Service, sealing and so many miracles!!!

Large Plates 

This was easily the busiest week of my mission.

What a wild week. I genuinely don't know how to express to you just how busy this week was. We always have stuff going on every hour of every day, so I didn't think it was possible to work overtime as a missionary. Apparently it is.

Also, I just want to preface this by saying that it really was a good week and I'm not complaining. There was just a lot going on and my brain definitely got overloaded, so I was very tired by the time the end of the week came around. I've also been sick which just added to the chaos of it all. I'm almost better now though!

We had tons of service projects this week, in addition to an overwhelmingly large teaching pool. We helped at the bishops storehouse, as we do every week. We also helped make some content for the mission Facebook page (keep an eye out for that next week!), and participated in the largest clothing drive I've ever seen. I don't remember the exact number, but we sorted and prepared about 15,000 clothing items to donate to people and charities. The service coordinator in our stake is incredible and I want to be like him when I grow up. It was a really fun project and we got to see almost all the missionaries in our stake which is always fun! It's pretty rare to have a service project big enough to need that many missionaries. I also don't know the exact number of missionaries that were there but I would guess it was almost 50. Seriously, it was so fun. 

We also got to go to a sealing this week!! It was such an incredible experience and it was really great to be able to go to a sealing here in Orlando because I'll be missing Avery & Haley's sealing later this month. The sealing was for some recent converts who went inactive years back but were reactivated by some missionaries a while back and finally made it to the temple this last month!! I'm so happy for them and it has been such a blessing to be able to see them progress and strengthen each other as they go. I love them both so much. 

I could go on and on about what went on this week, but there's just no way I could ever be able to articulate how crazy it was. So just imagine the craziest week ever, and then multiply it by 10. And then add a little bit. That's what my week was.

Small Plates

What it means to be an instrument in His hands.

So, what did I learn from a week such as this? 

God is in charge of His work. 

I'll be honest. I have felt really guilty, and dare I say inadequate, this week. Being sick really slowed me down and having so many service projects and member activities really filled up our schedule. I tried to have a good attitude about it all, and I think I did a good job, for the most part. But I still couldn't help but think to myself, often, that I needed to be in a lesson. I have apparently developed this mentality in the last few weeks that if I'm not in a lesson every possible moment of the day, I am not a successful missionary. 

This perspective is coming from a good place, but I've put too much pressure on myself and on this "ideal schedule" that I have fabricated for myself. Of course it's good to be in lessons. That's what missionaries do. They teach people. And where we have such a large teaching pool, it's good to be in lessons as often as possible so we're capable of keeping our friends progressing. 

But like I said, I think I took it too far. 

Or maybe it would be better explained by saying that I had anticipated that a greater portion of the control would have been mine. I thought my life was in my hands. I thought the progress of my people was in my hands. 

I had willingly and forcefully been putting extra weight on my shoulders. Weight that no one else asked me to bear. 

I got so worried that the momentum in this area was going to fall flat because I wasn't doing enough. 

And the worst part is, there was practically nothing I could do about it. I couldn't change our schedule. I couldn't change the timing of service projects. I couldn't just decide to stop being sick. 

I couldn't control the uncontrollable. 

So I didn't.

I was forced to live with exactly what I had been given (which is actually how it always is and always has been).

And guess what?

God's work carried on. 

Thursday night at a ward activity, we had the most incredible lesson with a man we met on Facebook. He is so prepared for this Gospel. He eagerly came to church last Sunday and he loved it. He had left his other church months ago because He felt like he was missing something there. He didn't feel like it was true. When he came to church, he felt the spirit. He felt that this is where he wanted to be. He changed his work schedule so he could come to our activity this Thursday. He already knew a little bit about the church, so he had a lot of really good questions for us. He loved everything we said. He loved that everyone in our church serves in a calling out of service instead of for payment. He loved that we have a prophet today. He loved that we baptize by authority. He loved the idea of Fast Sunday and fast offerings. He loved the word of wisdom. He loved everything. We didn't even get to explain the more fundamental concepts like the Restoration or the Plan of Salvation or the Gospel. He was so enamored with all of the selfless things that members of the church willingly and enthusiastically participate in, that he said he wants to be baptized in this church once he knows a little more. We introduced the Book of Mormon in simple terms and invited him to read the introduction during the week before we met with him again. He read the whole intro that night. He has such an open heart and he has been so perfectly prepared to hear this message. 

