When in Orlando

 Large Plates

Being a tourist in a tourist town and some of my thoughts about my favorite people:)

This week was a busy one! We had so. many. lessons. 

Pday was a day well spent! We went over to Universal CityWalk, which is just right outside of Universal Studios! We walked around and got some fun pictures and yummy donuts! We pretty much spent the rest of the day at the church hanging out, which I was content with because I got to spend some quality time with my friends:)

The next day we had Zone conference! Of course I saw lots of old friends which has good. And our training was very beneficial. We talked a lot about the power of role plays. They're so awkward and inconvenient sometimes, but I feel like I definitely learn a lot when I do them consistently with my companion. Me and Hermana Jackson have really been cracking down on role plays, which has been super good for her because it has helped her learn how to teach!

Which leads me to my next point. We had so many lessons this week. I loved it. Lessons are my favorite part of missionary work. I love talking to the people I love and helping them progress and understand God's plan. 

We have lots of really golden people right now. Rocio and her daughter Victoria are the CUTEST. I don't even know how to explain the love I have for them. They're so sweet and open hearted and Rocio had a friend in her country who was a member of the church so she's familiar with a lot of the things we're teaching. And she quit drinking coffee years ago so, in her own words, she's "ready to be a Mormon!" And her daughter really loves us and gets excited every time we're coming over. Some of my favorite people in all of Orlando.

Liduvi has also been progressing! She should be really close to committing to a baptismal date here soon. She has so much faith and she said she doesn't want to commit to a baptismal date until after she bears her testimony on fast Sunday because she knows God has a plan for her and she wants to thank Him publicly first. She's so sweet!

Also! Wendy, Andres, and Carmen are all preparing this week to go to the temple! That means we'll get to go do baptisms for the dead with our recent converts very soon. I'm really excited!

We had ward conference this week too! Our stake president, president Scherer is INCREDIBLE. I want to be like him. He's just so full of love and so well spoken and inspiring. Elder Amato, our area seventy was also there! We got to be a part of the ward leadership meeting before sacrament and it's so baffling to see everything that goes into keeping a ward functioning. Especially in a place like Orlando. I don't know how our Stake President does it. There's members who speak English, Spanish, Portuguese, Creole, etc. And not only are there members from other states moving in. There are members who are refugees moving into Orlando from other countries! I have so much respect for the leadership of the church.

Small Plates 

Why the Atonement is like a good steak.

I've always loved studying the Atonement, but I've never dove very deep into the topic before. It's just such an abstract concept and it is literally impossible for our human mind to understand.

But in preparation for Easter, and as a response to counsel from my leaders, both mission-wide and church-wide, I've tried to increase my understanding and application of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. 

I've been reading a couple of books (thanks, mom!) in addition to my regular scripture study in an attempt to better understand what the Atonement is and what it should mean to me. I've learned a lot! But one of the things I've come to realize is that the more I understand about the Atonement, the more I will understand that there is so much I will never understand. Because 1) I'm human. I'm imperfect and relatively unintelligent in comparison to an exalted being like our Heavenly Father or His Son. And 2) because I will never perform the Atonement. Christ already did all He could do. And all He could do was everything. 

Everything you have and love and cherish exists and has meaning because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Nothing in this world would be worth anything without His Sacrifice. Every birth would just be a reminder of yet another person who was destined to an infinite death. Every sunrise would just be a reminder that we have one day less left to exist. Every beautiful thing would just be a reminder of the indeterminable end of all beautiful things. 

But it isn't so. 

Because of Him, no death is permanent.

Because of Him, every sunrise is a reminder of the chance we have to try again.

Because of Him, every beautiful thing is a sign of the love God has for His children. 

As poetic as all that is, it still doesn't even come close to illustrating the magnitude and the magnificence of the Atonement. 

Today in church, Bishop Cajas shared his take on the Atonement in a way I had definitely never heard or thought of before. Though funny, it touched my heart.

Bishop loves grilling. He's always trying new ways of cooking meat, because he wants to perfect the craft. 

