A LOT is going on around here!!
First off TRANSFERS!! We were so sure that one of us was going to be transferred but NO!! Hna Cerrato and I are both going to stay in this amazing ward for another transfer. Wooo!!
This week we started to see that our hard work the past couple of weeks is starting to pay off! We were able to have several lessons and to have several spiritual experiences.
First off during an ABL we met a less active sister named Elena. Elena has been inactive for about 30 years. She is not even on the records for this ward. She gave us her information and we stopped by one day. She is wonderful! She has such a strong spirit and she was very receptive to our message. She said that she would read the book of Mormon this week and pray. She said that she wants to make sure that the church is still true for her before she comes to church. The spirit was so strong in the lesson and I think that with a little time and effort, she will make the decision to come back.
Last week in an ALB we met Leticia and Ricardo and this week we were able to have a lesson with them. They are a young couple with a new baby girl. They are so friendly and kind. During the lesson Leticia asked several very thoughtful questions, and she even said the closing prayer on knees. It was amazing! They also agreed to meet with us sometime this upcoming week.
A recent convert, Alicia, was going through a rough time the past couple of months. She was feeling depressed and lonely because her husband died over 15 years ago, and she lives alone. She was doubting her faith and the gospel. After several weeks of working with her and asking members to fellowship her, we have seen a drastic change. The other day we went to visit her and she was walking on sunshine! She is so much happier and cheerful her faith has grown so much. Everyday we visit her she reports on what she has read and learned this week in the scriptures and the Liahona. Before, her prayers well all about asking for strength, faith and to not feel so lonely, but now her prayers are all expressions of gratitude for her many blessing and asking for blessing for others rather than herself. She is an incredible woman and I am very privileged to have helped, even just a little bit, in changing her life and bring her the happiness and peace that can only come through living the gospel.
On Tuesday in the morning we went to look for a woman that we talked with the night before and who said that we could stop by her home. Well, she was not home but her neighbor Teresa answered the door and she let us in to teach her. It is amazing how God works in mysterious was that we cannot fully understand. I learned that day the importance of talking to everyone about the gospel because you never know who is prepared by God for you to teach.
On Thursday once again every single one of our plans and back up plans for the morning fell through! We were left with an hour and a half and no one to visit. We stopped to think about who we could possibly go to visit when the thought popped into my mind to go and visit an old reference from the hermanas that we had already tried to visit about 4 times and each time no one was home. So we went to the house and a woman named Maria answered the door and let us in. Maria, her husband and her 2 young children live in the house and they are amazing people with a lot of faith. Again, I was impressed with how God works in mysterious ways that we do not always understand. God wanted our plans to fall through that morning so that we could visit this young mother and share with her a message that she needed to hear at that exact moment.
Saturday we were able to have another lesson with Paula (the investigator who came to the relief society activity last week). The lesson went well and she agreed to come to church the next day!! Paula and her husband Ariel and their little daughter Lupe came to church and stayed for all three hours. The members of the ward were so welcoming and friendly and they fit right in! It was incredible. Paula kept saying that there is so much peace here and that everyone is so kind. Paula made a comment in relief society that was very powerful and her husband participated in Sunday school. It was a great experience to see them find joy in the gospel. They both agreed to meet with us this week during the siesta (which is unheard of!!) so that they both could be there. I am so happy and excited for this amazing progress!
I cannot express how grateful I am for this gospel and for the blessings of God in my life.
First off TRANSFERS!! We were so sure that one of us was going to be transferred but NO!! Hna Cerrato and I are both going to stay in this amazing ward for another transfer. Wooo!!
This week we started to see that our hard work the past couple of weeks is starting to pay off! We were able to have several lessons and to have several spiritual experiences.
First off during an ABL we met a less active sister named Elena. Elena has been inactive for about 30 years. She is not even on the records for this ward. She gave us her information and we stopped by one day. She is wonderful! She has such a strong spirit and she was very receptive to our message. She said that she would read the book of Mormon this week and pray. She said that she wants to make sure that the church is still true for her before she comes to church. The spirit was so strong in the lesson and I think that with a little time and effort, she will make the decision to come back.
Last week in an ALB we met Leticia and Ricardo and this week we were able to have a lesson with them. They are a young couple with a new baby girl. They are so friendly and kind. During the lesson Leticia asked several very thoughtful questions, and she even said the closing prayer on knees. It was amazing! They also agreed to meet with us sometime this upcoming week.
A recent convert, Alicia, was going through a rough time the past couple of months. She was feeling depressed and lonely because her husband died over 15 years ago, and she lives alone. She was doubting her faith and the gospel. After several weeks of working with her and asking members to fellowship her, we have seen a drastic change. The other day we went to visit her and she was walking on sunshine! She is so much happier and cheerful her faith has grown so much. Everyday we visit her she reports on what she has read and learned this week in the scriptures and the Liahona. Before, her prayers well all about asking for strength, faith and to not feel so lonely, but now her prayers are all expressions of gratitude for her many blessing and asking for blessing for others rather than herself. She is an incredible woman and I am very privileged to have helped, even just a little bit, in changing her life and bring her the happiness and peace that can only come through living the gospel.
On Tuesday in the morning we went to look for a woman that we talked with the night before and who said that we could stop by her home. Well, she was not home but her neighbor Teresa answered the door and she let us in to teach her. It is amazing how God works in mysterious was that we cannot fully understand. I learned that day the importance of talking to everyone about the gospel because you never know who is prepared by God for you to teach.
On Thursday once again every single one of our plans and back up plans for the morning fell through! We were left with an hour and a half and no one to visit. We stopped to think about who we could possibly go to visit when the thought popped into my mind to go and visit an old reference from the hermanas that we had already tried to visit about 4 times and each time no one was home. So we went to the house and a woman named Maria answered the door and let us in. Maria, her husband and her 2 young children live in the house and they are amazing people with a lot of faith. Again, I was impressed with how God works in mysterious ways that we do not always understand. God wanted our plans to fall through that morning so that we could visit this young mother and share with her a message that she needed to hear at that exact moment.
Saturday we were able to have another lesson with Paula (the investigator who came to the relief society activity last week). The lesson went well and she agreed to come to church the next day!! Paula and her husband Ariel and their little daughter Lupe came to church and stayed for all three hours. The members of the ward were so welcoming and friendly and they fit right in! It was incredible. Paula kept saying that there is so much peace here and that everyone is so kind. Paula made a comment in relief society that was very powerful and her husband participated in Sunday school. It was a great experience to see them find joy in the gospel. They both agreed to meet with us this week during the siesta (which is unheard of!!) so that they both could be there. I am so happy and excited for this amazing progress!
I cannot express how grateful I am for this gospel and for the blessings of God in my life.