About that one time Alma got TKO'd by an angel

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Just another ordinary week here in Orlando, and an update on my best friend Andres!

Honestly there's not much to say about this week haha. It really was a good week though! There's just not a whole lot to report that you all haven't already heard. 

One fun thing we did this week was our lesson with Andres! He's seriously such a funny kid. He's kind of a punk too but we sure do love him. He's a combination of pessimistic, easily distracted, so smart, and so full of potential. I don't really know how to describe it. We've taught him two lessons now and he wants to be baptized super bad! He just doesn't know a whole lot yet. Like at all. All he knows is what we've taught him in those two lessons (and of course he only knows what he remembers, for that matter). But he's seriously so awesome. He's the only person I've ever given lessons to in English and they also happen to be the most chaotic lessons I've ever taught haha. One minute we're talking about Jesus and the next minute we're talking about Spiderman. Or we'll be talking about church and he'll tell us all about one of his school teachers. He's so funny haha. And he really is learning a lot. It's been cool to see him progress, even just in the last couple of weeks.

Small Plates 

What would be a more powerful witness: an angel or a testimony received through the Holy Ghost?

This week I read a book called Spirit by David Butler (thanks mom!) and it was SO GOOD. David is a seminary/institute teacher so his way of writing is very animated but very insightful.

I've really been trying to strengthen my ability to hear and be guided by the spirit. It's kind of the essence of missionary work so it's a good strength to have. That's why I decided to read this book first, out of all of the other books I have (thanks again, mom!). There are a ton of parts in the book that I loved, but here's one of my favorites:

"I am writing this chapter on a fast Sunday. Today in our ward we had person after person stand up and bear testimony of the gospel. Except for the kid who breathed into the microphone for ten seconds before his dad came running up to get him off the stand, or the crazy lady who thought it was just open mic night, almost everyone else started several phrases with, 'I know…' 'I know God lives.' 'I know Jesus is my Savior.' 'I know the Church is God's Church.' After every testimony line they gave, I wanted to ask a follow-up question from the back of the room, 'But how do you know??' What if I asked you that about what you believe? If you said 'I know God loves, ' and I said, 'How do you know?', what would you say? What is your evidence of that? 

"I love the answer that one of my favorite prophets from the Book of Mormon gave to that question. The prophet is Alma--I just love that guy. Do you remember his story? This is the Alma who was famous for living a thug life even though his dad was the prophet. He was a naughty kid and it took an angel coming and spiritually karate chopping him off his punk train to get him to wake up. But literally the angel knocked him out. TKO. For three days he was in a dream-like coma and felt the pains of a damned soul until his heart was turned and set on the rescue of Jesus. He did the most miraculous spiritual 180 and became a more powerful witness for Christ than he had been an agent of bad. Wild story. But such a good one!

"During one of his visits to a branch of the Church, Alma stood up--maybe in testimony meeting--and gave a memorable and heart-thumping testimony of Jesus and the miracle of conversion. Toward the end of it, he asked, 'Do ye not suppose that I know of these things myself? Behold, I testify unto you that I do know that these things whereof I have spoken are true.' And then maybe someone in the back asked how he knew, because he went straight to it and said, 'And how do ye suppose that I know of their surety?' Are you ready for the answer?

" 'Behold, I say unto you they are made known unto me by the Holy Spirit of God. Behold, I have fasted and prayed many days that I might know these things of myself. And now I do know of myself that they are true; for the Lord God hath made them manifest unto me by his Holy Spirit' "

"Say what? The Holy Spirit? That sounds like it would be the right answer if you came and visited my ward. But Alma? That's how he knows? After all he experienced? What about the angel that drop-kicked you on the road? Don't you think that was more memorable?... Of all he could have said, Alma told them that the experience most meaningful to him was a visit to his heart from the Holy Spirit testifying of truth."

I apologize for such a long quotation, but he tells it better than I ever could. But wow. Doesn't that just put things into perspective? Angels are awesome, don't get me wrong. I've never seen one but I certainly wouldn't be upset if I did one day. But, angels come and go. The spirit stays with us. We are promised the gift of the third member of the Godhead if we take the name of Jesus Christ upon us. There is no better evidence of truth than God The Third Himself. 

