Oh my, I hate writing that! I don´t even want to think about how short time is here. There is so much work to do and I feel like I have been waiting forever for this opportunity to serve and it's going by WAY TOO FAST!!!
6 months...
Well I guess time really flies in the mission. I feel like yesterday I was in the CCM studying Spanish and trying to be spiritual and enjoy the spiritual high that you feel in the CCM. Now that I have been out 6 months I really feel like the mission is a short time. I can´t believe how short it is! 18 months to give everything I have to the Lord. Really it shouldn't be that hard.
This week was a hard one. My last transfer I was companions with my Latin twin. I felt like I knew the sector and the people and I was so comfortable and confident with myself. And then transfers came and I ended up in the city with a Chilean and learned that I once again don´t know Spanish and that Heavenly Father doesn't want you to be comfortable: He wants you to learn and grow.
So that is what I am doing now. And yeah it isn't easy, but it isn't hard either. I have witnessed many miracles here in the mission. We call them our daily tender mercies. They aren't really big things like baptism and investigators. They are the little things and the smiles that you see on faces when you teach them about the power of God in their lives and how much more they can do and who they can become with His help.
I am so grateful that I have the support of so many family members and friends. There are a few missionaries that don´t get anything from their families. If you get the chance I want you to send a letter to every missionary that you know. I know it may not be that important and they may not write back, but they will feel of your love and support and that they have someone who cares.
Yeah so that was my soapbox speech. On to greater things.
It has been fun to get to know some of the members and talk with them. I am jealous of all the people that are converts to the church! They have such cool stories and experiences with the missionaries. They always make fun of me because I am from the "fabrica" (factory) and that I am a manufactured missionary. Well that is when I try to tell them that I too had to pray to know this church was true.
We work a lot with less actives. There are about 400 members in the list of el rescate. But guess how many on average are coming to church...only 100 and that is on good days. We work a lot with the families and we are trying to find incomplete families to teach. I feel like that is how we will find. It is difficult to knock doors because everyone thinks we are Jehovah Witnesses. And the members aren't really giving us references...so its really up to us in our contacts (20 or more each day) and using the list of futures that we have. THERE IS SO MUCH WORK!!! I love it!!! My companion not so much, but we are going to work extra extra hard to find the Chosen Ones!!!
Once again I am so grateful for the best family in the world. I am so jealous that you guys got to do Trek!!! You will have to write down all your memories so I can read them when I come home. I remember trek and how much that helped build my testimony of this gospel and the sacrifices we make as members. Maybe we don´t walk 1,300 miles, but we do have to make meaningful sacrifices. I was reading about sacrifices (see blue below) en la guía de las escrituras y encontré este cita: "José Smith enseñó que “una religión que no requiere el sacrificio de todas las cosas, nunca tiene el poder suficiente con el cual producir la fe necesaria para llevarnos a vida y salvación”. Viéndolo desde una perspectiva eterna, las bendiciones que se obtienen por medio del sacrificio son mucho más grandes que cualquier cosa a la que se renuncie." Haha use google translate!! (in the guidance of the scriptures and I found this quote: " Joseph Smith taught that" a religion that does not require the sacrifice of all things never has power sufficient to produce the faith necessary unto life and salvation " In the eternal perspective, the blessings obtained by sacrifice are greater than anything that is given up." (I used google and LDS.org)
I love you guys so much!!!
Peace out from Talcahuano!
Hermana Poulson
No comments:
Post a Comment