December 16, 2013

Yesterday we had the final Christmas concert and it was just a really cool experience. The stake center was completely full and the spirit was just super strong. I've had a little cold too so I mean I didn't sing the best that I ever had, but I was happy with how it went as I could see and feel that it was how the Lord wanted it to go. It was kinda hard to say goodbye to some of the members of my ward after the concert, and even weirder to say goodbye to some of the elders who are going home today, but its just made me more determined to not waste time because I don't have very much of it. Elder Anderson, the elder that I did the concert with went home and we had become really good friends so its kinda sad but we will see each other in BYU here in a while haha.

December 9, 2013

Okay so this week was super good but crazy busy so I will just try to share some of the highlights with you in the time that I have to write.

 

Highlight #1 - La familia De Leon

Okay so this family is probably one of my most favorite families that I have taught so far. The wife was baptized as a teenager but fell away from the church and just is coming back and all of her family that weren't members just got baptized this last thursday. The baptism got going a little late so we got home a little late but it was a really awesome service because they were a ton of members there and they were just all so happy. So you can see the photo of the baptism and there are just a ton in white as every one of their kids wanted somebody different to baptism them haha.

 

Highlight #2 - Baptismal Interviews

So this week I had to do several baptismal interviews and it has just been seriously an awesome experience. The spirit is so strong and it has made me come to understand and appreciate the atonement even more as I have been able to see the changes that these people have made in their lives to be able to be ready to make convenants with our Heavenly Father. Even though some of the interviews took longer than planned and almost made us late for church, it has just been so so cool to be able to be a part of that.

 

Coldlight #3 - Okay so its just really cold here. I had always imagined mexico to be super nice and sunny all the time, but 45 degrees with a wind has never felt colder haha. But I am just super grateful that I have a dad who taught me how to keep warm and to dress in layers :)

 

Highlight #4 - Christmas Concert

So this week we had our first concert last night and it went really well. Jacqueline, I am in the same boat as you are as the last couple of days I have been a little sick so I mean I had a couple little voice cracks when I went to hit the high notes on Oh Holy Night (the solo I sang) but the spirit was super super strong and I could just feel that it was fine that I didn't sing it perfectly. So Jacqueline just pray that you will sing what Christ wants and it will all turn out great, even if you are still sick :)

November 11, 2013

So right now in the mission they are putting alot of emphasis on the things that Elder Walker of the 70 said while he was here on his tour of the mission. He left 4 tips to being a successful missionary but as I was thinking about it, they are really 4 tips to have success in life. So here they are:

1- Evitar las excusas (Avoid making excuses)

2- Tener un actitud de exito (Have an attitude of success)

3- Busar experiencias de fe en las escrituras (look for examples of faith in the scriptures)

4- Confiar en la promesa del Señor DyC 82:10 (Trust in the promise of the Lord Doctrine and Covenants 82:10)

I just really thought I would share them with you as I am trying to apply them in my life right now, let me know if you have a cool experience applying them :)

October 28, 2013

I am just so grateful to know that we have a Father in heaven who loves us, really really loves us and knows what is best for each and every one of us. He knows our weaknesses, our strengths, our wants, our needs, and He knows who we can become if we follow His plan. I know that sometimes we don´t follow the plan that He has for us, and the result of not following the plan leads us off the path. But through the Atonement of Christ, we can get back on track. This knowledge of the gospel of Christ is such a blessing and I am extremely grateful for the opportunity that I have to share it each and every day.

October 14, 2013

I am just so grateful to know that we have a Father in heaven who loves us, really really loves us and knows what is best for each and every one of us. He knows our weaknesses, our strengths, our wants, our needs, and He knows who we can become if we follow His plan. I know that sometimes we don´t follow the plan that He has for us, and the result of not following the plan leads us off the path. But through the Atonement of Christ, we can get back on track. This knowledge of the gospel of Christ is such a blessing and I am extremely grateful for the opportunity that I have to share it each and every day.

September 30, 2013

This week I´ve had a couple of experiences that have really helped me to understand my role as a missionary. So in tuesday we had an appointment with an investigor that lives out in the middle of nowhere. So we took a bus 20 mins and after walked for like 30 min to get to this little bunch of houses where she lives. We got there and she wasn´t there. So I was super bummed as we had just spent a ton of time to get out there and she wasn´t there even though we had confirmed the appointment. So walking out of the little group of houses we passed to people sitting outside and we just walked passed and said buenas tardes but didn´t contact them or anything. So 5 minutes walking down the road these people popped in my head and I knew we had to go back and talk to them but I didn´t really want to cause I was just bummed and we had already walked a ton. So after battling in my head for a bit, we turned back around to talk to these people. We ended up talking to them for about 20 minutes, but long story short they didn´t want anything and told us that we were going to hell pretty much. I was just really confused as to why I had recieved such a strong prompting to go back and talk to them if they didn´t even listen to anything we had said. Then yesterday I met a guy who was baptized a year ago but told me that he had rejected the missionaries and not wanted to get baptized for some 10 years. Thinking about all of these experiences have made me realize that as a missionaries, my purpose is to invite and guide people unto Christ if they want to come and if they are willing to make the changes in their lives to do so. I know that God has a plan for each and every one of us, and even if we can´t understand the way that God is working, He is working for our benefit and for the salvacion of His Children. Even if our attempts to share the gospel are rejected, we still have to share the gospel because it is part of His plan that everyone can have a chance to accept the gospel or to reject it. So for those who aren´t serving a full time mission right now, share the gospel with everyone, invite them to listen to the missionaries, invite them to church, invite them to activities, invite them to family home evening, invite invite invite!