Angels come and go. Earthly evidence can be manipulated or forged. The testimonies of the people around us might disappear one day. But the Holy Ghost will never stop testifying of truth. He is one of the only sure sources of truth left in this world. And we have the promise that He will be with us as long as we remain faithful to our baptismal covenants. He will guide us in every aspect and every phase of our lives.

"If ye will enter in by the way, and receive the Holy Ghost, it will show unto you all things what ye should do."

All things. 

Let the power of that promise sink in, and then go and do what the Holy Ghost guides you to do.

God Opens doors.... Carmen was Baptized!

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Good week! Baptisms and trios and unprofessional house painting and dreams of opening an arepa truck.

Surprise surprise this week went by in the blink of an eye haha. 

Pday was good as always! We had a nerf war, but bishop let us borrow his kid's nerf guns and they had like 20 rounds in each one so we absolutely wrecked everyone else haha. We also had a BBQ with the senior couple and played some beach volleyball at our apartment complex:)

We also were in a trio for a day! Hermana Cummings flew out to her original assignment in Argentina this week so she was with us for a day before we dropped her off at the airport. To be honest it was kind of awkward being in a trio haha.

We also helped paint a house this week! No one there was qualified and the members whose house we were painting had no game plan whatsoever. So we just kind of sent it haha. It was fun but it ended up taking way longer than the members thought it would. We had to leave so the members finished it on their own. But… it turns out the color they picked was only approved by the HOA for doors or trim, not the whole house. So they're gonna have to do it again. Oops haha. 

The highlight of this week though was for sure Carmen! When she came to church on Sunday she told us she had a whole week without work and she wanted to take advantage of it. She wanted us to come over every day and teach her! So we went over Tuesday-Friday:) on Wednesday we got to talking about what a miracle it is that she has this week off of work especially when we had all been praying for a way for her to come to church and have time for the lessons again. She said God gave her this week for a reason and she was determined to make the most of it. So we actually ended up moving her baptismal date to Saturday! So we finished all the lessons this week and we had a baptism! It was seriously such a special day. Carmen is elect you guys. I'm so excited to see her keep growing and progressing in the church. I'm not kidding when I say she's General Authority material. 

Also a while back Carmen told us she really wants to move somewhere where there's more English so she'll be forced to learn it. We jokingly mentioned she should move to Utah. The joke has evolved and now we talk about it all the time. I've shown her pictures of how pretty it is and told her about all the things there is to do. She's also so excited to go to the temple so the fact that there's so many temples in Utah is really appealing to her too haha. There's lots of options for her but right now it's looking like the dream we've come up with is for her to move there after I get home and then I'll finish my business degree. Then we're gonna open a food truck together and just make the best arepas ever because her arepas are so. good. We'll see if that ever happens but it's now documented here just in case haha.

Small Plates 

The parable of the automatic door. God opens doors we don't even know exist. 

Okay so I talk about this in pretty much every email but WOW YOU GUYS. Heavenly Father is so in control. He has a plan and it is perfect. 

Carmen's baptism this week caused me to reflect a lot on how God guides each of His children to be where they need to be when they need to be there. She is seriously such an amazing person and it has been a privilege to be able to see her grow, and to see how God is providing the way for her to do the things He wants her to do.

It's so interesting as a missionary to observe the way God works in the lives of his children. Because ultimately, the goal is the same, but his method is different every time. 

Sometimes, we're going to see a transition coming up in our lives and know we can't avoid it. Those times are when we have to move forward with faith, working diligently, trusting that by the time we get there, God will have given us enough strength and courage to face that challenge. These challenges are things like school, missions, and marriage. They require preparation and, depending on the person, they are things we aren't going to be able to avoid experiencing. 

These times in our lives are like walking through a locked door. We know we need to do the necessary preparation (in this case, get a key) before we are going to be capable of passing through. 

Other times, we don't see the change coming, but we recognize it when it comes. This can be anything from medical emergencies to changes in friendships or work. There's endless examples of these types of transitions in our lives. 

These times are like walking through an unlocked door. You don't think about it until you get there. And when you get there, that's when you take the step to turn the knob and open the door. There's no way to prepare, it's just something we have to do when the time comes. But the minute we try to open the door, we recognize that we do have enough strength to move it.

Other times, we need to transition from one phase to another, but God guides us gently and gracefully from one chapter to the next. We might not even notice his hand in our lives during these times. Things are going to feel like a convenient coincidence, or luck. Or maybe we won't even notice the things that happened around us that permitted us to get to the place we're at.

