Hey there best family in the entire world!!!!
I have to say that this week was so much better as far as it goes with
our investigators
and our work here in our sector. Last week was a little rough for my
companion and I because we have such big goals and want to do so much in
our sector, but we just really aren't seeing much progression in our
branch or in our investigators. Actually right now it has been really
difficult in finding people who want us to come back and teach them. I
swear I have had so many amazing contacts where the Spirit has been so
strong and then the people don't want us to come back. But that's ok, we
will just keep going back. My Mission President told me one time that we
have to be more persistent than the Avon Lady!! I cant believe that
the asistence is 100 in Shelby that is amazing!!! I want to know what
the missionaries there are doing and maybe they can give us some tips so
we can have that kind of success. Our little branch consists of about
45-50 on a good day. But we are working with some less active families
that have great potential to return,
only that it is so much harder to return when you have left the church
for a while.
This
week was really pretty good. Heavenly Father blessed us with the peace
and comfort that we needed to just shake off the week before and keep
working towards our goals. Right now in our mission we have a goal to
have 100 baptisms in one month and we have had so many zone meetings and
special meetings with President to talk about what we need to do to
acheive this goal.
Well, something surprising happened today. Our President told us that we no longer will be working toward this goal of
100 baptisms. I think the entire mission is in shock and really I am
just a little sad. These past few months have not been a piece of cake
and the work of the Lord never is. But I have about 4 changes under my
belt where I really haven't seen any progression in my two areas.
Sometimes it is hard to think that maybe the problem is me. Maybe I'm
just not a good missionary or teacher, maybe I'm just not obedient
enough. My companion and I have talked
about this topic many times in the week because we have just felt the
same. But truly we want to be obedient, diligent in the work. We truly
do want to find those people who are prepared and help find their own
testimonies of Jesus Christ. We want to see the branch progress and
become a ward again. And I think wow, can we really be doing things that
wrong not to be able to see the miracles of the Lord in our work. Well
we have done lots of studying about patience and hope and faith. And it
is an amazing study. I invite you all to read 2 Nephi 4, Enos, and Ether
12, and Hebrews 11. They are amazing!! And well this week we had a
miracle, a huge tender mercy of the Lord.
We have an investigator who wants to be baptized. She is 21 years old
and has a little baby of 5 months and her younger sister is a member of
the church. We have invited her to church every single week this
change and so far she has not attended. This week we planned on doing a
breakfast in their house so we could all walk to church together!!
Sneaky! On Thursday we went past their house to see how their were
doing and make sure that we could still make breakfast for them. We went and the mom of the two girls, who never really wanted anything
to do with us before, told us that Camila (her daughter) had shared a
little about the Book of Mormon. The mom started to talk to us a little
about the Book of Mormon and how her daughter told her that she could
open it and find a scripture that would help her in her day or in her
doubts. We gave her her own Book of Mormon and invited her to church. She
accepted the BoM but was a
little iffy about giong to church. Sunday came and we had
breakfast with them and invited the mom to go to church wiht us again.
She told us that she could go with us at ten but could make it by 12
which is the Sacrament meeting. I just have to say that our
investigator with a baptismal date came with her less active younger
sister and her mom came later for the sacrament meeting by herself!!! It
was amazing and my companion and I were so content with this tender
mercy of the Lord. They all loved the meetings and were really happy
after church. Now we just need to talk more with the dad and we can help
this little family accept the true gospel of Jesus Christ and start
working on being an eternal family.
My
area here in San Fernando is pretty big. We live pretty far from our
sector and have to take colectivos everyday to our sector. It is about a
30 minute walk if we don't and that is a lot of time wasted just to make
it to the sector. But I love it here. San Fernando isn't huge but is a
whole lot bigger than my last sector. But it really isn't city either. My
mission is pretty country as far as the missions in Chile go.
I hope everything is
ok with Grandpa. How is Grandma doing? I am glad that things are
slowing down a little bit for you guys too so you don't get too wiped
out. It sounds like your new calling will take lots of your time Mom, but
if there is one thing that I have learned in the mission is that if
someone truly wants to know Jesus Christ the should serve other people.
The gospel is not just something we read about, it is something we LIVE.
In the scriptures Christ invites us to become like Him, well that means
that we have to quit thinking about ourselves and start caring about
other people. I am not saying that I am perfect, and only think about
others. Consecration is something that is practiced not attained in one
night. I think that it will take me more that a life time to become
like Christ, but I know that out of small things great things come to
pass. Keep doing the small things, praying, reading your scriptures and
conference
talks, attending church and serving. One finds their testimony in the
bearing of it.
I
love you all!! Tell everyone HOLA!! Don't worry about money I am good
for now. I don't need anything immediately, but maybe you could send some
sunscreen in my next package it is ridiculously expensive here and if I
didn't absolutely need it I wouldn't have bought it. Almost $14 for
sunscreen!! WHAT!
LES AMO UN MONTON!!! Siga firme en la fe en Cristo.
hasta la proximo samana
su hijita Hermanita Thacker
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