Hola a todos!!
Large Plates
An account of her Thanksgivings. The progress her and her companion are seeing in the work. Pranks on the Elders.
This week was super good! Thanksgiving was tons of fun & I ate so. much.
We actually had like 4 or 5 Thanksgiving dinners in the span of a week haha. We went to members houses for dinner Tuesday and Wednesday night, and they fed us some traditional holiday foods, and some American Thanksgiving food too. I've actually loved everything we got fed this week! One of my favorites was pan de jamon (ham bread), which is made by rolling out the bread dough and basically making a cinnamon roll out of it. But instead of cinnamon, its ham and cheese and raisins and stuffed green olives. Its one of our friend Carmen's favorites from Venezuela and it was sooo good.
As far as Thanksgiving day, we only had 2 meals (I say "only" because some of the Elders had 4. And they weren't just meals. They were feasts haha). Our first was at the Cluff's, a senior couple in our district. They're incredible cooks and the sweetest people. Sister Cluff cried when she was telling us about her family because apparently I remind her so much if her daughter Riley. It was so sweet. Sister Cluff is also a master baker and her sourdough is to die for. I'm telling you. If you're trying to become my best friend, the way to get there is through bread. A good sourdough roll can make my whole day.
Our second Thanksgiving (20 minutes after the 1st) was at the Scott's, another senior couple in our area. They actually live in our apartment complex! Though their apartment is much nicer than ours haha.
Thats pretty much it for Thanksgiving festivities though! We did some games as a district, and I was super content. I can tell this is where I'm supposed to be:)
By far the best day this week, and probably of my mission so far, was Saturday. We had more lessons planned than we had time for. We had 3 lessons with people who are really progressing in the gospel. And wow, they are just some choice spirits. (side note I got that phrase from Bonka Don so for all of my aunts who read this email, I hope you enjoy haha. Its a phrase I use often because I find choice spirits often). We also met with a recent convert and she's super sweet too. And one of the funnest conversations I've had as a missionary was with a guy in Starbucks. He grew up Catholic, got into some bad stuff, spent 25 years in prison, where he studied scriptures all day every day, and converted to Muslim. He's incredibly smart as far as the Bible, but a bit hard hearted. The likelihood of converting him is slim, and he's been very upfront about that. Of course we understand and respect his agency. The conversation was very civil and informative. Even if we don't convert him, at least he now has a Book of Mormon and a positive perspective about us Missionaries :)
Also we had to drop off some Books of Mormon at the Elders apartment, when they weren't home. Its okay though cause their apartment is never locked haha. So, we stopped by after an appointment to drop off the books...and use their bathroom... and took a bite out of each donut in the box that was sitting on the counter... and put one of the Elders crocs in the freezer... and hid the stale biscuit Elder Jensen threw into the window of our car while we were driving on Thanksgiving under one of Elder Boatmans hats that he never wears. Tehe.
Also! We found a portuguese book of Mormon in our apartment and I got the distinct impression "hey, you should read that." So I guess I'm learing Portuguese now! So far I've read and studied the first couple chapters of 1st Nephi. I can understand it all when I read it cause Portuguese basically just looks like Spanish with typos. But I also want to be able to speak it, so I listened to it while I read and took notes on how to pronounce certain letter and what the rules are for each letter etc. Should be fun! We'll see how far I make it haha.
Small plates
Joseph Smith is a Prophet of God. Seek and ye shall find. The need for member missionaries.
We saw lots of miracles this week. That's one of the best things about missionary life.
The experience I want to share with you all today is something that happened as a result of our conversation with the man in Starbucks. He had a lot of really good questions about Joseph Smith, that I didnt have the answers to. So I promised him that I would go home and study throughout the week to search for answers to his questions. We went home that night and got to work.
As we studied with pe hearts, searching diligently, we started to find answers to his questions. And we learned a lot more along the way. Did we find all the answers to his questions? No, or at least not yet. Even if we did find all the answers, would that convert him? Probably not.
But as missionaries we learned something very important.
Seek, and ye shall find.
I've actually felt like my testimony of Joseph Smith has needed some work for a while now, even before this conversation in Starbucks. Its been one of my goals to strengthen my testimony of Joseph Smith. I have faith that he was a prophet, but I want my faith in Him to be as strong as my faith in everything else I believe.
As I've studied about him this last month or so, my testimony has grown immensely. The more I study the scriptures and other true books, the more I come to know Joseph Smith was a true prophet, and the more I come to know him as a person. I've recieved confirmation though the Spirit that he was a true prophet and that this Church is the true snd restored church of Jesus Christ here on the earth.
If you feel like your testimony of a principle, or a person, or the church as a whole, is falling short of what you want it to be, do something about it. The more you learn, the more youll know and feel of the truthfulness of what you are studying.
This church is true, my friends.
A side note: my dear member friends. Please help the missionaries in your area. This work simply won't be as good without you. And no, feeding the missionaries does not count as missionary work(although it it greatly appreciated). It's been incredible to see the members out here working alongside us, and fellowshipping our friends that come to church. There's a video called "come and see" & I think all would benefit from watching it. The community we can find at church is something a lot of people have never experienced before. But it's a beautiful thing. To meet strangers and become family in the course of one Relief Society, Elders Quorum or Sunday School lesson. Be there for the people who are searching for truth. Help them know and feel that our church is the place to find it. Let me know if you need ideas ;)
