Hunger and thirst after righteousness

Large Plates

Spanish zone conference, an exchange with Sister Torres, and Graciela & Juseli's baptism!!

Wow, what a week! I've got a lot to write about, so let's just jump right into it. 

Tuesday was the Spanish Zone Conference! It was really cool because we did as much of it in Spanish as possible. Sister Schmeil even gave her training in Spanish! We were supposed to give a training too, but I got pulled out out Zone Conference to take someone to the airport. I heard that Sister Peterson and the Zone Leaders did well, though! That's pretty much all I have to say about zone conference because honestly I missed like half of it haha. That's ok though!

After Zone Conference, we started our exchange with Sister Torres and Sister Parmley. Me and Sister Torres headed out from there to meet up with Ines and her family because it was her birthday! We met at Kobe, and met me just say--wow. That was quite the experience. Kobe is one of those Japanese Steakhouse places where they cook at your table. We had so much fun, and ate so much food. If I were more wealthy I would be back there all the time.

The next day, we did a bunch of finding and had another lesson with our friend Dana. She's our Muslim friend, I think I've writte about her before. She's loving the Book of Mormon! We sat down with her this week and just talked about Jesus. She seems more and more open to Christianity every time we go over. I think she could really grow and progress, but it's definitely going to take some time. She really loves God, and she sees that we do too, and we really love Jesus. She said she wants to know what it feels like to have that love for both of them. I have full faith that if she keeps reading in the Book of Mormon with true intention, it's going to help her see that Jesus Christ really is her Savior. That's the point of the Book of Mormon, is it not? To testify of Jesus Christ. 

On Thursday we had a good lesson with Rosalba!! We didn't meet with her last week because she was super sick & had family in town. But, when we started talking with her again this week she told us she had shared what she has been learning with her mom! Everyone please pray that she can recognize that she really is ready to be baptized! And that she can feel more comfortable at church!

We also had a Relief Society Thanksgiving party!  Graciela, Juseli, and Dana all came and loved it. We all just ate soup and bread and desserts while we mingled amongst one another. Holy moly Latinos know how to make soup. It was so good for Graciela and Juseli to make a few more friends before their baptism, and for Dana to learn about just how awesome the Relief Society is!!

As for Saturday, we started off with service at 4Roots with the Language Zone, got a bike from a member, got dinner at a place owned by the founders of 4Roots (not on purpose!), and most importantly: Graciela and Juseli got Baptized!! 

It was such a sweet experience. They brought Juselis 2 sons, Abraham and Pablo. Abraham is about 2, so he's kind of crazy but man oh man he is so cute. He loved the songs we sang and he gave lots of hugs and blew kisses to everyone when they were leaving. Pablo is 15, and he came to support his mom and grandma in their decision to be baptized! After their baptism, Juseli got up to bear her testimony and she just started crying because she was so grateful she had found the Church and the Gospel. I love em both so much!

Small Plates 

Hunger and thirst after righteousness 

This week in Come, Follow Me, you find this verse:

"Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord."

This was in reference to the Great Apostasy, but it also applies to the individual. Sometimes I think we, as members of the Church, forget that although the Great Apostasy has ended, many people are still in apostasy. "For there are many yet on the earth … who are only kept from the truth because they know not where to find it." 

There are people who are still experiencing this famine. I like the way Amos puts it. Famine. I'm fairly certain that no one on this email list has ever experienced true famine. I know I certainly haven't. Famine is more than hunger. It's even more than starvation. It's feeling hungry, and looking around you to find that there is no food in sight to fill you. It's hopeless hunger. 

It's a sobering thought. 

Not only are there people out there who are spiritually hungry, but they don't even know what to do about it. They're lost. They're in a famine of hearing the words of God. 

But, because we have a Heavenly Father who loves us and a Savior who knows us, we can rest assured that our brothers and sisters here on this earth do not have to remain in such a state for long. 

The Savior Himself taught (and promised), "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled."

They shall be filled. 

Shall is a bold word, you know. That's a promise. And I'm not talking about a handshake, or a pinky promise. No, not even a Boy Scout "on my honor" kind of promise. That is our very own Savior, guaranteeing that those who hunger and thirst after righteousness shall be filled. 

