Well, as we all know, the mission is long, and just when we are so tired that we don´t think we could possibly go a single day longer....it´s transfers, and we have to stay up until 1 in the morning packing to be in the offices early in the morning, to not have a chance to take a nap on your p-day. It´s a good thing God loves us missionaries or we would drop dead from exhaustion.
Anyways.....Transfers!! Hurray! I am currently with my new companion, Hermana Lobos, she is from Santiago, Chile, has been in the mission for about a year, and was once companions with Hermana Whitehead. Hermana Alvarado went to El Taler, taking the spot of Hermana Cariola who went home this transfer with Hermana Gonzalez. <--That was a mission quiz. Anyone who can tell me how all those people are related to me and my mission wins a free prayer! And if you remind me, I´ll bring you back something from Argentina. Lets see if you actually pay attention when I write my e-mails. Muahaha, sorry I´m evil. I get a kick out of it. But yeah, so we got to get up early today to head out to the offices. Which is always fun, you get to see the Elders and Hermanas that you haven´t seen in at least 6 weeks, gossip about your old areas and companions, and just kind of wait around as your new companion flys up from the South. There were a lot of changes in our zone this transfer, I think at least 1 companion from every companionship left. 2 went home, and the rest went to other areas. They even closed an area here. The thing is, 12 missionaries left this transfer, and only 2 Latino Elders came in. The other 48 missionaries from the states are waiting for their visas. Which means, there is going to be a flood of missionaries some day. I personally believe it will be in about 3 weeks, giving all the new people time to learn the area and then the older more experienced companions will be called to train and open all the areas that they just recently closed. We´ll see what happens. That may or may not be revelation.
Lets see, what did happen this week? Oh, uh...hold on. I have to check my agenda. Oh, so we walked a lot this week. And we did some good old fashion missionary work, that made me feel good. Sometimes we just get into a routine, and something President Gulbrandsen has been saying is that if we want to see results that we´ve never had before, we have to do things that we´ve never done before. So to kick us out of our normal routine - visiting the same families, the same members, using the same members to accompany us. Just to branch out a bit. And I will admit that we had gotten into a routine, and we were always doing the work, even doing the work that President Gulbrandsen wants us to do (working with recent converts, references, etc.) A couple of days this week we just went out and started contacting, we had a guide. Our Bishop gave us a list of people over the age of 65 (something like that) and asked us to visit them to see if they have died or even live there anymore. To clean up the list. There´s an Hermana here that supposedly is 102. We´re going to see if she´s still breathing to brag about it. And it was fun to just do a little bit of grunt work. There´s a lot more politics to missionary work then I thought there would be, o sea, there´s a lot more analyzing and searching for the truth then I thought there would be (pre-mission thoughts....I didn´t know anything). And then getting a good relationship with the ward, helping the ward befriend the new members, getting everyone to work together. It´s a lot of mental work and planning. So it was nice to just get out and talk to people for a bit. Even if they pretty much all said no. I was still inviting people to hear, and was able to share my testimony of the Gospel.
And then, I was talking to E. Christensen (my old zone leader, he went home..today) on our convey ride to San Fernando and he was telling me that at the despedida yesterday (big "party"/spiritual program where we say good bye to the missionaries) he realized that he was "dying" as a missionary, and that he would never be able to teach or testify of Christ in the same manner. And it pained him to realize that sharing his testimony was going to be different. He encouraged me to enjoy these last two transfers being able to testify of Christ, and to do it with the power and authority that comes from our calling. It was rather insightful, and I love being a part of these moments. The ah-hah! moments where we can see that these little boys have truly become men. He was a good zone leader. I´ve met a lot of good Elders.
