Monday October 23, 2011

Family and Friends,

So it’s been an off week so I do not have much to write about. My companion has been sick pretty much all week and we did not get to work very much. ☹ shoot. Each day she just felt worse and worse and the poor girl just wanted someone to tell her what she had and all these people told her gastritis, which we think doesn’t even exist. Any time someone’s stomach hurts they say it’s gastritis and tell them they can only eat pasta and rice. We finally went to the doctor and the lady just like wrote a random medicine on a scrap of paper and gave it to her and then the nurse comes in and starts preparing a shot. My comp looked at me all wide eyed and I about freaked out, because I hate shots. She looks at the lady and says, ¨where is that going?¨ and she laughs and says ¨en su cola!¨ Oh my gosh I about died....so she like made her bend over and she got a shot in her behind….how awkward and embarrassing for everyone. I don’t think it even helped but we got a good laugh out of it all.

Also this week we had to travel to this other area because this guy we had an appointment with lived in the pueblo over. So we hopped on the bus and showed up in this random town and with luck we actually found his house and he was home...but we ended up being NOT so lucky. So we think it is this cute old man that lives alone and seemed very interested in our message...wrong! (so naïve) We are sitting there and all of a sudden he becomes this HUGE ¨scorpion¨- which is like someone that hits on missionaries - and he starts like hugging and kissing us and just kept talking about how pretty we were and gave us this creepy dirty water....it was a wreck - awk mess situation…..so luckily he was practically crippled because he had hurt his leg a week or so ago so we just offered a prayer and booked it out of there safe and unharmed. We felt SO uncomfortable and like wanted to die after. That is the last time we set an appointment with a little crippled old man that wore a bright pink sweater and shades thinking he is interested in our message.

On a positive note, we got to eat with Sylvia this week and her husband for lunch for the first time and that was way fun! I LOVE THEM! It was super glam because they are like in the higher class so we had like a four course meal - like the first glam intense nice meal of my mission - and after they made us this herbal tea in these glam china glasses and we got to just sip on it and chat about life and the gospel. It was epic.

Also a little tender mercy that happened this week was we were on the way to a lunch appointment, and running to the bus station and this tender guy who is homeless and an alcoholic was walking just super out of it in the streets and passed us. We gave a friendly and loving hello to him on our way and right before we crossed our paths he stopped us and looked us both in the eye and began to weep a little bit. He recognized that we were representatives of Jesus Christ and could physically feel the light we carried as we passed him. Right then and there in the moment without anyone saying anything he dropped his hat - right there in the middle of the sidewalks with people all around us - and he asked us if we could offer him a prayer. As we prayed for this man by name out loud I felt such a strong love for him from our Heavenly Father, and I just knew that he knew and cared for him. I was so overwhelmed by this impact of feelings and I felt so grateful that this child of God felt that we, as servants of God, were there in that moment to bless his precious life and he knew we could help him. We all walked out of that small and tender mercy just filled with so much of God’s love and knowing that God truly does love ALL of his children and wants us to send that care and love to them all regardless of what the are going through, where they are, or who they are. This experience really made me comprehend the true meaning of the scripture in Romans 8:16 that talks about that through the spirit we receive the testimony that we are children of God.

We as well visited the Familia Ponsse this week who are an incomplete family and that are passing through a trial really hard right now and need a lot of ward support. The couple who are members were married in the temple and have two little daughters. Their three year old has cancer and had surgery just a few days ago. We asked the bishop and another member to come and give the little girl a blessing and of course they willingly accepted. As we were all in there together, they brought the little girl out and suddenly the room was just pierced corner to corner with the spirit, and as we all gazed upon this heavenly sent angel who was recovering from hours of surgery. She had bandages all over her, and was just beaming with so much light in her face….we couldn’t believe how special she is and how much strength she has to get through this, and is really setting the example for all. I truly was just looking that little girl in the eyes and felt that I was in the presence of a heavenly being, and it was hard not to break down in tears, because she was just so full of purity, innocence, virtue, and love. I was just blessed to feel that and be close to her light and peace. I hadn’t felt like that since I had been in the temple. I didn’t want to leave this house and I couldn’t believe - although it was a huge trial for the family-that they were so blessed to have this angel in their life and to set the example of what it teaches us in the scriptures to truly ¨become as a little child¨. Even though in this life we have so many challenges that can be hard and heart breaking and especially when we don’t know the outcome of it all, it is so important to have faith and I am so grateful for this entire family because they are all being so strong. The girl that is a member and is married in the temple is a recent convert and told us that if she didn’t have the gospel knowledge she had at this time, she wouldn’t have the strength to overcome this trial with such faith and hope and it would be so much more difficult. We all just sat in silence and the bishop just said ¨can you believe the miracles that come from living the gospel. It is all just completely true. There is no other way¨ I am so blessed to be a part of this miraculous work. I am blessed to be able to have the Holy Ghost as my constant companion, and to feel of his presence abundantly in my life, and very frequently. I am grateful for this perfect gospel that literally lifts us through our trials and brings us comfort in everything we overcome in this mortal life. I know this gospel is true and I will never deny it. I love you all with all of my heart!

Love,

Hermana Pond