He's spent a lot of time learning how to do it. And when he grills up some steak, it can be quite the process. He never knows how a steak is going to take to the seasonings he uses. He never knows how the grill is going to behave. And when you live in Florida, trying to plan according to the weather is frivolous. Sometimes he feels like it isn't worth it. It's just so much work. 

But at the end, he chops up his masterpiece and gives it to everyone to try. And then it becomes worth it. He sees the light in the eyes of his friends. He sees the joy it brings them. 

Christ feels the same way when we taste the fruits of repentance. When we partake of the joy that comes in and through His Atonement. The difference is that he never felt like it wasn't worth it. 

You were worth every second of agony, pain, despair. 

Because He knew of the joy it would bring you. And He loves you so much that He would have suffered all of the pain He endured in the Garden of Gethsemane just for you. He loves you so much. 

Although I still have much to learn about the Atonement, this I do know: Christ did it because He loves us. He loves us more than we can even begin to comprehend. 

The doctrine of the Atonement is mind-boggling and arguably incomprehensible. So rather than inviting you to understand the ununderstandable, my invitation to you is to come unto Christ and partake of the joy of the Atonement. Let Him heal you. Let Him change you. Understand what the Atonement means for you. 

Baptism, Basher and Cow Glands

 Large Plates 

Valentines day, birthday, baptism, basher, and cow glands.

Another awesome week! I genuinely couldn't be happier here. Hermana Morris and I have so much fun and the time just flies. Every time Sunday rolls around we just have to sit there with our minds blown cause it feels like we literally just had church the day before. 

Pday was so much fun! It was Valentine's day so the Cluffs, one of the senior couples, had us all over for breakfast! We ate so many crepes and just spent some good quality time together. And of course they told us how they met which was fun haha. Then we went to the church and played basketball (aka the sisters watched the Elders play… one of our new ZLs is more than twice my size so I wasn't about to get in on that game haha). We went to Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner at the end though so I was content! 

The next day was Hermana Morris' birthday and she got the best present a missionary could ask for: a BAPTISM!!! Wendy finally got baptized and it was so awesome. Wendy is such a sweetheart and such a good mom. Her baptism was small because she didn't want to make it a big deal and she didn't want a bunch of strangers there watching her. It was super sweet.

After the baptism we went over to a member's house for dinner and she had a little surprise party for Hermana Morris! We weren't sure if she knew it was her birthday or not haha. She had yummy food and a gluten free cake! Little did she know it was the same gluten free cake we had bought at Publix for ourselves. So yeah we've been eating gluten free cake all week and will probably continue to do so this week haha. 

We also got to suck in the helium from some balloons and you already know we had the time of our lives doing that haha.

Also! We got bashed for the first time this week! Some dude shouted out "hey! Are you Mormons?" And then proceeded to tell us about how the Book of Mormon can't be true. But his argument was super invalid and honestly kinda funny so we weren't phased by it. It would take too long to explain in this email but to give you a summary he basically ended up validating the Book of Mormon with some Bible verses. Pretty much all he accomplished was wasting 30 minutes of our time. 

We also had a ward Valentine's party this week! There's not a whole lot to say about it though haha. It was pretty much the same as the Christmas party, with all the yummy food and loud music, but we didn't get to dance this time cause dancing started after 9 when we had to leave… bummer. 

On Saturday we went over to Wendy's to teach Andres his last lesson and plan his baptism! It was a good lesson and he's such a sweet kid. They wanted us to stay after for a barbecue with them and some members and some friends. It ended up taking way longer than we expected, but it was good to be there for Wendy and Andres and for everyone else there. Also they cooked up some wacky meat and it was yucky. I'm still not sure what it was but from what I understand it is a gland from a cows neck? Idk. But it was squishy and jiggly and pretty much every bad adjective I could think of. I wouldn't recommend it. 

Sunday was crazy busy and crazy good, as usual. Wendy got confirmed and bishop's wife gave an incredible talk. We had quite a few people we're teaching in church too! Wendy brought Andres with her and I sat by them. Fransis brought her two boys with her. I love her family so much and I have really high hopes for them. She's such a good mom and her boys are so sweet. And to end the day we had dinner at Bishop's house, as usual. I love that family so much. 