 

These times are like walking through an automatic door. We're still transitioning from one place to another. We're still experiencing a change. But God's hand in our lives is so subtle we won't notice it until we look for it. And even then it might be hard to see. 

Sometimes God brings us to a door and gives us the strength and the will and the ability to open that door. Other times, he guides us to an automatic door and opens it for us before we get there. 

I think we're probably walking through more automatic doors than anything else. God is sending little miracles and blessings to us every second of every day. His timing is perfect. He's guiding us so gently and He's opening doors for us the second we need to step through them. 

And we can't even see just how much He really is doing. But just know. He loves you so completely and so individually. Even if you can't see Him opening doors, just know He is. He has a plan and a purpose for YOU. Press forward with faith and trust in the plan He has for you:)

Opposition in all things

 Large plates

Quick summary:)

Okay so most of this week is going to be in the small plates. But here's a few key points :)

•last pday was so fun. I'm still not good at wiffle ball, but neither is anyone in the whole zone. Also we had a nerf war district versus district and we totally wrecked them haha.

• zone conference! I got to play the piano because the Elder who use to always play headed out to Africa 

• we watched the SpaceX launch from the roof of the Bishops storehouse!

• we went to the temple with some youth and new members. Ana and Cristina LOVED it. Super strong spirit there.

We went out to dinner with Ana and Cristina and Elders Jensen and Boatman. The 6 of us are like a little family it's so awesome. Elder Jensen is trying to convince them to move to Twin Falls and it seems like they might actually do it. I hope they do because the 6 of us need to see each other often, even after we're all home from our missions

•saw lots of miracles this week! Go read the small plates;)

Small Plates 

Opposition in all things. 

Come, Follow Me this week was about the Fall of Adam and Eve. This is something I've known about and understood for a very long time but I really liked diving into it in my studies this week.

One thing that I thought about as I studied was how interesting it is that Adam and Eve rejoiced when they fell. 

In the religious world, the fall is often perceived as something bad. In our church, we understand that it wasn't. In fact, it was a crucial part of the plan our Heavenly Father had for His children.

But beyond that, it allowed Adam and Eve to experience joy. It also allowed them to experience sadness. I got to thinking about it and asked myself, "would I rather live in ignorance and innocence, or experience the things I do in my life every day?"

I don't know if this is a common experience, but there have been times in my life where I have been emotionally numb. It was at times where I was just so tired or so overwhelmed by one emotion or another for such a long time that my brain gave up. 

But I remember every time I broke out of that state, I was so grateful. Even if breaking out if it meant finally feeling sad. Just to be able to feel something. 

I can't even imagine how Adam and Eve felt when they experienced emotions the way humankind does for the first time. Wow. I would imagine even sadness would be preferred over numbness. Because sadness belongs on a spectrum of emotions. And that spectrum includes happiness too. How grateful I am for the ability I have to experience the world around me with more than just sight and smell and touch. But with my heart too. 

I came to this realization one morning in my personal studies. The next morning, we got a text from an Elder in our district. He told us he was leaving for home later that day. He came out into the field with me two months ago. It hit me so hard. 

This Elder has become one of my closest friends. It broke my heart to think of everything he's been going through these last 2 months, and to think that we've been unaware of his needs and how to help him. It broke my heart to think that I wasn't going to have him around for these next few transfers until he comes back. And it broke my heart to think of how much his companion and roommates were going to miss him. They were all like brothers.

We weren't sure how we were going to go about our work for the day with this weighing on our minds and our hearts. Nevertheless, we moved forward. 

We were in a bit of a slump as we started our work for the day, but our hearts started feeling better as we went on. We actually got to go see our friend Carmen that day! We had a really good conversation and lesson, and we put her back on date for baptism! We promised her that God would provide a way for her to get to church so that she could get baptized before her 1 year mark of being in the states. She's so filled with faith and all 3 of us have had to trust so much in God's timing. 

We also decided to go knocking that day. Hermana Morris felt like we should go to a certain apartment complex, so we went. I felt like we should go to a specific building once we got there, so we went. We picked an entrance and a door and knocked. A super nice Venezuelan guy answered the door, and called for his wife. The minute she saw us, she beckoned us in. 

She said she knew we were servants of God because of an experience she had a couple months prior. When she arrived in America, she was so lost in the Denver Airport. She had no idea how to find her connecting flight and how she was going to make it to Florida to be with her family. 