Graciela and Juseli were some of those people. They hungered for truth, and it showed. Sometimes you can't tell how hungry a person is until after you give them food. For example, when we went to Kobe on Tuesday, we were all chatting and enjoying each other's company and the show the chef was putting on. But, as soon as he was throwing mountains of fried rice on our plates, you could tell who was most hungry. Some of us ate a bite here, and a bite there, and watched the Chef as he continued to cook. Others devoured that food like they hadn't eaten in years. Their plates were clean by the time the chef was ready to load us up with more. 

Graciela and Juseli soaked in our every word. They studied on their own. They took notes. And every time we returned, they were ready for more. These women were ready for the gospel. They hungered for so long. And just as the Savior promised, they were filled. 

You know what the beautiful thing about all this is? At this kind of meal, there are always leftovers. And not the kind of leftovers that can be contained in a singular flimsy styrofoam box. No. Because, as good as Kobe was, this isn't Kobe. This is so much better. We're talking about the Bread of Life here. The Living Water. We're talking about He who fed five thousand with 5 loaves of bread and 2 fishes, and had 12 baskets of leftovers. 

The gospel of Jesus Christ isn't some Japanese steakhouse you go to to feel filled for a while. Our Savior has promised that, "whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life." 

There is no limit on the level to which we can be filled. We must partake of His love, and His grace, and His gospel every day. That's why we go to church every week: to be filled again by the Sacrament and everything it represents. 

There is also no limit on how many people can be filled. Even if there were six thousand people in the multitude instead of five, the 5 loaves and 2 fishes still would have been enough. 

This gospel is for everyone. All of us who hunger shall be filled. That includes those of us firm in the faith, and those of us who have long since lost that faith. It includes those who for a while may have thought they didn't need to be fed by Him, that they could satisfy their hunger elsewhere. And it especially includes those who are absolutely famished and know not where to find nourishment. 

On Sunday, we watched Graciela and Juseli receive the Holy Ghost. Our friend Franci came to church with us, too. As she sat next to me on the pew, she leaned over and said, "I've felt for a long time that I've been missing something. I think this might be it."

It's as if she had said:

I see them up there, Graciela and Juseli. I see that they were hungry, and now they are filled.

But I'm hungry, too.

Relief Society Thanksgiving Party

Graciela and Juseli Baptism day!

Ines Birthday dinner at Kobe Japanese Steakhouse

Today is the day to actively decide to play on God's team, to pick Israel instead of picking flowers

 Large plates

The 4th of July, and so many miracles. I got baptized by a recent convert, and I spoke in church!

Hey!

This week was incredible. It's pretty hard to have a bad week when you start it off with the 4th of July in Orlando haha. We can already see the SeaWorld fireworks from our apartment, but the 4th of July means there were fireworks shows everywhere . For the day of the fourth of July, we played sand volleyball, had a barbecue, and played lots of basketball. Now, those of you who knew me well before the mission might say that sounds like something I wouldn't enjoy. You would have been right. But as of lately that has been all I have wanted to do. We don't get a lot of exercise throughout the week, so pday is my chance to get my heart pumping, and that's what I do haha. It was such a good day though. The whole zone just felt like one big, happy, family, and the Scott's were so kind to host us for lunch.

The next day was full of miracles!! We went to have a lesson with our neighbor Ktheleim, and her dad was there and ready to talk to us, too! He has been taught by missionaries twice before and has loved everything they have had to share. He said his only problem is that he doesn't want to make a big decision like baptism in ignorance. Ktheleim said she felt the same. They both love everything we have been teaching and they are really willing to learn. Please keep them in your prayers this week as we help teach them everything they need to know before being baptized. They are so close to being ready, they just need open hearts and willing minds to do it!

That night, we also went over to an inactive member's house for dinner. His name is Norberto! He is super nice (even though I didn't really like the fish he made me…). He had family and friends over to introduce them to us and we met his cute daughter! She's in her 20s and I literally just want to be best friends with her. My heart is full just thinking about her. She's that nice! Her name is Maria Belén, which I absolutely LOVE and I might name my future daughter that haha. She had been taught by missionaries before as well. She felt pressured by them and they said some things that put a bad taste in her mouth. But she was so happy to see us and asked us for a Book of Mormon and the church information!

We had District Council on Wednesday and holy cow I am so proud of my district. We've all grown so much in the last 10 weeks that we have been together. I don't know how to explain it to you, either. But at the beginning of last transfer, we had like 20% of our lessons with a member present, and we thought that was pretty good. The mission standard/goal is 100% members in lessons. No one has ever really strived for that because it's really hard to do. But we've been setting goals and helping each other out and we've had 100% of our lessons with a member present for almost a month now. And we have seen so many miracles come from that! Seriously, so many miracles. This district is on fire and all of the wards and so incredible.