As if that miracle wasn't good enough, this Sunday was a huge day of miracles. Oscar was confirmed a member of the church and received the gift of the Holy Ghost. His confirmation was done by a recent convert who just received the Melquisedec Priesthood. Andres was sustained to receive the Aaronic priesthood. All of our new converts are progressing so beautifully. I love them so much. 

We also had a man named Daniel come to church today who apparently saw an ad for the church like 30 years ago and woke up this morning and decided today was the day he was going to go to church. From what I understand he doesn't live super close to our chapel, but he knew that's where he needed to be. He got there and one of the first people to talk to him was the ward mission leader. He explained a little bit about our beliefs, emphasizing that we have a living prophet and that Christ directs this church. He bore testimony that he knows this church is the true church on the earth today. Daniel loved it. He said that's what he has been looking for. Then, to add to his experience, it was a fast and testimony meeting. Time and time again, he heard members say with emotion in their voices, "I know without a doubt that this is the true church on the earth today."

The spirit was in that room. And our visitors felt it. We went to Sunday school after, and Daniel loves the Bible, so Come, Follow Me was so good for him. Our Sunday school teacher is one of the smartest women I've ever met and he loved her lesson so much. He downloaded Gospel Library in the middle of the class because he loved how our church gives its members so many resources.

To top it all off, the members did such a good job welcoming these people in. We had 8 new people in church yesterday. That's too many for us missionaries to handle gracefully. The ward welcomed them in like they had been there their entire lives. David ended up going to dinner at the Martinez families home that night. We stayed after church for over half an hour just talking to ward members, or rather, watching them talk to our friends and welcome them into the fold. 

I love this ward so much. I don't have the vocabulary sufficient to express the love I feel for them. My heart is so full. Sunday was exactly what I needed. My mind, body, and heart were all so drained and beaten down by the end of the week. I was convinced that we had failed. I had let our people slip out of my grasp. 

I put all of these burdens on my own shoulders, and then I was disappointed when I couldn't carry them all. 

I allowed myself to think that I was guilty, that I was even capable, of hindering God's work. But I'm not. He uses me for what He needs me for. And at the end of the day, it's actually up to Him to make the work move forward.

Because although He uses me as an instrument in His hands, He will always be the musician. 

Carmen's Miracle

Okay you guys this week was INCREDIBLE. 

Large Plates

A busy week. Facebook finding. Empanadas, arepas, and reggatón. Teaching the law of chastity in adventure pants and chacos. Exchanges. Powerful lessons and a mountain of miracles at church.

Tuesday was honestly just such a good day. We're really starting to figure out Facebook finding. When we follow the spirit and use the most effective ways of finding, we seriously see so much success. Technology & social media work is such a blessing. It's so easy to find the people who need our message. It takes all day to knock enough doors to find 1 person who is interested in the gospel. It takes 1 hour to find 20 people who are ready to hear the message of the restored gospel. I don't know how to explain how thrilling that is. The gathering of Israel is real and it's happening so fast. I'm so thankful to be such an active part of it.

We also had a member meal for dinner and this sweet little old lady made us empanadas which were super yummy of course. 

Right after that, we went over to our best friend Carmen's house! It was one of the best experiences of my mission. (See small plates haha) she also made us arepas and they were very very tasty. We even made tuna ones and I liked them very much. You should all be proud of me for eating and enjoying tuna haha. Also when we left her apartment we heard someone blasting reggatón music. So basically that was the most stereotypical "Spanish missionary in Florida" night I've experienced haha. Empanadas, arepas an hour later, and loud reggatón in the distance.

A different day, our friend Fernando came to the volleyball activity at the church one night and he had a ton of questions for us. Hermana Morris was talking with someone else, cause that's normally how these activities go, so he was just drilling me with all the questions. He wanted to learn more about the church so he Googled it and came across a bunch of AntiMormon stuff. So basically I answered a bunch of questions about polygamy, and then singlehandedly taught Him the Word of Wisdom and Law of Chastity lessons there in the church gym. Hermana Morris came over a bit later and he still had questions, so we talked a lot about the Book of Mormon & also answered his questions about missions cause he was a bit confused about why we do this whole thing haha. It went well though. It's kinda funny cause we taught everything while wearing our volleyball clothes. (Aka a t shirt, my adventure pants (if you know you know) and my chacos ) 

We also had exchanges this week! There's not much to say about them other than me and Sister Oto got to sleep until our normal wake up time while our companions had to wake up early to drive to a service activity. Also we played pickle ball for our exercise which was fun. We ended exchanges early so they could be together for a service project and we could be together for our lessons. 