Small Plates

How to know the Book of Mormon is true

I finished the Book of Mormon this week for the first time since getting to Florida, so I figured I'd focus my thoughts on that today. 

This is very missionary of me, but I want to focus on the promise written in the last chapter of the book:

"Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts.

"And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.

"And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things."

This is a super powerful promise, but it can seem vague at the same time. What does the Holy Ghost feel like? How do I know if it's telling me the Book of Mormon is true? 

The last time I finished the Book of Mormon, these verses from Doctrine and Covenants came to my mind as I prayed:

"But, behold, I say unto you, that you must study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right."

"Yea, behold, I will tell you in your mind and in your heart, by the Holy Ghost, which shall come upon you and which shall dwell in your heart."

These verses tell us to study it out in our mind, and that the Holy Ghost will tell us in our mind. That's how the Holy Ghost usually speaks to me. In this case, the Holy Ghost guided me to the realization that the Book of Mormon tells us so much about being good people. I've picked different topics to mark each time I read and I always find so much in the Book of Mormon about each topic.

So, logically, I should just choose to believe the book because it tells me what I need to do to become a better person.

But the Holy Ghost doesn't just speak to us in our minds. He speaks to us in our hearts. Maybe when you pray about it, you feel peace. That's a confirmation that you're in the right place and doing the right thing. Or maybe you feel that burning in your bosom. That's the Holy Ghost too. He's there within you and it burns because He wants you to recognize Him. Or because He dwells in Holy places and your sincere prayer has provided Him with a place He really wants to be. His joy is full within you and sometimes it feels like you can't contain all the joy, so it burns. 

Whatever way the spirit speaks to you, He's telling you to believe the Book of Mormon is true because it is. 

I know the Book of Mormon is true and we can be given the strength and peace we need day to day as we regularly read and study its teachings. I know Joseph Smith is the Prophet of the Restoration and that he translated the Book of Mormon by the power of God. If you are not regularly studying the Book of Mormon, please do so. 

Before Thomas S. Monson passed, these words were his plea to us as part of the Lord's Church:

"I implore each of us to prayerfully study and ponder the Book of Mormon each day. As we do so, we will be in a position to hear the voice of the Spirit, to resist temptation, to overcome doubt and fear, and to receive heaven’s help in our lives."

I testify of his words and do so in the name of Jesus Christ, amen. 

Another transfer in the books

 Large plates

Exchanges, which was basically just me working alone for a day. A bunch of good lessons, a chaotic English class, and transfer news!

This week was crazy busy, as usual haha. We had exchanges on Tuesday which I was honestly kind of dreading. It was my turn to stay in our area and Hermana Morris went to the STLs area. That doesn't sound too bad until you realize that our STLs don't speak Spanish. So basically I was going to be alone for the day because all of the work we do in this area is in Spanish.

It didn't end up being too bad though! We had our studies in the morning and then went over to our friend Elissa's house! She's a little old lady in a wheelchair because she got her leg amputated a couple of years ago. She ended up not being home, so we started knocking her complex to see if we could find the neighbor family she always tells us about. We didn't end up finding them, but we found this really sweet Egyptian lady! We were able to teach her the restoration lesson right then and there and she seemed very grateful! I'm not sure if she understood it all, but she was nice! She said she would love a Book of Mormon, in Arabic if we had one, or in English if we didn't. The crazy thing is we literally found an Arabic Book of Mormon in the car the next day and we stopped by to give it to her! There's 1 sister in the mission who learned some Arabic in college so she had a couple Arabic books. And our car used to be hers. What a miracle! The only car in the mission with an Arabic Book of Mormon ended up being the car in this area. Super crazy!

We ended up talking to a bunch of people all around the complex, who were just out and about. It was fun to be able to have a one on one conversation with them in Spanish. It felt more personal. Although Sister Char (our STL) had no idea what was going on haha. It definitely felt like I had the gift of tongues that day. I understood all of them completely, even though their accents were some of the thickest I've heard.