The highlight of Thursday was going to the Temple!! It was such a special experience we worked really hard to get as many recent converts there as possible, and we had such a good turnout! Alba, Lucero, Oscar, Rene, Ana, Cristina, Carmen, Boris, and Yerika all came! We were missing a few that I would have loved to have had there. Nexttime! It was the first time doing baptisms for the dead for many of them and they worked with the family history consultants in our ward to prepare names to bring. Our relief society president asked me to be baptized for her mom! She said she's been wanting to bring that name to the temple for a long time. She wasn't going to be doing baptisms with us, because she was going to an endowment session with Jonathan Cedeño, who was getting endowed in preparation for his mission in a few weeks! Exciting! Anyway, she said she thought of me when she was wondering who could be baptized for her mom. Her mom's name is Ana Maria. It was seriously such a tender mercy to have Anita ask me to do that baptism because it was like a reaffirmation that I am exactly where I need to be. And even better yet, Oscar was able to baptize me! Bishop was coordinating everyone who was going to be baptized and who was going to do it. It was Oscar and Rene's first time baptizing because they just got the priesthood! Bishop said he trusted me to show them how and to be patient with them while they figured it out so he decided to volunteer me as the guinea pig. Oscar did so well!! He even pronounced my name right haha. I think Oscar is going to be able to baptize some of his friends here soon and that's going to be so special. Temple days are the best days. That was for sure one of the top 3 days of my entire mission, if not of my entire life.

There's tons more that I would love to share, but for the sake of your time and mine, I'll try to wrap it up. Sunday was INCREDIBLE. We had so many really golden people come to church! I also got to speak! Somehow, it was my first time speaking in my whole mission, but it went well! Although, when I got to the stand the bishopric told me the second speaker wouldn't be coming, so if I could expound a little more on my talk, that would be great. When it was my turn to speak, we still had almost 30 minutes left in the meeting. Bishop said he would get up and share a testimony at the end, so I should just talk for as long as the spirit indicated and then leave it up to him. It went really well! And we started seeing miracles literally right after.

I spoke about missionary work and how members can do it too! After sacrament meeting, the members just rallied around all the people we brought and made them all feel at home. Even a family who I've been trying to work with for 8 months made a huge effort to help the family we are teaching. It was a tender mercy.

Maria Belén came all by herself and she was so happy to be there. She knows the relief society president! She got a little emotional upon seeing her. Afterward I talked to her and it sounded like she had such a good experience.

Recyi was also able to eat! We've been praying for him to be able to make it to church for so long and it finally happened! We're going to try to have his baptism next week, so please pray for that!

That was my week! I wish I could write more but I simply don't have the vocabulary to articulate how magnificent this week was haha.

Small Plates

My talk!

I wrote my talk for church this week and the members all really liked it, so I thought it would be good to share with you guys too! This isn't what I said word for word, or even close to it (I added like 7 minutes onto my talk as I spoke on Sunday.) And yes, I am the kind of person to write my whole talk down. One might say I'm mighty in writing, but not as much in speech. But this was the gist of what I shared on Sunday! Sorry its long. Believe it or not this is the condensed version of what I said haha. I'm leaving it in Spanish for my Spanish speaking friends, but if you want to read it in English, you're welcome to see how well Google translate works!

Introducción 

Hoy, he sido asignada a discursar sobre un discurso llamado "Alza tu corazón y regocíjate" por el Élder Aidukaitis de la conferencia general de abril de este año. El título del discurso viene de un versículo en Doctrina y Convenios 31. En esta sección del libro de Doctrina y Convenios, el Señor llama a un nuevo converso, Thomas B Marsh, para servir una misión. 

¡Me encanta este versículo! No hay mejores palabras para describir lo que uno debe hacer al recibir una oportunidad de servir. "Alza tu corazón y regocíjate." Servir una misión no fue parte de mis planes para mi vida. Pero estoy tan contenta que decidí hacerlo. Este año ha sido el mejor año de mi vida. No cambiaría mi experiencia para nada. Nunca he sentido más amor, felicidad o esperanza en mi vida. Y yo sé que estos sentimientos que siento son bendiciones que recibo al servir a nuestro Padre Celestial y a Sus hijos. 

