4/25/16
Wow this week was crazy. I decided that as good as it was to be able to compose this massive thing throughout the week that it was a tad distracting, so I don't think I'll be doing that anymore:) Anyhow, after the almost death of exactly one week ago (haha just kidding but really though, we were feeling it all week), we were blessed to have stake conference Saturday and Sunday! That was awesome. I took so many notes, I was trying to write down all my thoughts as they came...the Spirit always gives you something to learn if you are ready and willing to hear it. There were numerous talks on missionary work --many given by youth about how to prepare for a mission-- and several on personal experiences with keeping simple promises made with the Lord and the blessings that awaited each person through their obedience. All of the talks were unique in their own way. A veces someone would begin their talk and I'd think "there's nothing I'm going to get from this, this doesn't apply to me" --like the one on how to better raise children in the gospel and how to help them keep commandments not because of obligation but because of a love for God and a testimony of Him (sorry I really liked that one!!)-- but if I know when I push those thoughts aside and tell my Father, "Speak, Lord; for thy servant heareth" then the Spirit always helps me to hear something that will help me. Sometimes what I end up with in my notes has no relevance to what the person spoke of save but one part of something they said that allowed the Spirit to direct me down a path through personal revelation where with I was able to learn what God wanted me to learn.
So conference was great haha! Now that I've gone off rambling - the Spirit does that to ya sometimes - guess who else was at our stake conference? President and his wife! We walked into the stake center Saturday and they were just right there! *tries to remember to breath and not do anything stupid in front of President* *fails and trips while walking* (<--yeah...that happened ). We talked with them for a few minutes. His wife was concerned about the fact that I had "fainted on us" but I assured her I was doing much better. I seriously love them. They are so awesome.
So conference was awesome. President and his wife spoke Saturday. I love the opportunity to hear from them, because they've been given authority over us and they know best how to hasten the work here. All future missionaries: literally anytime your mission president opens his mouth, it's just like your bishop, the stake president, and the prophet. They all have that authority from God. Relish the opportunity you have been given to hear them speak. Our leaders are men and women of God and I know He speaks through them. So their talks were awesome. A lot about personal conversion, which has been a hot topic in the mission. We have a Seventy coming for a "mission tour" --which actually isn't really a tour at all...not sure what it is really-- and he asked us to study all of the scriptures in the index on repentance and conversion before he comes. I've learned a lot the last two months. I can't wait for what's to come, even just what awaits today!
Last Friday there was a member baptism in our ward. Holy cow. Mexicans know how to party (yes, Mexicans...our ward is basically all from Puebla. I don't think anyone lives in Puebla anymore cause they are literally all here haha! Everyone's related other than a few here and there from El Salvador, Ecuador, and Chile)!! There was so much food and so many children...holy cow. And guess who was the lucky one chosen by a almost-eight-year-old to speak? Hahaha very funny... Yup...me. So, in my three weeks here I have given a workshop in my first zone training meeting (yes, training meeting, you know, for those being trained??? Haha), given the workshop in my third district meeting, and now I have also spoken at a baptism. Awesome...but really, it was great to see her get baptized. Her dad isn't a member --part member families are really common here-- so another guy from the ward baptized her. I hope it was a special day for her. :)
Lo siento, this email is all over the place... Last week was our district leader's birthday so our ward mission leader bought a bunch of pizza (and dessert pizza --YES) and we had a little celebration for him Tuesday after district meeting. We also went on exchanges Tuesday and Wednesday! That was fun! Hermana Park was really sick with a stomach virus so I stayed home with her while the other three went out (the sister training leaders are in a trio now, the other Hermana just got back from Bermuda!). It was a very different exchange than what I hear normally happens, but I loved it. We got to sit and talk for just hours. We shared testimonies and experiences of things, shared thoughts, conversion stories, family trials, everything. Hermana Park leaves at the end of this transfer. She's from Utah but born in Korea. Her conversion story was amazing. It's crazy how God really is in all the little details of our lives, how every point in her story was a step leading her to be prepared to receive the gospel. God is wonderful. It was awesome to talk with her and see how we both learned so much from hearing each other and from the Spirit that was with us. I love how He will always help us find something in others to help us love and understand them more.