And, by a miracle, we were able to go to the Despedida. In case you haven´t google-mapped where I am in relation to the mission offices (I know, you are all really bored, and I am the priority of your lives, so you have all google-mapped argentina. It´s probably a daily occurrence, but for those that haven´t...) it´s about 1.5 hours in car from the church in Zarate to the church in San Fernando, about 3 hours by bus/train. Aka. No way on earth that we could make it to the despedida and get back on time - being obedient to our 9 p.m. curfew - unless we had a car. Well, one of our investigators (Leonardo) is a remis driver (think taxi-esque) and our recent convert Noemí lives in the same house. And they love us. So we asked them if they wanted to go, and so we did. And it was great. All the missionaries were able to share their testimonies, and then President Gulbrandsen got up and spoke. And he spoke about how it doesn´t matter how other people have treated us in our lives (or our missions) what matters is how we treat each other. And there´s a verse in the Book of Mormon (it´s said by Alma, I think the Older, in Mosiah, but I can´t find it right now) that talks about how we are accountable for our actions. And how when we stand in front of God to be judged (and the judgement day WILL come) God is not going to ask us: And how did your brother treat you? No, He´s going to ask: And how did you treat your brother? It doesn´t matter who did what, or when, or why. What matters to God is if you did your part. If you were humble enough to let it go, and move on with your life and what is more importnat - like the Gospel, and your eternal happiness en vez de temporary happiness. With the promise that if we do everything we can to be worthy of God´s love, blessings and guidence, we will be eternally blessed, even if life does suck for just a little bit - it will get better, as long as we keep doing what´s right.
Man, I´m such a talker. I´ll let you all head back to your normal lives now. But, I know the church is true. Keep praying for opportunities to share your testimony. Everyone needs the Gospel!
I love you.
Hermana Reed
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Monday, June 18, 2012
Happyness abounding!
Hello family!! So this letter is going to be quick because we´re playing in Baradero with the Elders and my companion has to write to her family as well. Sorry. But there are two great things that happened this week. And please don´t judge me as I tell you them. You´re going to think I´m crazy for my priorities. First:Noemí got baptized!!! It was a great service, members actually CAME to the service, that doesn´t happen very often. And then we ate pizza and cake afterwards. It was awesome and she was able to mingle with the ward a little bit. And it was just awesome to see so many people reaching out to her. I really do love this ward. So far Zarate has been my most successful area, in this regard. I feel like we have been working together with the ward to help our investigators, instead of the missionaries working with the investigators and pulling teeth from the members to get them to make new friends. (make new friends but keeeeeep theee old, one is silver and the other gold. That just popped into my mind. Don´t worry about it.) And bless her soul, Noemí came to church on Sunday and was super excited for her confirmation, she was a little sad because her fiancé chose not to come to church with her and this is a very important step in her life. But she is confident that he will see the changes and will take the steps to accept the gospel in his life as well. Then she did her first act as member of the church by accompanying us in a cita later that night! Whoohoo! She got to bear her testimony! Okay, it was with Yamila, who lives with her. But she still was able to bear her testimony and help strengthen Yamila´s. Called to Serve Him Heavenly King of Glory….. I love singing.
But the other fun part and short stories that I will share with you is that I did divisions with Hermana Whitehead this week! Do to some awesome inspiration on my part, I called the President (which in and of itself is a miracle, I hate calling the President) and asked permission to do divisions – with the excuse/reason that Hna Whitehead needed a little pick me up. Here are some of the fun things we did/said together:
1) We were in district meeting and Elder Cristiansen and Elder Leva (zone leaders) were fighting over who would win a fight, Jack Sparrow or a ninja, normal. But this is what I said. Elder Leva said that Jack sparrow couldn´t win because he´s always drunk. My response“Jack Sparrow can´t be drunk all the time, because sometimes the rums gone.”
2) Hna Whitehead and I went to go contact a menos active. Hna Whitehead “There´s an ant farm in front of this house.” Me “Well, there are some people who just can´t afford expensive pets…”
3) The hermana´s are in charge of cooking lunch after district meeting because the Elders have to wait an hour for their bus to pass by. They showed up an hour and half late so we were rushed eating lunch. Since the dessert (apple pie) was ready first, we convinced the whole district that everyone in the united states eats dessert first. They believed us for a bit and started debating between themselves about our eating habits. Don´t worry we explained to them that we don´t eat dessert first, we eat whatever is ready first. We don´t prioritize.
4) For a recent convert we made banana bread, and as we were searching for her house we were hoping that she wouldn´t be home so that we could eat it. I know this story isn´t really that awesome, but it was great because we were both hoping it….
5) I taught Hna Whitehead “cake in a cup” and one time we made it and it exploded all over the cup. We made a video of it. But this was our conversation afterwards. “It says on the recipe that it won´t spill over” H.W “Quick!! Get the camera.” Me “You know what! I forgot to put the vanilla in it!” H.W. “yeah Hermana….that´s probably why it exploded…you know what, maybe it did need the full egg (we had only put half an egg because a whole egg made it taste yolky.)” Me.
