May 6, 2013
One more week with my
trainer!!!!!!!!! Can’t believe my mission mother is going to leave me really
soon...I loved learning and growing from her! Hermana Portillo is a very smart
and loving missionary. She knows every scripture by heart and knows every word
that every apostle ever said. She is a recent convert of about 3 yrs and was
actually a dedicated Catholic the years prior from her baptism. She was going
to be a nun but I believe that missionaries caught her right in time. They
taught her for 6 months, as she had many question and was a little hard in the
heart. But when she bears her testimony of when she received a confirmation
that this is the true church, it is powerful! She is still the only member in
her family. Bless her heart, I believe in the beginning she was rejected by all
of her friends and by her family for being baptized. She has sacrificed a lot
to be here on a mission and only has7 months left! The Lord has a plan for this
awesome missionary and she is going to lead many people to the truth...even
after her mission!
Well I think one of my
favorite things this week was digging mud in the pouring rain while wearing a
skirt. We are teaching a family right now who do not have very much for a
house. Their floor is the dirt, which can be a disadvantage here in Costa Rica
when the huge rain storms come in. Well while teaching a lesson to this family,
the rain started pouring down on the tin roof of their house. A few minutes
later, water was starting to run inside of the house. The mom and the grandpa
grabbed a shovel and ran to the back of the house where the water was coming
in. Dad, you would be so proud of me because there was one shovel left and I
instantly grabbed the shovel and ran out to meet the mom and Grandpa, but then
I realized I left my companions. So I went back inside to convince my
companions to go out with me. When they turned and looked at me, they both
laughed a little bit, I’m sure cuz I looked a little funny holding a shovel
while in my dress, but then they realized I was serious and followed me outside
in the down pour of rain. We were able to dig a little gutter for the water to
drain away from the house. Wish I could’ve taken a picture of all the mud that
was clumped onto my shoes and legs.
However, just for the record, we did end up
finishing our lesson! They are a humble family and have a baptismal date. However
they are super traditional Catholics and they are having a hard time
recognizing their answer and having the desire to leave the Catholic Church.
When we showed her a picture of Joseph Smith´s first vision, she told us that
she had a dream and that in her dream she saw an angel and a pillar of light
descending down, just like in the picture of the first vision. I kinda wanted
to say, “ Hello !! That is an answer from God! He is answering your prayers
telling you that all we are teaching you is true!” But Hermana Portillo was
good to try to help her understand in a more loving way. However for some
reasons she doesn’t see the answers so clearly still. So we continue to pray
for them!
Saturday we decided to
knock on a door. We ended up having a lesson with this family ( mom, dad, and
two daughters) and they committed to go to church the next day. When my
companion and I went to pick them up, they were ready in their Sunday best. The
Dad had told us that they were looking for a church to go to; I think that’s
when we gave them the invitation to go to church with us! The mom and their
girls are super sweet. After church they said that they really liked it! It was
testimony meeting and Hermana Portillo and Hermana Garcia both gave beautiful
testimonies and mentioned this family in their testimony and how grateful they
were that they came to church. The spirit was so strong as they mentioned the
beautiful doctrine of eternal families.
How
grateful I am for the joy the gospel has brought me in my immediate family and
extended family. It is a wonderful privilege to help other families find the
joy and peace that I have through the gospel of Jesus Christ. Well my testimony
is growing everyday as the spirit bears witness to me in every lesson that we
have. It’s those moments that make all the trials of a mission worth it! I
found a sweet quote from Elder Nelson that says, ¨ With faith comes trial of
faith, bringing greater faith.¨ We will never gain faith without trials and as
we endure through the trial, the Lord promises us more light, more faith, and
more blessing! We have a perfect God and He has a perfect plan for us! I love
you all family! The Gospel is true!! Love Hermana P
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