Have you ever had those weeks where almost every single night everything you have planned is cancelled, your companion gives you the silent treatment for 3 days straight, you feel like you understand zero of what is said in lessons, and you burst into tears in the middle of 2 stake meetings? Well I'll be 100% honest in saying this week was just one of those weeks. It was a hard one for sure, but let me tell you this! Heavenly Father does NOT forget about us!! Whether it's scripture verses being just what I needed to read, people reaching out and saying just what I needed to hear, tender mercies and miracles were in abundance this week!
Our mission had the chance to meet with Elder Bednar over zoom on Friday! He told us to not take notes, but to follow the spirit and simply write impressions on what we felt and 5 word summaries on what was said. He talked a lot about how the spirit is the true teacher and as missionaries, we can be totally imperfect, but if we have the spirit and are preparing ourselves each day, we can be the best teachers to carry the spirit. Asking questions, extending invitations, listening, and understanding in lessons is the most powerful way to teach! Doing the little things in life each day of studying the scriptures, having meaningful prayer, and taking time to connect with the Lord are what make us powerful missionaries and powerful members. It was a super awesome meeting!
I say this about all my DLs, but Elder Neve is a real one!! He was serving in Peru before, but is now whipping it up here in the UPM! He got us all wooden nametags this week at district council and they are so so cool(pics below)! It is also my first Hermana tag bc the ones I ordered still haven't come haha. BUT even better than nametags, was he and his companions willingness to give my comps and I all priesthood blessings when we called them up this week after all being prompted to receive blessings from different struggles we were facing. We didn't tell him much, but the spirit was so strong and the words he said were EXACTLY what we all needed to hear! It was directly from Heavenly Father. He knows us each individually and loves us so so much!!
One thing I am trying to do is really apply the book of Mormon to my life. As I look for tender mercies and miracles in my life everyday, I do the same in the book of Mormon. I find a few tender mercies in every chapter and it is amazing to see the blessings that come, especially when we are following the Lord! It has been really eye opening and I super recommend. If you're trying to apply charity in your life, read the book of Mormon and don't look for the WORD charity, but examples of people showing charity. The same for examples of good teachers, faith, prayer, etc. 10/10 recommended and it makes the Book of Mormon come alive!!!
1. On Monday night, we were in the Spanish area and had planned to knock, but our member got sick last minute. So we decided to pray and go for a walk in one of the apartment areas for an hour. We kinda just walked in circled the entire time and finally found a guy by the trash cans smoking. We talked with him for a bit about families and got his number to set up a return appt(but he was white and very much English...). We start walking back to our car at about 8:40 and I see this Hispanic guy walking towards his house. My comps were talking a few steps behind me and I just took off running towards this guy, Pedro, and yelled out, "hi!!!" until he turned around. He talked with me until my comps caught up and then invited us inside to meet his girlfriend Eva, her sister who was visiting, and their son. The girls completely opened up to us about some struggles they've been facing recently and how they've been needing comfort in their lives. We helped them to see blessings all around them and read some scriptures. We invited Eva to church yesterday and she couldn't come because of work, but she invited us to come cook with her this week so we have an in!!!
2. Friday night is so hard as a missionary because everyone is always gone and we almost always have cancellations! This week was no different and we had 2 lessons and knocking cancel. We instead heart attacked Avery and Eva, stopped by a part member families house and talked with their son for a bit, took a bathroom stop at Wendy's, and then planned to come home and make calls. Hermana Gomez was craving an elote, so we drove to the Mexican truck on the way home, not knowing it had closed early. We are pulling into the parking lot and this guy in all black is slowly crossing the street in front of our car. He kept walking as we pulled in and then turned around and walked right up to our car. We rolled down the windows and talked to him and he was so nice! He had some whack ideas about God just being a synonym to the worst creating, Jesus being a demon bc he allows us to sin, and so forth, BUT he was open to reading the book of Mormon! He told us he basically learns everything on his own, but he needs a teacher for religion, so lucky missionaries! Sadly, he is in the elders area, but still super crazy! Right place, right time(heavenly father has a plan for e v e r y o n e !!!)!!!!
Heavenly Father loves each of us! That love is infinite and eternal and so individual for each of his children!! 1 Nephi 11:17 says, "I know that he loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things." This hit me this week! I may not know what the Lord has in store for me this difficult transfer, but I do know that he loves me and is watching over me! And he is doing the same or all of you! We are so so LOVED!
love you all mucho mucho!!
hermana dougall <3
our wooden tags!!
the espanol district <3
Elder Bednar meeting!!
Ready to heart attack
Made our mark at MOD pizza in Spanish Fork!
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