And that´s my life with Hermana Whitehead. She went home super happy, and we still laugh about it. Then we got back together Saturday for the Capilla Abierto and were laughing some more. It was successful. Okay, I have to go. Thanks for everything! I love you all, and I´ll talk more next week. Get excited, it´s transfers, once again.
Hermana Reed
But the other fun part and short stories that I will share with you is that I did divisions with Hermana Whitehead this week! Do to some awesome inspiration on my part, I called the President (which in and of itself is a miracle, I hate calling the President) and asked permission to do divisions – with the excuse/reason that Hna Whitehead needed a little pick me up. Here are some of the fun things we did/said together:
1) We were in district meeting and Elder Cristiansen and Elder Leva (zone leaders) were fighting over who would win a fight, Jack Sparrow or a ninja, normal. But this is what I said. Elder Leva said that Jack sparrow couldn´t win because he´s always drunk. My response“Jack Sparrow can´t be drunk all the time, because sometimes the rums gone.”
2) Hna Whitehead and I went to go contact a menos active. Hna Whitehead “There´s an ant farm in front of this house.” Me “Well, there are some people who just can´t afford expensive pets…”
3) The hermana´s are in charge of cooking lunch after district meeting because the Elders have to wait an hour for their bus to pass by. They showed up an hour and half late so we were rushed eating lunch. Since the dessert (apple pie) was ready first, we convinced the whole district that everyone in the united states eats dessert first. They believed us for a bit and started debating between themselves about our eating habits. Don´t worry we explained to them that we don´t eat dessert first, we eat whatever is ready first. We don´t prioritize.
4) For a recent convert we made banana bread, and as we were searching for her house we were hoping that she wouldn´t be home so that we could eat it. I know this story isn´t really that awesome, but it was great because we were both hoping it….
5) I taught Hna Whitehead “cake in a cup” and one time we made it and it exploded all over the cup. We made a video of it. But this was our conversation afterwards. “It says on the recipe that it won´t spill over” H.W “Quick!! Get the camera.” Me “You know what! I forgot to put the vanilla in it!” H.W. “yeah Hermana….that´s probably why it exploded…you know what, maybe it did need the full egg (we had only put half an egg because a whole egg made it taste yolky.)” Me.
And that´s my life with Hermana Whitehead. She went home super happy, and we still laugh about it. Then we got back together Saturday for the Capilla Abierto and were laughing some more. It was successful. Okay, I have to go. Thanks for everything! I love you all, and I´ll talk more next week. Get excited, it´s transfers, once again.
Hermana Reed
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Fotos de Hermana Reed
Alejandro's Baptism
The Frozen Chosen T-Shirt
Birthday Gift - Machu Picchu bag from Peru
Some of the Pi Day festivities
(a side note, for the mathematically inclined: our lovely missionary is teaching some false pi doctrine here. i guess it's not essential for eternal salvation, so we'll give her a break.)
I´m going to use “focus” because I don´t know how to spell “diligence”
I was trying to think of a movie quote but I just couldn´t quite pull one out. My mind is falting me. I must be from Argentina now. This week was awesome. But first, UNCLE CARL!! I put that in caps so that you pay attention. Did you ever teach a family Redondo? Specifically a Nilda Redondo? Because her daughter came up to me in church today and asked me if my dad served in Argentina, because about 22 ish years ago, a tall, gringo Elder Reed baptized her mom and some of her sisters. Her mom has the picture, so she´s going to try to bring it to church. It´s in the Zarate area. Super campo, I think it was a branch at this time…. I´ve always had a secret dream to meet someone who knew you. Check! I love life.
Anyways, so I´ve gotten to the point where I don´t remember what I have told you and what I haven´t told you, so if I repreat myself. (that´s like a mixture of repeat and repitir, aka can´t spell) my bad. I was trying to think of fun/funny stories to tell, but I couldn´t really think of any. Nothing incredibly ridiculous happened this week. Which, now that I´m thinking about it is kind of lame. But we did have a lot of success this week. We´ve found quite a few people who are super interested in listening to us, and we had at a máximum 6 baptismal dates. But then some of them didn´t come to church, and one of them we learned she needs to get divorced so she can get married so she can get baptized. So, we´re down to 3. You just need to come to church!
