In our district meeting we talked about charity. We read in D&C 18:16. "And now, if your joy will be great with one soul that you have brought unto me into the kingdom of my Father, how great will be your joy if you should bring many souls unto me!"
We then read in verse 19. "And if you have not faith, hope, and charity, you can do nothing". We focused on charity and our district leader, Elder Davidson, had us think of a time when someone had done something out of charity for us. Elder Davidson then shared an experience when he was passing through a rough time. He felt completely alone and sad. I dont remember all of the details but the point is that one day his dad came up to him and told him he had been praying to feel the way that Elder Davidon feels, to understand. Elder Davidson got choked up and teary eyed. The Spirit in that room was so strong. Charity takes patience, and a true, pure love for others. "Wherefore, my beloved bretheren, pray unto the Father with all the engery of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christñ that ye may become the sons of Godñ that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure. Amen" Moroni 7:48 Now lets all develop this Christlike attribute :)
So Katherine is 15 years old. Her dad is an inactive member, her mom is a different religion. She wants to be baptized. The mom was very closed hearted, didnt want anything from us. Things are now changing. The mom smiles at us and talks with us. It really is amazing to see the changes thanks to lots of prayers and the Lords timing. We finally got to teach this family all together. It was a quick lesson but it was special to have a family that is divided in opinion and beliefs come together with an earnest desire to better their family life and family relationships. We ended the lesson with a kneeling prayer and the dad of the family offered it. The Spirit was present and I hope that the moms heart was touched and that she can support her daughter in her decision to be baptized.
On Friday we had a meeting with just sister missionaries and it was GREAT. I absolutely loved it. A few of the hermanas with more experience gave talks. Each of them talked about our potential as daughters of God and as missionaries-represenatives of Jesus Christ. President Spjut and Hermana Spjut then shared their thoughts. The best part was a question and answer activity. All of the experienced missionaries sat in a row and everyone could ask questions.The Spirit was so strong in the room as the hermanas gave advice and shared their testimony and feelings about their mission. All of us have challenges and weaknesses but we have our Savior to lift us up and help us keep going. This is His work. He will take whatever we have to offer, and He will make it enough.
My companion and I witnessed a miracle on Saturday. I have been teaching an investigator, Angelita, for almost 5 months. We always invite to baptism but she always has an excuse. My companion and I have goals so we have been praying and fasting to complete them. On Saturday we went with Angelita. I invited her to be baptized and she told me that she wanted to be baptized and is going to do it this Wednesday. The way she normally responded completely changed and she was finally firm in her decision. This was an answer to many, many prayers. I left her house with the biggest smile on my face. There are so many miracles in this work and I am so thankful to be able to witness them. My testimony has grown so much on prayers of faith and fasting.
Yesterday my companion and I witnessed another miracle. A complete miracle. We passed by for Katherine to go to church. Her dad is an inactive member so we always invite him. Well yesterday as we picked up Katherine he told us he was going to come. He was trying to shower and get cleaned up so that he could go. The problem was that we didnt have water yesterday. haha anyway so we left and just went with Katherine. Testimony meeting was more than half way over when he showed up. It had been over 20 years since he had assisted church. BUT, that wasnt the miracle. He sat next to Katherine and then I turned around to see the people behind me. Katherines mom and sister were sitting behind us. I saw her mom and I couldnt believe it. A miracle! My eyes got teary to see her in church with us. I know that our many prayers were and are being answered. The mom, who is a little bit hard hearted and angry, came to church on her own. A song from Hilary Weeks says "Give him the Spirit to soften hearts of stone, and bring them home". This gospel blesses families and changes lives.
Another fun and unexpected surprise yesterday. As I walked into sacrament meeting, an elder that I served with was sitting there waiting for the meeting to begin. Elder Contrerras. He is the one who shared with us that he doesnt have a family and that we are his family. He is from Guatemala and finished his mission about a month ago. Well he came back to visit and is staying with a member here. It was so good to see him! A complete surprise. It made me laugh because he is the same but now he has a little bit of facial scruff and an Iphone. haha
Well this was a great week full of complete miracles. I hope you all have a wonderful week! And HAPPY MOTHERS DAY to all you madres out there. Enjoy your day on Sunday! I love you all. :)
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