So, the heart-attacking did not cease with the less-actives and investigators - this week, I successfully and sneakily heart-attacked my companion!!
Whew! What a week, what a week. We have been working hard and have been blessed to find new investigators this week.
Last Monday, the Coronado branch had a Noche de Hogar (a family home evening) in which we celebrated the birthdays of Abuelita Quispe and her daughter. We had 10 less active members, 1 investigator, Irene, and 4 potential investigators come! We actually found out at the party that we were confused about where the investigator and potentials live: they live in the other branch that we cover, Bosque. :) The "birthday girls" were first to have some cake. In Mexico, there is a tradition called "mordida," or "little bite," the literal translation being "bitten." The birthday person leans toward the cake to take a bite, then someone shoves their face into the cake! In this instance, my companion did the honors. :)
The next day we had a service opportunity and helped a lady named Danni move. She's a retired FBI agent. She let us have her sunflower lights -- my companion was very insightful and wanted to give them to a less active member who loves sunflowers. We went later in the week and gave the less active member her lights and set up a dinner. She was very grateful! We then asked her for referrals, a skill we have recently been honing. Now my companion and I pray not only that people will be open to hearing the gospel, but also that people will be willing to share the gospel!
We finally met with Claudia Aguilar! It's been a few weeks, but she has been so busy, we've only been able to heart-attack her. She expressed that she noticed a difference between LDS teenagers and every other teenager. She has a young son who's 12, and she told us she was interested in becoming a better mother. We taught about the Book of Mormon and showed her the new President Uchtdorf video about finding truth using the analogy of the 6 blind men who went to see the elephant. She is wonderful and we're excited to see her this next week!
We also finally met with Manuel, the man with gold crosses on his teeth. We went with one of our ward missionaries, Hermana Loya. She is awesome and it was a very good lesson! We mainly focused on prayer and taught him that God is his Loving Heavenly Father. He is interested, but he definitely speaks English better so we passed him off to the English elders. :)
One of the miracles we had this week was that a less active member named Carlos who is 18 years old and wants to go on a mission went out with us! We were able to find a new investigator with Carlos there. We were trying by a Hermana Loya's neighbor, who wasn't home, then took a moment to admire their chickens and their peacock. Carlos noticed a trailer next to the house; we knocked, and met a man named Jesus. He is a ranchero/vaquero (rancher, cowboy) and he was very receptive! We taught him the restoration and Carlos shared his testimony - it was powerful. :)
One of our new investigators, a lady named Emma, expressed her passion for sewing. She even went to sewing school in Mexico! She was very kind, and interested in the message. Her husband's name is Lazaro, who is also a ranchero/vaquero. They are very humble and we're excited to work with them!
We also found two undocumented former investigators named Ana and Veronica. They love their ancestors and we know they will love the temple! They told us that every Sunday they go and have a picnic near their mother's grave to honor her. We have a temple service opportunity this Wednesday, to care for the grounds, so we plan to invite them. :)
We saw many other miracles and had a great lesson with Nydia again! When we challenged her to pray to know if the Book of Mormon is true, she told us, "Well, sisters, I think it's true and all, but that's not really my question." Surprised, we asked, "So, what is your question?" "What is my purpose in life?" she asked. We directed her to Alma 34 and promised that Heavenly Father was ready to answer that question, too! :)
The work of God continues here among the Spanish-speaking community of Albuquerque. I love you all very much!
Love,
Hermana Smurthwaite
Belief is the reason we go on a mission. It is the motive for preaching about Christ and sharing/Proclaiming his love. Faith is understanding we are children of God and our Heavenly Father. May the definition of faith bless you in life Faith is defined again and because faith has an inherent joy it gives us a solid foundation that we finally have the peace we have been searching for.
ReplyDelete"Many believer's feed themselves on what God hasn't done. When I dwell on what hasn't happened, I create the atmosphere for the spirit of offense to arise and to thrive. When I dwell on what hasn't happened, I legitimize unbelief. I live with a sense of justification, for not believing God.
Faith in the purest sense is the ceasing of resistance. even when there's no physical evidence, when the other evidence is present. Not feeding ourselves on what God hasn't done Faith in it's purest form is the absence of resistance
Heaven is a place where everyone is celebrated, some are more honored but everyone is celebrated. All men and all women shall be judged on the light which they have received. Heaven is a permissible culture. God's nature is eternally permissible. These statements protect us from credit.
Faith in the purest sense is the ceasing of resistance, even when there's no physical evidence, when the other evidence is present. Not feeding ourselves on what God hasn't done. Faith in it's purest form is the absence of resistance. Faith doesn't deny a problems existence, it denies it's influence. He or she was someone whom aridity and desolation never disturbed for he or she had a deeply rooted, and a vigorous faith.
Now we can act as we have always dreamed. Now we can act as we have always been. Now we can step into the light and gather the sunlight instead of blocking out our possibilities. Instead of blocking out our joy. Variety will bloom in/under the sun. We can show off our best, we can enjoy other people's gifts. We can blossom where we stand upon the joy that faith provides us. Upon the joy that faith inherently has, which blossoms the entire field of flowers"
.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDYaxabUfkA - The Definition of Faith