But I´ll give you a scoop on some of them. The coolest and most fun is Yamila, she´s 9 years old and is the neice of some of our recent converts. She started living with her grandman and this family and one of the cousins gave her his Book of Mormon to read. She started Reading it like crazy with Noemí who also lives in this house and is getting baptized this weekend. CRAZYNESS!! I love baptisms. Anyways, so she was Reading, and then we stopped by one night when she was there and she comes up to us and says “I want to be baptized…” Welp, okay! And we taught the Plan of Salvation this week using the “Vamos de paseo Beep beep beep” song. And now every time we pass by she wants to play the game where we “go on a road trip” and the road trip always leads to Jesus´ House. (we draw a road map and there are “obstacles” in the road. I.e. rivers/physical and spiritual death, and we need bridges – resurrección and expiación – to help us get back home). I think she understands well. If nothing else, she knows she´s going home to her HEavenly Father.
And then, okay, this is kind of sad. We´ve had the unfortunate opportunity to watch as some faithful members of the church are beginning to lose their testimonies. It starts out small, but we can see the consequences of it nearly instantly. First they stop Reading, then they stop praying, and then they stop coming to church. And “all of the sudden”, life is a lot harder then it used to be. There´s this one member, who is trying really hard to do things right, to have a “good life”, he wants to get married in the temple (he has a girlfriend, check), he wants to complete his calling, he´s trying to finish up school, and he recently found a job. But with all the stresses of completing EVERYTHING he slowly dropped Reading, and then he stopped praying. And last Sunday he didn´t come to church. The week before, he came to sacrament meeting and the booked it outta there before the final hymn. And he just doesn´t feel like he has the strength to keep going. He feels like he needs help….but from the Ward. And he´s not receiving it. I´m torn between wanting to slap him in the back of the head (don´t worry, I won´t. Inappropriate touching to the max) and just crying. Oh, did I mention he´s our Ward misión leader? Yeah, I´m cursed, I´ve never been able to keep a Ward misión leader for more then 2 weeks before something happens. I´ve gone pretty much my whole misión without our called connection to the Ward. Whatever. Pray for him.
But the point is there is this other member as well, he´s very sick. He was diabetes – which caused him to go blind and lose his leg. He really is very sick. And we were talking to him one day and he said that he wanted to go to church the next day, but it all depends on if he feels good the next day (it was a Saturday). Then he confessed to us, that sometimes he wakes up in the morning and really doesn´t feel good, but then later in the day he realices it wasn´t as bad as he thought it was, and he feels bad because he knows that in hindsight, he really could have gone to church. This is what he said “But each time I don´t go to church, it becomes a Little bit harder. But I know it´s a question of willpower. And I´m scared that with time, I´m not going to have the willpower to go to church anymore.” It´s so much easier to ask for help in the begining, then to let it go to long.
Just so you know, I really am very happy, that´s just what has happened this week that stuck out to me. It starts out small, and then slowly but surely you are separated from your God who wants to help you, who has the power to help you, but can´t because we are not doing our part. This was something, in our Ward council last week, I don´t even remember what we were talking about, but it made me think of when Jesus was lifted on the cross. And there´s the scripture that talks about when he diez. It says and “He gave up the ghost.” I have no idea why that thought came so vivently to my mind (it came in english, and i was thinking in spanish) but it did. This thought that Jesus Christ was not killed. He allowed himself to be taken, to be whipped, beaten, bruised, spat on, mocked, and eventually lifted up on the cross. And when he had completed with his Father´s plan, he WILLINGLY left his physical body behind. However, the power that He had as a literal Son of God meant that He had total control. He had the control to leave His body and then to take up His body once again after three days time. He knew that it was God´s plan and he knew that he had completed his part.
If Jesus Christ has this kind of power, he can help those who are having hard times. But we need to really know who He is. And the only way to do that is by talking to him and listening to his words. I.E. Reading and praying. And he has promised us time after time that if we do this, we will receive eternal life, we will receive earthly and celestial happiness. We will receive the blessings of eternity. But we have to ask for it. And we won´t know how unless we know him. What else more is there to do? I´m going to go read my scriptures.