No hay una causa más importante ni más bonita sobre la faz de la tierra. Y estas bendiciones y privilegios son accesibles para todos.

Quiero regresar a la historia del Hermano Thomas B Marsh. El Hermano Marsh había sido bautizado unas pocas semanas antes de su llamamiento misional. Este nos enseña algo. No tenemos que ser miembros de muchos años para poder servir en la iglesia. Si él, un converso de unas semanas, pudo dejar todo para servir una misión de tiempo completo, seguramente nosotros en este tiempo podemos contribuir a la obra misional en una forma u otra. 

En nuestra misión, acabamos de tener un cambio de presidente de la misión. Nos reunimos con él hace unas semanas y él compartió algo que me impactó mucho. Él ha tenido varios llamamientos en la iglesia en su vida. Estos llamamientos han requerido mucho de Él. El tuvo que mudarse desde Brasil, a los Estados Unidos, a África del Sur, y a muchos otros lugares. Ninguna vez fue fácil. Sus hijos cambiaron de escuela, y cambiaron continentes, en sus últimos años de High School. Eso fue un sacrificio. Eso fue muy inconveniente. Y aunque a veces no fue fácil ni divertido, ellos aprendieron algo:

"Nunca habrá un tiempo conveniente para servir al Señor."

Ustedes saben eso. La vida es ocupada. Siempre ha sido así y siempre será así.

No quiero llamar la atención al Obispo, pero voy a hacerlo de todos modos. ¿Ustedes ven lo que hace él? Seguramente no es conveniente para él servir al Señor. Él tiene 3 niños y un millón de cosas que hacer en cualquier momento. ¿Pero qué hace él? 

Él sirve con todo de su alma, mente, y corazón, por el amor que él siente por el Señor y por cada uno de ustedes. Quiero testificar del poder de su llamamiento. Él ha sido elegido por Dios para servir en esta capacidad. 

Y cada uno de ustedes ha sido elegido por Dios también. No tenemos que ser llamados a un llamamiento específico para poder servir. De hecho, al ser bautizado, nosotros prometemos que tomamos sobre nosotros el nombre de Jesucristo, "y somos testigos de Dios en todo tiempo, y en todas las cosas y en todo lugar en que estemos, aun hasta la muerte." 

Nuestro profeta viviente dijo, "Nuestro Padre Celestial ha reservado a muchos de Sus espíritus más nobles–quizás Su mejor equipo– para esta fase final. Esos nobles espíritus– esos excelentes jugadores, esos héroes– ¡son ustedes!"

Si están pensando, "Cuál será el propósito de mi vida?" Tengo buenas noticias. Hay una respuesta a esa pregunta. El élder Aidukaitis compartió: 

"Ustedes han sido preparados antes de esta vida y han nacido ahora para participar en la gran obra del recogimiento de Israel a ambos lados del velo en estos últimos días."

Nuestro Padre Celestial preparó su mejor equipo para esta fase final. Somos nosotros. Y este es el propósito de nuestras vidas. 

No soy muy deportista. Pero cuando estoy parte de un equipo, llego a ser muy competitiva. Puedan preguntar a los otros misioneros, o a los miembros del barrio que me conocen bien. Hay algo sobre el ser parte de un equipo que me anima. No sé si será que no quiero fallar de contribuir, y hacer que mi equipo pierda. Puede ser. 

Puede decir que no quiero ser la jugadora que se encuentra recogiendo flores en el campo cuando mi equipo me necesita. 

Eso puede ser parte de por qué juego tan fuerte cuando soy parte del equipo. Pero no es la razón principal. La razón por la cual me gusta jugar deportes de equipo es porque me encanta ganar juntos. Me encanta el sentimiento de que hice algo para ayudar a mis amigos y a mi equipo. 

Me encanta como me siento cuando me encuentro con mi equipo al final de un partido y nos abrazamos porque estamos tan contentos por haber ganado. Encuentro gozo al poder decir que yo y mis amigos trabajamos juntos e hicimos algo espectacular. 

Y es lo mismo en nuestras vidas. Hemos sido llamados, elegidos, por ser parte del equipo de Dios. El hecho mismo de ser bautizado nos une al equipo de Dios.

Ya estamos aqui. Ya somos parte del equipo. Ahora es el tiempo de decidir si vamos a ser el jugador recogiendo flores o si vamos a trabajar con nuestra fuerza para participar en la victoria. 