A missionary saw her distress and offered his help. He talked her through everything and helped her find her gate. He even stayed at that gate with her until she was on the plane. She was so grateful for his help.

He told her if she ever needed help she could just look for people with name tags like his and she could trust them and know they had good hearts.

Apparently she's been having a really hard time since she got here. I can't imagine how hard it would be to move to a new country with nothing. No job. No English. No plan. 

She's been praying for help. That day she pleaded to God to show her He loved her and help her. As she was telling us about her struggle and her prayer, the spirit filled the room, probably the strongest I have felt yet here on the mission. She broke down in tears and our eyes began to fill with tears too.

She was just so blown away by the miracle she had before her eyes. Her husband started to cry too as she explained how grateful she was to have her prayers answered. She knew He had a purpose for her and she was supposed to find us. Or be found by us.

The spirit had filled the room and our hearts. It burned within me so strongly that it almost hurt. We had such a good lesson and she was so interested in the Book of Mormon as we read it with her. 

She thanked us for coming by and told us she had had a hard day and she needed this. I felt it too. We had had such a tough morning and we needed some uplifting. I could feel a confirmation in my heart. God was telling me "I did this for her. But I did this for you too."

I needed a miracle. I needed to be filled with the spirit and filled with joy. I needed the strength that comes from an experience like that so I could carry on with the energy I needed for the rest of the week.

We eventually had to leave, but that was one of the best experiences I've had yet. As we walked to our car we could see the husband sitting at the table looking down at something in his hands. They're both incredible and God has prepared them to hear His message.

So what's the point of this whole story?

"For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things. If not so, my firstborn in the wilderness, righteousness could not be brought to pass, neither wickedness, neither holiness nor misery, neither good nor bad. Wherefore, all things must needs be a compound in one; wherefore, if it should be one body it must needs remain as dead, having no life neither death, nor corruption nor incorruption, happiness nor misery, neither sense nor insensibility."

This has been one of the best weeks of my mission and of my life. And not because it has been easy. But because I have felt immense joy. Immense joy that I am only capable of feeling because of the sadness I have felt too. 

Tough mornings give us the emotional traction to jump into joyful days. 

I'm so grateful for the Fall of Adam and Eve, and more importantly, for the plan our Heavenly Father has for each of us, individually and collectively. He knows exactly what we need to feel in order to experience the things we need to, in the way we need to, in order for us to become the people we are destined to be. All we have to do is trust in Him and let him be the author of our story.

God has a purpose for you

 Large Plates 

Good week! Nerf wars and a ferris wheel with the best district in the world. Wendy is on date for baptism! Honduranean food, volleyball, and our wards first baptisms of the year!

This week went by SO FAST. It genuinely feels like we lived one week of our lives in 2 days. Here are some of the highlights:

Pday is always such a good time. I genuinely love my district so much. I couldn't ask for a better group of friends and a better group of missionaries to work with. We started off the morning with pickleball, and then had another epic nerf war in the chapel. I'm slowly becoming known throughout the mission for my stealth and my spot-on gun shots. I'm not sure how to feel about it haha. We went to Icon Park and rode on the ferris wheel to end pday and it was seriously so fun! There's a way to hook up your phone to the Bluetooth speaker that's built into the ferris wheel, so we hooked up Sister Storm's phone and jammed to the youth album music haha.

Wednesday! We put Wendy on date!! She's been sick so we haven't been able to see her in a while and I genuinely missed her so much. We had a lesson with her over video call and we brought up baptism and asked her if she had thought any more about it. She was just like "yeah I'm thinking the first part of February would be good." And we were like: ahh!!! Ok! And yeah she's excited and we're excited. I'm so excited for her to not be sick anymore because I miss her!!!

I tried baleadas this week and they are so tasty! It's like a Honduranean breakfast quesadilla. That's the best way I can think to describe it haha. Adony is from Honduras and his sister works at the restaurant he took us to. Adony's a super sweet guy and he seems to like church a lot! 

On Thursday our friends Adony, Omar, and Julio came to ward volleyball! They liked learning the sport and they seemed to get along well with the ward. I see a lot of potential in each of them:)

And Saturday the Elders baptized 2 of the sweetest ladies I have ever met in my life. I'm so happy for those two women and also for the Elders! I can tell the Elders just have so much love for these people they taught. It was seriously just such a good day. Also I'm kind of the designated piano player around here cause out of us 4 missionaries in the ward I'm the only one who plays. So I played at their baptism. Also the Elders asked me to write their names on the chalkboard so that was fun!