Love you all,
Hermana Reed
Anyways, so I´ve gotten to the point where I don´t remember what I have told you and what I haven´t told you, so if I repreat myself. (that´s like a mixture of repeat and repitir, aka can´t spell) my bad. I was trying to think of fun/funny stories to tell, but I couldn´t really think of any. Nothing incredibly ridiculous happened this week. Which, now that I´m thinking about it is kind of lame. But we did have a lot of success this week. We´ve found quite a few people who are super interested in listening to us, and we had at a máximum 6 baptismal dates. But then some of them didn´t come to church, and one of them we learned she needs to get divorced so she can get married so she can get baptized. So, we´re down to 3. You just need to come to church!
But I´ll give you a scoop on some of them. The coolest and most fun is Yamila, she´s 9 years old and is the neice of some of our recent converts. She started living with her grandman and this family and one of the cousins gave her his Book of Mormon to read. She started Reading it like crazy with Noemí who also lives in this house and is getting baptized this weekend. CRAZYNESS!! I love baptisms. Anyways, so she was Reading, and then we stopped by one night when she was there and she comes up to us and says “I want to be baptized…” Welp, okay! And we taught the Plan of Salvation this week using the “Vamos de paseo Beep beep beep” song. And now every time we pass by she wants to play the game where we “go on a road trip” and the road trip always leads to Jesus´ House. (we draw a road map and there are “obstacles” in the road. I.e. rivers/physical and spiritual death, and we need bridges – resurrección and expiación – to help us get back home). I think she understands well. If nothing else, she knows she´s going home to her HEavenly Father.
And then, okay, this is kind of sad. We´ve had the unfortunate opportunity to watch as some faithful members of the church are beginning to lose their testimonies. It starts out small, but we can see the consequences of it nearly instantly. First they stop Reading, then they stop praying, and then they stop coming to church. And “all of the sudden”, life is a lot harder then it used to be. There´s this one member, who is trying really hard to do things right, to have a “good life”, he wants to get married in the temple (he has a girlfriend, check), he wants to complete his calling, he´s trying to finish up school, and he recently found a job. But with all the stresses of completing EVERYTHING he slowly dropped Reading, and then he stopped praying. And last Sunday he didn´t come to church. The week before, he came to sacrament meeting and the booked it outta there before the final hymn. And he just doesn´t feel like he has the strength to keep going. He feels like he needs help….but from the Ward. And he´s not receiving it. I´m torn between wanting to slap him in the back of the head (don´t worry, I won´t. Inappropriate touching to the max) and just crying. Oh, did I mention he´s our Ward misión leader? Yeah, I´m cursed, I´ve never been able to keep a Ward misión leader for more then 2 weeks before something happens. I´ve gone pretty much my whole misión without our called connection to the Ward. Whatever. Pray for him.
But the point is there is this other member as well, he´s very sick. He was diabetes – which caused him to go blind and lose his leg. He really is very sick. And we were talking to him one day and he said that he wanted to go to church the next day, but it all depends on if he feels good the next day (it was a Saturday). Then he confessed to us, that sometimes he wakes up in the morning and really doesn´t feel good, but then later in the day he realices it wasn´t as bad as he thought it was, and he feels bad because he knows that in hindsight, he really could have gone to church. This is what he said “But each time I don´t go to church, it becomes a Little bit harder. But I know it´s a question of willpower. And I´m scared that with time, I´m not going to have the willpower to go to church anymore.” It´s so much easier to ask for help in the begining, then to let it go to long.
Just so you know, I really am very happy, that´s just what has happened this week that stuck out to me. It starts out small, and then slowly but surely you are separated from your God who wants to help you, who has the power to help you, but can´t because we are not doing our part. This was something, in our Ward council last week, I don´t even remember what we were talking about, but it made me think of when Jesus was lifted on the cross. And there´s the scripture that talks about when he diez. It says and “He gave up the ghost.” I have no idea why that thought came so vivently to my mind (it came in english, and i was thinking in spanish) but it did. This thought that Jesus Christ was not killed. He allowed himself to be taken, to be whipped, beaten, bruised, spat on, mocked, and eventually lifted up on the cross. And when he had completed with his Father´s plan, he WILLINGLY left his physical body behind. However, the power that He had as a literal Son of God meant that He had total control. He had the control to leave His body and then to take up His body once again after three days time. He knew that it was God´s plan and he knew that he had completed his part.
If Jesus Christ has this kind of power, he can help those who are having hard times. But we need to really know who He is. And the only way to do that is by talking to him and listening to his words. I.E. Reading and praying. And he has promised us time after time that if we do this, we will receive eternal life, we will receive earthly and celestial happiness. We will receive the blessings of eternity. But we have to ask for it. And we won´t know how unless we know him. What else more is there to do? I´m going to go read my scriptures.