Esto puede parecer un ultimátum fuerte. Pero no debería ser interpretado así. 

No es sobre si vamos a ganar o no. El equipo de Dios gana. Ya sabemos eso. 

Es sobre si nosotros queremos ser parte del abrazo grupal al fin de este partido que llamamos la vida. Esto es lo que el Señor habló cuando llamó a Thomas B Marsh como misionero. Él dijo "alza tu corazón y regocíjate" porque al invitar a Thomas B Marsh a participar en la obra misional, el Señor le dio una oportunidad de ser parte de esta celebración. 

Yo sé que la obra misional es gozo. Yo lo sé porque es mi vida. Y sí, entiendo que tengo la bendición de ser apartada para hacerlo. Y es una bendición poder vivir en una manera que me permite servir sin preocuparme mucho por dinero, o un trabajo, o escuela, o hijos, o lo que sea. Entiendo que ustedes tienen cosas que hacer. Y Dios entiende también. Pero, como dijo mi presidente de misión, "nunca habrá un tiempo conveniente para servir al Señor."

Es nuestra propia decisión de servir a Él y a los demás. Pero puedo prometerles que valdrá la pena. El gozo que se encuentra en la obra misional no se puede comparar a nada. 

Y no tienen que preocuparse demasiado por el tiempo que tienen o no. Nadie puede hacer todo. Pero todos pueden hacer algo. Y eso es lo bonito de la obra misional. ¡Es un deporte de equipo! Estamos en eso juntos. Y cada uno de nosotros podemos contribuir. 

El Presente Nelson dijo: "cada vez que hacen algo que ayuda a cualquiera, a ambos lados del velo, a dar un paso hacia hacer convenios con Dios y recibir sus ordenanzas esenciales del bautismo y del templo, están ayudando a recoger a Israel. Es así de sencillo."

Es verdad! La obra misional no tiene que ser algo complicada o aterradora. En Su revelación a Thomas B Marsh por medio de José Smith, el Señor da consejo y palabras de consuelo que podemos aplicar a nosotros mismos. Él dice: "sigue tu camino, doquier que sea mi voluntad, y el Consolador te indicará lo que has de hacer y a dónde has de ir. Ora siempre, para que no entres en tentación y pierdas tu galardón. Sé fiel hasta el fin y, he aquí, estoy contigo. Estas palabras no son de hombre ni de hombres, sino mías, sí, de Jesucristo, tu Redentor, por la voluntad del Padre."

Que promesa! No tenemos que ser expertos ya. Nunca tenemos que ser expertos. Es que necesitamos vivir nuestras vidas normales intencionadamente. Lo que necesitamos hacer es orar para una oportunidad de servir a alguien más, y esperar nuestra respuesta! 

Nuestro profeta, Russell M. Nelson nos exhortó, "Hagan el esfuerzo espiritual para procurar milagros; oren pidiendo a Dios que los ayude a ejercer ese tipo de fe."

Una oportunidad de servir a alguien es una bendición y un milagro. Y si oran con fe, recibirán esa misma bendición y milagro. 

A veces es fácil decir que no tenemos las oportunidades de compartir el Evangelio. Pero quizás la cosa es que no reconocemos las oportunidades que nuestro Padre Celesial ya está proveyendo. 

Esa será mi invitación para ustedes. Oren. Oren que tendrán la oportunidad y bendición de ayudar a otra persona a sentir el amor de Dios y aprender sobre Su evangelio. Y no ignoren las respuestas que recibirán! Si un nombre o una idea viene a su mente ahorita, o más tarde hoy, o en cualquier momento, actúen de acuerdo con esa impresión!

La impresión puede ser grande o sencilla. Puede ser que necesite llamar a un ser querido y ver como está. Quizás están teniendo un desafío personal y están en necesidad de tu apoyo. Puede ser que necesite hacer una caminata solo o con un amigo. Quizás hay alguien en el parque que necesite que tú sonrisas a él. Puede ser que necesite invitar a un amigo a la iglesia. El espíritu que hay aquí cambia vidas. 

La obra misional es diferente para cada persona, porque cada persona es diferente. Pero no importa que lo que tú estás haciendo es algo diferente de lo que la persona sentada a su lado hace. Lo importante es que sí estás haciendo algo. 

