WARNING - Content can be Disturbing and/or Entertaining

Hola familia!!!!! How is everyone?? I am GREAT! So I want to thank you for everything you have all been sending me, and all the advice and love--it seriously helps soooo much!! I love you and thanks again for sending all my stuff…. you guys are the best :)

So as usual it has been an amazing week! To start off I would love to share with you an awk sitch that went down yesterday. So I was so ready and willing for dinner and hungry girl, so I like got to dinner and had cereal. Then I saw that it was Chimichanga Mexican food night, and I was stoked- so I got that too, and just ate everything; it was sooo good. After dinner when I got to class, I just felt like death- and I couldn’t even move or talk or do anything --I wanted to die. The teacher and class could tell I wasn’t feeling good, but I thought I was okay, and just sat there waiting to feel better. I was just in the corner forever just hot and flustered and feeling so bad, and I guess I had this look of death, because my teacher asked me if I needed to leave- hahah- it was ridiculous-- so finally in mid sentence I book it to the bathroom, throw open the door and just was face first in the toilet, just throwing up and so sick....it was bad! I have never been that sick before. So I was there for a while and just went from glam missionary to poor sick girl on the floor- just owned, and a mess, just head in the toilet. Lets just say I will never eat Mexican food again!

It was fast Sunday this week, and I knew it would be my last one so I decided to get up and share my testimony in Spanish, and the spirit was just very strong, I felt so good about it. I love speaking Spanish and I think that I am getting it really well, so thank you everyone for your prayers, and know that I am loving it.

We also had mission conference on Sunday and it was SO good!!! I just love stuff like that and I am just so happy, and pumped, and taking notes like crazy. The first speaker talked about how we need to follow the promptings of the spirit and she said that we are called to serve exactly where the Lord needs us in this world. She shared a story about a missionary that was so neat. There was this man that had been praying for answers in life and asking God for help, when the missionaries came to his door one day and taught him the first lesson. He loved it and knew they were true messengers from God and he really felt the spirit. They asked if he would take and read the Book of Mormon, and for a minute he pondered and said, you know what- I think I already have one of those- and got up and went and got his. When he gave it to this elder, the elder opened it up and found a picture of his own family and his testimony was written in it when he was 8 years old. In their ward many years ago families were putting their pictures and testimonies in Book of Mormons, and the missionaries were giving them out to people. What were the chances? The elder began to tear up and cry and told this man with a powerful love and testimony that this was his family, and that he knew he was sent to this man for a reason. How neat is this work, and what a wonderful thing it is that Gods knows us all personally, and has these special plans for us and encounters with people in our life. 2 Nephi 32:5- (Look unto Him and the Holy Ghost will show you all things that you should do).

Another speaker talked about how Christ’s way is the path to happiness in this life and he shared some scriptures D&C 110: 3-4 (His countenance shone above the brightness of the sun and His voice was the sound of rushing waters, even Jehovah saying…..I am He…) and John 1:4 (In Him was life, and His life was the light of men, and His light shineth in darkness) and D&C 6:36 (Look unto me in every thought, doubt not, fear not). He talked about how God’s love for all his children is SO personal and how he wants all of us to love one another as He sees us and loves us.

He shared a story about a time that he had to go to the Psych Ward to help this lady, and she was a drug abuser and had had a really hard life. She was a little odd, but he knew he had to go speak with her so he decided to visit her and would do what he could. Someone asked him to give her a blessing, and he was not sure about this and was worried, but he did it anyway because she agreed. He said once he put his hands on her head he just felt an overwhelming rush in his body from the Holy Ghost of the love that the Savior and God has for this woman. He knew how much they want her to be healed and succeed, and come unto her, and for a split moment he saw her spiritual and perfect soul how God sees her and he just had so much love and care for her, and he felt so bad for how he had felt at first. It is SO important, not just as missionaries, but in life, to see all people how God sees them and know that God has a special plan for them. He wants them to awaken that understanding in themselves and he wants them to feel of that love, and it is through us that we are able to show people who they are, and who they can become. "If you have eyes to see what heaven sees in YOU”. I am SO thankful for this talk, and I just know that if we are constantly loving all people and talking to them and showing our care for them, we will be blessed, and see how God sees them, which is a beautiful and promising being. We need to choose to see the good things in people and to ignore the bad, because that is what Jesus would do.

On Sunday after that, my companions and me gave a district lesson on prophets and it was really good. We talked about how neat it is that we have a living prophet today, and that we need to be so excited about it and seek out his advice and counsel and follow him. We talked about Thomas S Monson and the things he has done and taught to the world as a living prophet. We talked about how we as missionaries need to respect and remember that is was a prophet that signed our mission call, and accepted us in this work and we need to be good missionaries and follow the prophets ways. We all shared our experiences of opening our mission calls and what that was like and it was just so spiritual to hear everyone’s experience, and feel that spirit and love in the room. I had chills the whole time just imagining all of these calls being opened. When I talked about mine, I just said how grateful I am for having a prophet and apostles and leaders because it is through them, from divine inspiration and revelation from God that they can know where we as missionaries are suppose to go, and where we get called to serve on our missions. I am so grateful for a prophet, and apostles, and if it were not for them, I wouldn’t be here. I am so excited for conference, and I hope that everyone is just getting so excited and happy, and will write down questions they might have in their life right now or things they need help with at this time. I promise you that as we all sincerely listen and ponder on the words from conference, all of our questions will be answered and we will all gain strong testimonies of this church, and feel of its love in our hearts.

Yesterday we taught for the first time in ALL Spanish in the T.R.C. and it went soooo well….I was so happy. Our teacher gave us this lady to teach that we all did not have a good first experience with, but our teacher had faith in us that we could have a change of heart, and we would be able to love her and teach her and help her feel the spirit. I am so grateful for my teacher because that is exactly what happened. When we all put away our pride and we just loved this lady, and taught her with happiness, excitement, power, and faith, ALL in Spanish, we were able to answer all her questions. We knew exactly what to say, and we testified with every piece of love and strength we had, and we all just had an amazing experience, and I loved it!

Family- I just hope you know that I am in the right place. I hope everyone knows that is reading this that Jesus Christ is the way in this life for all of us to feel of such joy and meaning, and I hope everyone is able to develop that personal relationship with him right now in their life. Read the New Testament and study all scriptures and always have a prayer in your heart to have Him be with you. Remember that God loves you and wants you to always be happy. If we are willing to do God’s will I know that He will bless us, because I have personally experienced this in my life, and I know that it is what makes my life worth living. Be good examples to all people in the world and show your unconditional love to all. Have light in your countenance and don’t be afraid to talk to everyone you encounter each day and show how much care you have for them. I hope everyone has a really good week and know that I am praying and thinking of you all !!!! Love you soooo much and miss you!!! :) Keep the letters coming por favor :)

Love,

Hermana Pond