Love you all,
Hermana Reed
Monday, June 4, 2012
Tithing of your time.
Hey, did I tell you that last week I gave a talk in sacrament meeting and it was awesome? I think I forgot, because I was ragging on people, but I did. Nope, I just checked, I talked about Adrian. I forget things super easy. Well, the best part of last week was that I gave a talk and I essentially did the Introduction to the Book of Mormon....over the pulpit. Best idea of my life! Because there are a ton of members who don´t really recognize how important the Book of Mormon is, what it really signifies, and what that means for us. They know that it´s true, but then get caught up in other details. Anyways, the point is, after explaining it just a little bit we were able to see the fruits of our labors, the members here in Zarate II trust us as missionaries a lot more. They are willing to work with us and help us know the area more and are asking for our help. Missionary Gold!
But I tell you this not to brag, but to move on to my first story. We had a FHE monday night with a family mildly less active. Sometimes they come to church, sometimes not. But they had been to church the day before, and during our FHE we were talking about the Restoration of the church, why it was important. And they stopped us, and the Hermano said, "Yeah, about that, why was the Restoration important? How do we know?" Which made me realize, that there are still a lot of people who don´t really understand why it is important to know that we are members of the only church that has the authority of God. And why God only gave His authority to one church (so there weren´t dissensions....that´s such a church word, so the people wouldn´t be fighting over stuff). And later the Hermana asked "I was wondering, what does the word Atonement mean. You used that in your talk yesterday, and how do we receive revelations?" And it was a great teaching opportunity because we were able to help her understand that the Atonement means that we can make it back to God. The suffering of Jesus for our sins, with his crucifixion and his resureccion means that when we make mistakes, there is someone who can help us out. Jesus knows what we´ve been through, and through the power that God has given him, he can help us overcome our mortal habits. I love teaching opportunities like this. This is super basic doctrine, knowing the Atonement, and realizing that the Atonement is our saving grace. Without it, there really wouldn´t be a point to life, because there would be know way for us to progress.
So, that was awesome. Then we had a lesson with our recent convert (he got baptized the Saturday before we arrived) who also had been to church that day. And during the lesson he told us that he had questions. They had written it down, but because they had forgotten we were coming over and then rushed over to meet with us (we called them from their house.....oops) they forgot the paper. But they want to learn, they are willing to learn. We talked about eternal marriage with him and his girlfriend, about being worthy to enter the temple, and being a worthy priesthood holder (he´s got some concerns about serving a mission, he´s a rather timid young man). But it just makes me so happy when people say they have questions, because that means they are reading, and paying attention. Score!
Then Tuesday (I know, not even done with Tuesday) We go over to our favorite recent convert/investigator family (they are waiting to get married so the dad can get baptized) we learned that he had been mugged right before coming home. And it was the perfect opportunity to bolster his testimony with Mosiah 13:3 "Touch me not" - we were able to share with him and help him understand that God has a plan specifically designed to help him and even when Satan starts messing around with our lives, we have the power to tell him to knock it off. The kids had a lot of fun with that one. We gave them a lot of examples, "What do you say when you want to hit your brother?" "No me toquéis! (Touch me not)"
Wednesday we had our Zone Conference in Esobar - which included a 2 hour bus ride plus waiting for buses. Early morning for the missionaries. But it was fun as I got to see Hermana Whitehead and I got my package!! Oh shoot I just realized, the computer here doesn´t read my card. But I lOVE my package. My mom loves me a lot, she gives me Triscuts (Hna Whitehead laughed about that, she remembers how much I love them) and my FROZEN CHOZEN T-SHIRT!! Which I wear to bed every night. Thanks Fallerina! I love it. And I laughed histerically at the bible references to frozen things. I really did enjoy Chacra.
Alright, and then Saturday (we´re going quick here I have to wrap things up) we met a woman named Rosa, who is super sweet. We were talking to her, and her son is in jail, accused of being an accomplice to a burglury. He was out riding with his friend when his friend decides to hop off his bike and rob a Kiosco, gets back on the bike and they ride off. Super unfortunate. But when we asked her if she would get baptized she said yes! And then she told us that never had there been a moment in her life when she has felt such joy, as when she said yes to getting baptized. It was a miracle lesson, and is just living proof that God is preparing people to listen to the Gospel. It´s not always hard, it just is like 95% of the time, and that´s when we show our faith to keep going.