La idea aquí es que necesitamos vivir en una manera por la cual los demás puedan ver que somos diferentes. Que somos felices. Porque tenemos el evangelio. Necesitamos vivir nuestras vidas, siempre haciendo lo bueno. Es lo que hizo Jesucristo! Y lo que Él quiere que hagamos es ser aún como Él es. 

Él no tuvo miedo de hacer lo bueno. Él no tuvo miedo de ofrecer servicio a los que lo necesitaron. Él no tuvo miedo de compartir el Evangelio. 

Por qué? Porque Él sabía que esas mismas cosas cambian vidas. Y Él quería cambiar vidas porque él ama a cada uno de nosotros. 

Él nos ha mandado: "Alzad, pues, vuestra luz para que brille ante el mundo. He aquí, yo soy la luz que debéis sostener en alto." 

Hermanos y hermanas, vivimos en un mundo de tinieblas. Este mundo necesita desesperadamente de la luz que tenemos, aun Jesucristo. Y hemos sido mandados por Jesucristo mismo a compartir esa luz! Es así de sencillo. 

Yo sé que hay milagros en compartir nuestra luz, en vivir para ser un ejemplo de los creyentes, y en invitar a los que conocemos y amamos a participar en el gozo que tenemos. 

Durante mi tiempo en este barrio, he podido escuchar muchos de los testimonios de los miembros sentados en frente de mi. Muchos de las personas en esta capilla son conversos. Ustedes saben cómo es vivir sin la plenitud del evangelio. Y ahora saben cómo es vivir una vida llena y gozosa gracias al evangelio. ¡No tienen por qué temer compartir el evangelio! Sus testimonios son poderosos. No estoy hablando generalmente tampoco. Estoy diciendo esto porque yo sé sin ninguna duda que los testimonios que tienen cada uno de ustedes tendrán el poder de cambiar vidas. Han cambiado la mía. 

Y eso es lo bonito de todo eso. Me encanta escuchar los testimonios de las personas de Orlando, sean los de miembros o no. Cada persona tiene una historia diferente, pero Dios está en toda historia. Él está guiándonos a cada uno de nosotros. Y honestamente, yo no tendría este testimonio sin haber tenido la oportunidad de hablar con personas cada día sobre Jesucristo. Por eso comparto todo eso. Por eso nuestros líderes comparten la importancia de participar en la obra misional. Es porque no hay mejor manera de aumentar su fe que el ayudar a otros a hacer lo mismo. 

Para mí, el caminar mano a mano con un amigo hasta las aguas de bautismo y adelante me fortalece también. Es como aprender de nuevo todas las cosas que ya sé, pero con una perspectiva nueva. En su discurso, el Élder Aidukaitis compartió algo, con el cual estoy completamente de acuerdo. El dice: "Entre las muchas bendiciones que Él me ha dado por servirle como misionero de tiempo completo están una mayor fe en Jesucristo y en Su expiación, y un conocimiento y testimonio más fuertes de sus enseñanzas." 

Lo dije antes y lo voy a decir de nuevo: no hay mejor manera de aumentar su fe que el ayudar a otros a hacer lo mismo. No tiene que ser perfecto en su propia fe para compartirla con alguien. No existe fe perfecta. Así que, como el Señor dijo a Thomas B Marsh, "Comenzarás desde ahora a predicar, sí, a cosechar en el campo que ya está blanco."

Hoy es el día de empezar. Dios estará contigo. Hoy es el día de "alzar tu corazón y regocíjate, porque la hora de tu misión ha llegado."  Hoy es el día de decidir ser no solo un miembro activo, sino también ser un miembro proactivo. Hoy es el día de activamente decidir jugar en el equipo de Dios, de recoger Israel en vez de recoger flores. 

Yo sé que no hay mejor manera de encontrar gozo duradero. Y yo sé que es lo que Dios quiere que hagamos. Y yo sé que las bendiciones superan nuestros esfuerzos. 

Testimonio!

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English Version: 

Introduction

Today, I have been assigned to speak on a talk called "Lift Up Your Heart and Rejoice" by Elder Aidukaitis from this year's April general conference. The title of the talk comes from a verse in Doctrine and Covenants 31. In this section of the Doctrine and Covenants, the Lord calls a new convert, Thomas B Marsh, to serve a mission.

