Not very talkative, this one, but quite enthusiastic!
Found some lovely wall art in down town El Paso!
Wow! What a week, what a week!
I am convinced that the Holy Ghost likes movies. Let me explain:
We were in a lesson with two recent converts and their two daughters. Zelda, the 17-year-old, is very shy and a little skeptical of the message we share. She's not sure she's ever felt the Spirit, which is why she's going back and forth on her decision to be baptized. Last Monday, we were teaching a Family-Home-Evening lesson about the Holy Ghost. We read some scriptures about him and talked about it - we had the thought before the lesson to make some sort of comparison with Harry Potter, because we know Zelda loves Harry Potter. As I tried to come up with a good analogy, the part with the Patronuses popped in my mind.
"The Spirit is like a patronus," I said. "You have to say the right words to invite his help, (Expecto Patronum/Prayer) you have to practice a lot, but once you get it down, it can protect you from Satan/Dementors."
"Also, the Patronuses are different for everyone- just like the Spirit is felt differently by everyone!"
My companion chimed in. I'm fairly certain that when Prisoner of Azkaban was being written, the Spirit got excited - because J.K. Rowling was talking about him! :)
Our investigators' brother, Luis, was so excited one day when we asked him if he had read the book of Mormon. "Yeah!" he told us enthusiastically. "The part when Nephi builds the ship? Oh, and when his bow breaks and his brothers murmur! And I love the part where..." He continued to tell us all about what he had read in the first 17 chapters of the Book of Mormon. "I couldn't put it down!" he said- "I got sucked into it!" It was wonderful.
We've been singing a lot lately. We sang in sacrament meeting a song I had never heard before called "Te Hallare, mi querido Amigo," which being translated, means I Will Find You, My Beloved Friend. It's all about missionary work - it's a very pretty song! On Wednesday, we sang "How will they know?" at the monthly 10 hour long Zone Conference. I was nervous because we were under-practiced, but it turned out all right! Then, that same day, we went to see Eulalia, one of our investigators, who told us of her mother, who'd died 20 years earlier. We shared the Plan that God has for her and showed her where her mother was - waiting in the Spirit world. She then agreed to be baptized on July 15! The Spirit was powerful in that lesson - and we gave her a baptismal calendar to keep her in the loop!
The next day, we found one of the most prepared couples I've ever met - Siro and Carmen. Our appointment with an investigator fell through, so we knocked on their door and they let us in. Carmen had just gotten off work and Siro was about to leave, so we were led to them at the perfect moment. They each accepted a Book of Mormon and Siro even said, "I'll trust you and go to church, sisters - but don't make me read anything out loud or speak!" :) We promised not to.
My companion taught me a profound lesson this week about LIKENING the scriptures to ourselves. For a little background, she found out a few months ago her mother has stage 1 cancer, and her brother is not taking it well. Also, she is very good at explaining and expounding on the scriptures. She read out loud Doctrine and Covenants 100, trading Sidney's name for her own and others names for people around her. It was as though that section was, in fact, written for her, and not for Sidney Rigdon. I've never heard anything like it - it gave me a new appreciation for the scriptures.
On Saturday Night, we read the sacrament prayers with two of our investigators to help prepare them for church. We talked about the covenant we renew when we take the sacrament; they got so excited, they invited their granddaughter to come to church with them, too!
Another amazing week spent in the service of the Lord. :)
Love, Love, Love,
Hermana Smurthwaite
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