And then on Sunday we went over to visit our investigator that lost her fecha because she didn´t come to church! (tear fest) We were able to work through what had happened, and she was actually sad as well, because she knew that she would have to wait to get baptized now. But the miracle came when we were talking with her roommate. Her roommate is taking care of her granddaughter, because the daughter isn´t really in to the whole "caring for your children" trend that´s been around since the days of Adam and Even. And Yamila has been reading with Noemí. And the grandma told us that Yamila wants to get baptized, and so we were talking to her, and we set a fecha with her, and she was just so excited, she didn´t want us to leave. She kept saying "Oh, do you want me to read this part of the Book of Mormon? Okay, and look, I read this part, and this part, and i really liked this part" and she kept reading in the scriptures. It was amazing. ´She´s nine years old, and is so excited for her baptism. The church is true!
Oh, and the title, sorry, this e-mail is lengthy, we had Ward Council this week, and the Bishop showed us a video clip of a 12 year old girl who was sent to buy groceries with 40 pesos. It was all that this family had. And they had to buy groceries and have enough fair to go to church the next day. The girl was praying the whole time to have enough money to get to church. Her first stop was to get charcoal so they could have heat in their home, they needed two bags, 10 pesos a bag. But a necessity. The next item was diapers for her brother. And she only had a 5 peso bill left to buy food. When she went to pay for the sardines, she reached in her pocket and felt a large lump of bills, she looked and found five 20 pesos bills in her back pocket. Enough money to buy food and go to church the next day. It was a miracle that this family needed. A gift from God. And we were talking about it as a group, we know that God does not need material possessions, He created us, He created the Earth. He asks us for our tithing to show our obedience and our faith. In the same way, we need to pay our tithing of time. Because it doesn´t serve anyone to have a poorly given class, or discussion. You don´t grow your testimony and the people you are teaching don´t grow either. We need to pay our tithing in time to our callings, preparing well for our classes, helping those in our organizations. And if we put God´s time first (like we pay our tithing money first), we will find that we have enough time to do everything.
I loved this discussion. I´ve always thought of a mission as a tithing as well. 2 years of our first 20. And then we have time to keep serving. And it´s not something we can accumulate. We can´t say we´ll be a dedicated servant in 30 years when our children are grown and gone, or when we´re retired or have nothing else to do. God blesses us now, and asks us to pay our tithing now. This is the dedication and the motivation that we should show our God who has given us everything, even our lives.
And that was my week. I love you all!
Hermana Reed
But I tell you this not to brag, but to move on to my first story. We had a FHE monday night with a family mildly less active. Sometimes they come to church, sometimes not. But they had been to church the day before, and during our FHE we were talking about the Restoration of the church, why it was important. And they stopped us, and the Hermano said, "Yeah, about that, why was the Restoration important? How do we know?" Which made me realize, that there are still a lot of people who don´t really understand why it is important to know that we are members of the only church that has the authority of God. And why God only gave His authority to one church (so there weren´t dissensions....that´s such a church word, so the people wouldn´t be fighting over stuff). And later the Hermana asked "I was wondering, what does the word Atonement mean. You used that in your talk yesterday, and how do we receive revelations?" And it was a great teaching opportunity because we were able to help her understand that the Atonement means that we can make it back to God. The suffering of Jesus for our sins, with his crucifixion and his resureccion means that when we make mistakes, there is someone who can help us out. Jesus knows what we´ve been through, and through the power that God has given him, he can help us overcome our mortal habits. I love teaching opportunities like this. This is super basic doctrine, knowing the Atonement, and realizing that the Atonement is our saving grace. Without it, there really wouldn´t be a point to life, because there would be know way for us to progress.
So, that was awesome. Then we had a lesson with our recent convert (he got baptized the Saturday before we arrived) who also had been to church that day. And during the lesson he told us that he had questions. They had written it down, but because they had forgotten we were coming over and then rushed over to meet with us (we called them from their house.....oops) they forgot the paper. But they want to learn, they are willing to learn. We talked about eternal marriage with him and his girlfriend, about being worthy to enter the temple, and being a worthy priesthood holder (he´s got some concerns about serving a mission, he´s a rather timid young man). But it just makes me so happy when people say they have questions, because that means they are reading, and paying attention. Score!