I love this verse! There are no better words to describe what one should do when given an opportunity to serve. "Lift up your heart and rejoice." Serving a mission was not part of my plans for my life. But I'm so glad I decided to do it. This year has been the best year of my life. I wouldn't change my experience at all. I have never felt more love, happiness or hope in my life. And I know that these feelings that I feel are blessings that come from serving Heavenly Father and His children.

There is no more important or more beautiful cause on the face of the earth. And these blessings and privileges are accessible to all.

I want to go back to the story of Brother Thomas B Marsh. Brother Marsh had been baptized a few weeks before his mission call. This teaches us something. We don't have to be members for many years to be able to serve in the church. If he, a convert of a few weeks, was able to drop everything to serve a full-time mission, surely we at this time can contribute to missionary work in one way or another.

In our mission, we just had a change of mission president. We met with him a few weeks ago and he shared something that really hit me. He has had several church callings in his life. These callings have required a lot of Him. He had to move from Brazil, to the United States, to South Africa, and to many other places. It was never easy. His children changed schools, and changed continents, in their last years of High School. That was a sacrifice. That was very inconvenient. And although sometimes it wasn't easy or fun, they learned something:

"There will never be a convenient time to serve the Lord."

You know that. Life is busy. It has always been so and always will be so.

I don't want to call the Bishop's attention, but I'm going to do it anyway. Do you see what he does? Surely it is not convenient for him to serve the Lord. He has 3 kids and a million things to do at any given time. But what does he do?

He serves with all of his soul, mind, and heart, because of the love he has for the Lord and for each one of you. I want to testify to the power of his calling. He has been chosen by God to serve in this capacity.

And each of you has been chosen by God as well. We do not have to be called to a specific calling in order to serve. In fact, by being baptized, we promise that we take upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ, "and are witnesses of God at all times and in all things and in all places that we are, even unto death."

Our living prophet said, "Our Heavenly Father has reserved many of His noblest spirits–perhaps His best team–for this final phase. Those noble spirits–those excellent players, those heroes–are you!"

If you are thinking, "What will be the purpose of my life?" I have good news. There is an answer to that question. Elder Aidukaitis shared:

"You have been prepared before this life and have been born now to participate in the great work of the gathering of Israel on both sides of the veil in these last days."

Our Heavenly Father prepared his best team for this final phase. We are. And this is the purpose of our lives.

I am not very athletic. But when I'm part of a team, I get to be very competitive. You can ask the other missionaries, or the members of the ward who know me well. There's something about being part of a team that lifts me up. I don't know if I don't want to fail to contribute, and make my team lose. Can be.

You can say I don't want to be the player picking flowers on the field when my team needs me.

That may be part of why I play so hard when I'm part of the team. But it is not the main reason. The reason I like to play team sports is because I love to win together. I love the feeling that I did something to help my friends and my team.

I love how I feel when I meet my team at the end of a match and we hug each other because we're so happy we won. I find joy in being able to say that me and my friends worked together and did something spectacular.

And it is the same in our lives. We have been called, chosen, to be part of God's team. The very fact of being baptized joins us to God's team.

We are already here. We are already part of the team. Now is the time to decide if we are going to be the player picking flowers or if we are going to work with our strength to participate in the victory.

This may seem like a strong ultimatum. But it shouldn't be interpreted that way.

It's not about whether we're going to win or not. God's team wins. We already know that.

It's about whether we want to be part of the group hug at the end of this game we call life. This is what the Lord spoke when he called Thomas B Marsh as a missionary. He said "lift up your hearts and rejoice" because by inviting Thomas B Marsh to participate in missionary work, the Lord gave him an opportunity to be a part of this celebration.

I know that missionary work is joy. I know because it is my life. And yes, I understand that I am blessed to be set apart to do so. And it's a blessing to be able to live in a way that allows me to serve without worrying too much about money, or a job, or school, or kids, or whatever. I understand that you have things to do. And God understands too. But, as my mission president said, "there will never be a convenient time to serve the Lord."

It is our own decision to serve Him and others. But I can promise you it will be worth it. The joy found in missionary work cannot be compared to anything.

And they don't have to worry too much about how much time they have or not. Nobody can do everything. But everyone can do something. And that's the beauty of missionary work. It is a team sport! We are in it together. And each of us can contribute.

Present Nelson said, “Any time you do something that helps anyone, on both sides of the veil, take a step toward making covenants with God and receiving their essential baptismal and temple ordinances, you are helping to gather Israel. as simple as that."