Sunday was so so so so good! Our ward has a lot of covid going around right now so numbers were few, but the spirit was still there! And man oh man were there miracles. See the small plates ;)

Small Plates 

God has a purpose for you. 

Okay so I told you guys about Erick a while back, the week before Christmas. And wow you guys, God's hand is so evident in his life. If you don't remember who Erick is, he's our friend from Ecuador who had a really hard life and made some poor choices and ended up in rehab for drugs. He found God there and found himself too. He ended up coming to America a while back and now he's divorced but still living with his ex wife because they have a kid and they're trying to do the best they can for her. 

In our first English class with him, we ended up talking about his whole life story and how he has such strong faith in God. He was told once by some stranger on the phone that God had a purpose for him and that was kind of his motto for a while. So when we told him that same thing in one of our messages he knew we were servants of God.

In one of our later lessons we showed him a video of a testimony of a member of the ward. He was very touched by that testimony and recognized this member at church the following Sunday. We introduced them and it turns out they both came from the same neighborhood in the same city in Ecuador! And our friend told him: God has a purpose for him. It was seriously like a sign from God. It's not an uncommon phrase, but you don't hear it everywhere. People only say it when they mean it. It was just a cool experience. It was like God was saying to us "Hey hermanas. He needs to be in this ward. With these people. Help him get there."

Unfortunately, shortly after that we found out that he is out of our area. Of course that doesn't mean we can't teach him, or that he's not allowed to come to our church. It just means that when the day comes that he chooses to be baptized, we have to pass him off to other missionaries and another ward. And that just never goes well…

We've been trying to think all week about how to have a lesson with him and the other missionaries, so he could get to know them and start progressing with them and their ward, but we've come up with nothing. I mean, we've come up with ideas and everything, but none that we feel good about. And the thing about missionary work is that the most important rule you follow is Follow The Spirit. And the spirit keeps telling us not to let him go.

So yeah. We've been wrestling with this idea for a while. And to add to it all, this week has been really hard for Erick. He's been working at Doordash so he can have a flexible schedule and be at home with his daughter when he needs to. He used to work construction too, but he's not doing much of that right now. So money's a little tight. And then his ex wife decided he's not allowed to live in the house he pays for them to live in. So he got kicked out. He's been working pretty much non stop to make ends meet this week, so we didn't see him all week.

But he and his daughter made it to church on Sunday!! He went to Elders quorum for the first time and he told his story to them when he introduced himself. It took a minute (or 15) but that was a good thing because 1) it brought the spirit, and 2) it meant the Elders didn't have to make their impromptu lesson last as long. They got put in charge because everyone's home sick with covid…

Anyway! Apparently while he was there he got to know Hermano Parraga, and they found out they're literally cousins. What?! They got along like 2 peas in a pod and Erick really opened up to him. And you'll never guess what Hermano Parraga said to him. "God has a purpose for you." I got chills. I almost started crying right there in the church hallway. It's so obvious that God's hand is in Ericks life right now. And get this: Hermano Parraga works in real estate. 

You're telling me that our friend who lives outside the area, got kicked out of his house the same week that he met his cousin, the realtor, in the ward where we feel so strongly he needs to be? Tell me that's not a miracle. 

Now, we're still in the thick of things, but there is so much evidence of God's love in this situation. We're genuinely thrilled. We can tell Erick loves this gospel. And he loves this ward. And the ward loves him. Everyone just rallied around him the moment he got here. I don't know exactly what the future holds for Erick, but I know it has got to be good.

Our Heavenly Father is so aware of each of his children. Don't forget that. He is opening doors for you the moment He knows they need to be opened. And maybe He's leaving some shut because He knows you're not ready to walk through them. Or maybe whatever is on the other side of that door isn't ready for you yet. Trust in Him. Trust in His timing and in His methods. He knows everything. He knows you. And He loves you. 

Lots of pictures from this week! The ferris wheel at Icon Park, some candids courtesy of Sister Jordan, my chalk art featuring Elder Jensen's thumb of approval, all the food our newly baptized friends sent us home with, sunsets (and me being excited about them), Jeremiah's (thanks mom), and the love of my life: a soft pretzel.