Then Tuesday (I know, not even done with Tuesday) We go over to our favorite recent convert/investigator family (they are waiting to get married so the dad can get baptized) we learned that he had been mugged right before coming home. And it was the perfect opportunity to bolster his testimony with Mosiah 13:3 "Touch me not" - we were able to share with him and help him understand that God has a plan specifically designed to help him and even when Satan starts messing around with our lives, we have the power to tell him to knock it off. The kids had a lot of fun with that one. We gave them a lot of examples, "What do you say when you want to hit your brother?" "No me toquéis! (Touch me not)"
Wednesday we had our Zone Conference in Esobar - which included a 2 hour bus ride plus waiting for buses. Early morning for the missionaries. But it was fun as I got to see Hermana Whitehead and I got my package!! Oh shoot I just realized, the computer here doesn´t read my card. But I lOVE my package. My mom loves me a lot, she gives me Triscuts (Hna Whitehead laughed about that, she remembers how much I love them) and my FROZEN CHOZEN T-SHIRT!! Which I wear to bed every night. Thanks Fallerina! I love it. And I laughed histerically at the bible references to frozen things. I really did enjoy Chacra.
Alright, and then Saturday (we´re going quick here I have to wrap things up) we met a woman named Rosa, who is super sweet. We were talking to her, and her son is in jail, accused of being an accomplice to a burglury. He was out riding with his friend when his friend decides to hop off his bike and rob a Kiosco, gets back on the bike and they ride off. Super unfortunate. But when we asked her if she would get baptized she said yes! And then she told us that never had there been a moment in her life when she has felt such joy, as when she said yes to getting baptized. It was a miracle lesson, and is just living proof that God is preparing people to listen to the Gospel. It´s not always hard, it just is like 95% of the time, and that´s when we show our faith to keep going.
And then on Sunday we went over to visit our investigator that lost her fecha because she didn´t come to church! (tear fest) We were able to work through what had happened, and she was actually sad as well, because she knew that she would have to wait to get baptized now. But the miracle came when we were talking with her roommate. Her roommate is taking care of her granddaughter, because the daughter isn´t really in to the whole "caring for your children" trend that´s been around since the days of Adam and Even. And Yamila has been reading with Noemí. And the grandma told us that Yamila wants to get baptized, and so we were talking to her, and we set a fecha with her, and she was just so excited, she didn´t want us to leave. She kept saying "Oh, do you want me to read this part of the Book of Mormon? Okay, and look, I read this part, and this part, and i really liked this part" and she kept reading in the scriptures. It was amazing. ´She´s nine years old, and is so excited for her baptism. The church is true!
Oh, and the title, sorry, this e-mail is lengthy, we had Ward Council this week, and the Bishop showed us a video clip of a 12 year old girl who was sent to buy groceries with 40 pesos. It was all that this family had. And they had to buy groceries and have enough fair to go to church the next day. The girl was praying the whole time to have enough money to get to church. Her first stop was to get charcoal so they could have heat in their home, they needed two bags, 10 pesos a bag. But a necessity. The next item was diapers for her brother. And she only had a 5 peso bill left to buy food. When she went to pay for the sardines, she reached in her pocket and felt a large lump of bills, she looked and found five 20 pesos bills in her back pocket. Enough money to buy food and go to church the next day. It was a miracle that this family needed. A gift from God. And we were talking about it as a group, we know that God does not need material possessions, He created us, He created the Earth. He asks us for our tithing to show our obedience and our faith. In the same way, we need to pay our tithing of time. Because it doesn´t serve anyone to have a poorly given class, or discussion. You don´t grow your testimony and the people you are teaching don´t grow either. We need to pay our tithing in time to our callings, preparing well for our classes, helping those in our organizations. And if we put God´s time first (like we pay our tithing money first), we will find that we have enough time to do everything.
I loved this discussion. I´ve always thought of a mission as a tithing as well. 2 years of our first 20. And then we have time to keep serving. And it´s not something we can accumulate. We can´t say we´ll be a dedicated servant in 30 years when our children are grown and gone, or when we´re retired or have nothing else to do. God blesses us now, and asks us to pay our tithing now. This is the dedication and the motivation that we should show our God who has given us everything, even our lives.
And that was my week. I love you all!
Hermana Reed
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