Mi compañera has been kinda sick all week after that food...so we spent a lot of time at home this week with her napping and me reading conference talks or practicing my BoM pronunciation to myself. But I know we did our best this week with what we could do. On Thursday, we missed our bus to go see one of our investigators. We called her and turns out she was canceling on us anyway. We went to go see a less active who lived nearby instead, and I know that was where we needed to be. We teach her in English cause she prefers it over the Spanish most of the time, but she expressed how hard it is for her to go out and do, really anything, let alone go to church, because of her anxiety. Man, I feel you, Hermana!! I shared a little bit with her and testified that if she prayed for the strength to take a few steps out of her comfort zone, to take a few leaps of faith, that God would help her little by little, just as He has helped --and is still helping-- me. She said she'd pray for His help and the confidence to be able to go to church where she knows no one because she knows it's important. Hopefully we will see her Sunday! :)
Last night after stake conference we visited a less active lady and got to just be a friend for her. Someone to talk with. I hope she was able to really feel our love for her. We really do love these people so much, it's ridiculous to an exoteric, because we love these people we haven't even met a veces, and will really do almost anything for them. I know this love is from God because every day I pray that He will let me feel His love for His children and see them as He does. I know I've been blessed in being able to do that.
Okay, now to lighten it up after all this heaviness, sorry guys! It's just incredible how much God works in our lives and how much everything points back to Him (and how we can see it if we seek it!!)... So the subject line... Sanctifying ourselves...that has been a main focus for me this last couple days, I've read a lot about it and about consecrating ourselves to the Lord as well. So much room to be spiritually fed. I don't know that until my mission I have truly understood how it feels to hunger and thirst after truth and the "living water" and "bread of life", how we can feast continually on the word of God. Literally FEAST because I yearn to learn everyday by the Spirit. That desire has never been so strong. I have the words of Sister Robinson's song ringing in my head, so much truth expressed in music...man, I love music! It brings the Spirit SO strongly. There's a reason I'm constantly singing "tengo gozo en mi alma hoy"! ️Church is true guys.
Next on the line is taking notes, you've got that one by now I hope! I've been rereading a bunch of talks from the past --and some for the first time-- and I've learned so much and taken so much from them. Then there was stake conference, and throwback to general conference three weeks ago. Holy cow!! Church is awesome.
Last but not least, to actually lighten the mood a bit --lo siento otra vez-- we have picking locks. This will have to be my funny experience of the week...so, we kinda forgot our keys...I...kinda forgot our keys...oops haha. So last night we got back from visiting a less active and it was about 9:15 --the bus was late...but good thing cause we ended up running it down -- and we get to the door and realize no one can let us in. Our landlord and his wife live downstairs, and we live upstairs. There's a door to both of our rooms, but then there's the door outside to actually get into the house. The landlord and his wife are in their 90s so we knew they were asleep. They usually have a nurse who stays the nights with them, so we rang the doorbell hoping she would hear it --it was only 9:00 after all. The old couple can't hear hardly so we knew it wouldn't wake them up but we prayed she would answer the door. Well, I wasn't gonna stand there and wait, so I pulled out some bobby pins, and thanks to the excellent practice me and Aubrey had breaking into her house, I began to pick the lock haha! My compañera considered trying to climb onto the balcony hoping maybe that door was open, but it was too high. Our back window was open, but it was almost three stories up a flat wall. We were out there for 45 minutes ringing the doorbell while I tried to pick the lock. I was on the fourth prong, and was working on getting the last one when the door pulled open. The nurse lady had finally woken up and scared us half to death as she stood there in the dark with a green makeup mask on her face in a bathrobe. We apologized and said thank you for letting us in and then ran up to our room. It was quite the adventure haha! But I'm glad God disturbed her slumber just a little bit so that we could get in (I don't think I would've been able to get the fifth one...Aubrey didn't teach me very much.)
Anyway, so those were our adventures of the semana pasado. We now have a note to ourselves on the door to remember our keys --which could be taken down a spiritual path of significance but I'll spare you -- and have avoided death by food up to this point much better than last week. I'm so thankful for the opportunity I have to serve and feel the Spirit so strongly in my life, and the chance I have to help others recognize the joy that comes from this gospel and to recognize God's hand in our lives.
And my final spiritual thought of the day --five million thoughts later-- comes from Alma 5:49. "this is the order after which I am called, yea, to preach unto my beloved brethren, yea, and every one that dwelleth in the land...yea, to cry unto them that they must repent and be born again." I know we are all called to this work, and when we ourselves have been born again (*cough cough* CONVERSION!), when we feast on the word of God, it will be delicious to our souls and we will desire all to have it. "Therefore, if ye have desires to serve God ye are called to the work" and when we have that desire, we will want to share the gospel with everyone we meet, and our love for all we see will grow so much. Strive to see everyone as they truly are, as sons and daughters of God with divine potential. Look at everyone in white as who they can become. But most of all, seek to "see with [your] eyes...understand with [your] heart, and be converted, and [then God] should heal [you]" because He has "prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not", therefore let us give heed to the call of God to come unto Him (which we do through becoming converted continuously) and then, "when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren."
I know this church is true and I'm so blessed to have it in my life! Thank you so much for your prayers and thoughts, let us continue always to press forward with steadfast faith in Christ!
Con mucho amor,
Hermana Karra Gourley
No comments:
Post a Comment