We taught one of our best friends Wendy that night and it went so so good! We brought a member along with us, and we love this member. She was converted to the church a long time ago and now she teaches Sunday school. She's incredibly smart and super sweet and she knew how to answer our friends questions perfectly. That's one of the best lessons we've ever had.

We also stopped by Elizabeth's house out of the blue and wow wow wow I just love her. We chatted for a bit and she said she's been reading from the Book of Mormon! She said its been hard to read much cause she has a 2 year old and he's a handful. So we read part of 1 Nephi 1 with her and it went super well. Her daughter also came over to us to say hi! She's 9 and she was really shy, but she warmed up really quick! She speaks both Spanish and English which is so awesome. Before we left, she ran over and gave us big hugs :)

And Sunday was amazing!! We held a free English class at the church right before sacrament meeting. It was fun to teach, and then most of them came to church after! Wendy also came with her mom, son, and friend!! She's such a miracle. 

In this ward, it's very rare to have investigators come to church. Everyone works on Sunday for the most part. And those who don't, still flake out most of the time. So having these 4 people there was incredible. But that's not all. We ward share with some Elders, and combined, we brought 22 new people to church!!! I don't know how to explain how mind blowing that is. For the past month, we've had somewhere from 0 to 3 people in church every week, most of the time it's 0. So to have 22?! This ward caught on fire. All the members are so excited to help out and so kind and inviting to those we brought. 

Also it was the primary program and it was super awesome because the kids all speak English and Spanish, so they sang in both languages, and had sign language to go along with it. I don't care if my future husband speaks Spanish. I'm teaching my kids Spanish haha.

The relief society lesson was perfect for Wendy, it answered a lot of the questions she had asked the day before. Her mom also seemed apprehensive at first, but made a point of coming up to be after class and thanking us for giving her the chance to come to church. She said everything was just so beautiful. 

This week has been a week full of miracles and its making me feel like I never want to go home. I love the people we're teaching and I love the members we work with and I love my companion and my district. Missions are the best thing ever.

P.s. I have been informed that my last email seemed kind of down-in-the-dumps. That was not my intention nor was that how I was feeling. We did a good job at laughing at all of our misfortune. Next time I have a week like that I'll be sure to include more "hahas" throughout the email ;)

Small Plates

Carmen's miracle. 

Carmen!! I seriously love her so much. She's been progressing really well this last month and we've been praying for her to be able to come to church. It's pretty much impossible for her to have Sundays free (or any day, as a matter of fact) because she is a recent immigrant and doesn't have as many workers rights, which means her boss can schedule her for every waking hour of her life and not have any consequences. It's super sad. She works in housekeeping at a hotel. We've asked if she can change her schedule, or have an hour break to come to church or anything. And she has had no luck.

We've been praying all the time that she can come to church. Every time I prayed about this I thought to myself "I honestly have no idea what He's even going to do. She's stuck in this situation and if she wants to keep her job, which she needs if she wants to eat and pay rent, she has to do what they tell her to. There's no way around it." But the important thing is we kept praying. And she kept praying. 

And our loving Heavenly Father heard us. She got her workers license. She's looking for a new job right now, and we know she'll find one. She's an incredible person and such a hard worker. It has broken my heart to see her so tired, and to see how easily they take advantage of her because of her status. This is going to be a huge weight lifted off of her shoulders. I don't know how to describe how much joy I felt when she told us. 

If I had to work as hard as I have for the last month, just to receive this miracle, I would do it 1000 times again. Just to help this one person find friendship, and find God and learn how to ask Him for help, and see His hand so obviously in her life. There's no doubt in my mind that I would do it again. 

And the best part is, we've seen so much more come from our labors. Mini miracles happen all day every day and it's such a pleasure to be a part of this work. We've helped so many people take time steps closer to the covenant path. We've planted more seeds than we even know. 

God's hand really is in His work. We see it everywhere we go. Nothing is coincidence, and He's guiding each individual to the people they need to know and the places they need to be. He knows you and loves you infinitely and personally.

• my district on the roof of the bishops storehouse
• also yes we got Coldstone and yes we're excited about it
• I found a green sprinkle in my ice cream. This isn't relevant for most of you but those of you who work at Coldstone will know: if there's a stray sprinkle in an ice cream, its ALWAYS green for some reason  
• service at Icon Park!
• another picture from service! They did "giving machines" and raised a ton of money for local charities :)
• the huge tree at icon park. Also we got to hand out those light up snowflake wands to the kids and we felt like Disney princesses the whole time.

P.S. bonus points go to whoever can guess what I got at Coldstone haha. If you know me well you'll get it right first try;)