We also went to a Hispanic Supermarket to try to find new people! It was kind of the same situation, where I did everything and Sister Char was just there. Of course I don't blame her at all haha, there's nothing she could do. It's just kind of different from what normal missionary work is. But we found a few people: couple who wanted to go to church, a little family who wishes the world valued the nuclear family more than they do, and a sweet lady who wants to teach me how to cook with green bananas! Overall it was a very good day but I was definitely glad to have Hermana Morris back. 

We also had our last lesson with Wendy and had her baptismal interview this week! She's all ready to be baptized! I'm super excited for her. She's so sweet. Later in the week, we went over to her house again to teach her son Andres and we put him on date for baptism too! They're going to get baptized the same day! 

We also taught Fransis and her sons and they are the BEST. She's seriously so golden. We taught the restoration with a hands on activity for the boys and she would listen to us explain it and then basically teach it to her sons in a way that they would understand and internalize it. She has such a special spirit and feels like family. I love her and her family so much and I have high hopes for them.

English class this Sunday was so fun. We normally hate it (sorry but that's the truth), but this class was full of laughter and smiles. We had a full classroom & Elder Boatman was teaching the lesson. All the students were laughing at his accent, and he was laughing at theirs, and everyone was laughing at themselves too. It was just very chaotic. Once he finished the lesson, he asked us missionaries if we had any ideas about what else he should teach with the rest of the time. I suggested he help them learn the difference between though, thought, through, taught, and all the other words that look or sound like those. One girl had a question about that last week. Needless to say, the chaos magnified haha. 

We also got transfer news this week! Hermana Morris and I are staying together! WAHOO! It's going to be such a good transfer. We really have a lot of good traction right now so we can hit the ground running and keep hustling this whole transfer. I'm excited. We did also find out that Elders Boatman, Bell, and Seeley will be leaving the district, which I'm sad about, of course. Elder Boatman especially has become a really good friend of mine. He's just a funny kid (and kind of reminds me of Addison haha). But that's mission life! So many hellos and goodbyes all the time haha.

Small Plates 

A lesson from my future mission president.

We're getting a new mission president in July, and he seems really awesome! His first language is Portuguese (although I can't remember if he's from Portugal or Brazil…) and he's currently in South Africa serving as a General Authority Seventy! Super cool stuff! He actually spoke in the last General Conference, and I studied his talk this week.

It's called Faith to Act and Become by Elder Ciro Schmeil (soon to be President Schmeil!!!). There's so many gems in this talk you guys. It's impossible to pick a favorite.

Basically the essence of his talk is that in order to become a good husband, wife, father, mother, friend, or whatever other role we want to include in the list, we must first become better disciples of Jesus Christ.

But how do we do that?? The first step he suggests we take is to ask. "We need to ask in faith to know the will of the Lord and accept that the Lord knows what is better for us." I really love that last part. If the Lord knows what's best for us, why would we want anything else? God is our loving Heavenly Father and he wants us to be happy. Let Him help you be as happy as He knows you have the potential to be.

The next step is to act. "As we act, He will guide and direct us along the way." Sometimes we don't have all the answers and instructions right at the beginning, and that's okay! The Lord has our back. It was the same with Nefi. If he were given a list of instructions, it probably would have looked something like this:

What to do: go get the plates 

How to do it: ______

He didn't have much to go off of, but he went anyway! We can do the same. Right now, my list of instructions looks like this:

What to do: serve a mission

How to do it: _____

I don't have a lot to go off of either. But I'm here and I'm trying and that's what God wants from me. And that's what He wants from you. For you to act in faith and trust that He will help you become who you need to become. 

Elder Schmiel then suggests that we study. 2 Nephi 32:3 says, "Feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do." What a promise! The scriptures contain all the guidance we could possibly need in this life. All we have to do is search them, study them, and love them. 

The last step is to Act to Become. Essentially this just means we need to do the first three steps every day. We have to make becoming a part of our lives. A part of who we are. 

With that routine, we will have all the guidance and direction we need to be happy and successful in this life. And more importantly, we have all we need to become who we need to be. Because when all is said and done, and this life is over, not much will matter. It really comes down to who you are. 

So who do you want to become? 

Valentines Package from mom!