bethlehem in celebration of the birth of the Babe has given at least equal attention to the placement of each of us in precise human orbits so that we may, if we will, illuminate the landscape of our individual lives, so that our light may not only lead others but warm them as well." I have seen already how there are people here whose lives I am supposed to bless and who in turn are supposed to bless my life. I'm grateful for these interactions with the wonderful people here. I am grateful that Heavenly Father saw fit to put me in this wonderful family! I feel so blessed every single day here. I am also grateful for the other people that God has allowed my path to cross. I'm so grateful for the way the light of my family and friends has warmed me, especially here on my mission. I'm am so grateful for every card, letter, package and prayed that have been sent my way.
So far on my mission I have learned the how importance this message is and the hope that it can bring into people's lives. I have seen how it brings a light to people who have pretty miserable lives but who with the gospel can see what they are capable of becoming. It is a beautiful experience and one that I am already so thankful for.
I love you all!
I love you all!
-Hermana Jones
PICTURES (Mama I used my companion's camera so hopefully you can open these):
1. My first attempt at tortilla making: FAIL. BUT Gabby (who is in the picture with me) said that we'll keep practicing.
2. We celebrated an interesting tradition last night with the members we taught. They eat this bread this and look for a little tiny baby Jesus inside. It was quite entertaining!
No comments:
Post a Comment