It is true! Missionary work does not have to be something complicated or scary. In His revelation to Thomas B Marsh through Joseph Smith, the Lord gives counsel and words of comfort that we can apply to ourselves. He says: "Follow your path, wherever my will may be, and the Comforter will tell you what to do and where to go. Pray always, so that you do not enter into temptation and lose your reward. Be faithful to the end and Behold, I am with you. These words are not of man or men, but mine, yes, of Jesus Christ, your Redeemer, by the will of the Father."

What a promise! We don't have to be experts anymore. We never have to be experts. It's that we need to live our normal lives intentionally. What we need to do is pray for an opportunity to serve someone else, and wait for our response!

Our prophet, Russell M. Nelson exhorted us, "Make the spiritual effort to seek miracles; pray asking God to help you exercise that kind of faith."

An opportunity to serve someone is a blessing and a miracle. And if you pray with faith, you will receive that same blessing and miracle.

Sometimes it's easy to say that we don't have the opportunities to share the Gospel. But perhaps the thing is that we do not recognize the opportunities that our Heavenly Father is already providing.

That will be my invitation to you. Pray. Pray that they will have the opportunity and blessing to help another person feel God's love and learn about His gospel. And don't ignore the answers you will receive! If a name or an idea comes to mind now, or later today, or at any time, act on that impression!

The print can be large or simple. You may need to call a loved one and see how they are doing. Perhaps they are having a personal challenge and are in need of your support. You may need to take a walk alone or with a friend. Perhaps there is someone in the park who needs you to smile at him. It may be that you need to invite a friend to church. The spirit here changes lives.

Missionary work is different for each person, because each person is different. But it doesn't matter that what you are doing is something different from what the person sitting next to you is doing. The important thing is that you are doing something.

The idea here is that we need to live in a way that others can see that we are different. That we are happy. Because we have the gospel. We need to live our lives, always doing good. It is what Jesus Christ did! And what He wants us to do is still be as He is.

He was not afraid to do good. He was not afraid to offer service to those in need. He was not afraid to share the Gospel.

Why? Because He knew that those very things change lives. And he wanted to change lives because he loves each one of us.

He has commanded us: "Lift up your light to shine before the world. Behold, I am the light that you must hold high."

Brothers and sisters, we live in a world of darkness. This world desperately needs the light we have, even Jesus Christ. And we have been commanded by Jesus Christ Himself to share that light! It's that simple.

I know there are miracles in sharing our light, living to be an example to believers, and inviting those we know and love to share in the joy we have.

During my time in this neighborhood, I have been able to listen to many of the testimonies of the members sitting in front of me. Many of the people in this chapel are converts. You know what it is like to live without the fullness of the gospel. And now they know what it is like to live a full and joyful life because of the gospel. You need not be afraid to share the gospel! Your testimonials are powerful. I'm not talking generally either. I am saying this because I know without a doubt that the testimonies each of you have will have the power to change lives. They have changed mine.

And that's the beauty of it all. I love hearing testimonials from people in Orlando, whether they are members or not. Each person has a different story, but God is in every story. He is guiding each of us. And honestly, I wouldn't have this testimony without having the opportunity to talk to people every day about Jesus Christ. That's why I share all that. That's why our leaders share the importance of participating in missionary work. It's because there is no better way to increase your faith than to help others do the same.

For me, walking hand-in-hand with a friend to the waters of baptism and onward strengthens me as well. It's like learning all over again all the things I already know, but with a new perspective. In his talk, Elder Aidukaitis shared something, with which I completely agree. He says, "Among the many blessings He has given me from serving Him as a full-time missionary are a greater faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement and a stronger knowledge and testimony of His teachings."

I've said it before and I'll say it again: There is no better way to increase your faith than to help others do the same. You don't have to be perfect in your own faith to share it with someone. There is no perfect faith. So, as the Lord said to Thomas B Marsh, "You will begin now to preach, yes, to harvest in the field that is already white."

Today is the day to start. God will be with you. Today is the day to "lift up your hearts and rejoice, because the hour of your mission has come." Today is the day to decide to be not only an active member, but also to be a proactive member. Today is the day to actively decide to play on God's team, to pick Israel instead of picking flowers.

I know there is no better way to find lasting joy. And I know that's what God wants us to do. And I know that the blessings exceed our efforts.

Testimony!

Lucero at the Temple to do Baptisms