Week 17

First and most importantly, this week is my sister’s birthday and my grandma beccas birthday!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO 2 OF MY FAVORITE AND MOST INFLUENTIAL WOMEN IN MY LIFE!!! I love you both till the worlds end and beyond! Have the most amazing birthdays :)

VIDA DE A MISIONARA:

So we had transfers and I got a new companion. Hna Sanchez! She´s an absolute doll and I love her! She´s from El Salvador and is just as spunky and weird as I am haha it´s the best! Also we broke our cell phone. So we´re 6 hours away from the offices, and have no way to communicate with anyone. Haha how great is that?

INVESTIGATORS:

Jose: my investigator that is slowly slowly slowly progressing attended sacrament meeting this week!!!!! I was so excited!! I saw him and I just started crying! We had a lesson with him on Saturday and he received a blessing of strength to help him stop smoking because he´s kinda plateaued at about 14 cigarettes a day. Ah he´s the best !

Jordan and Mary: We got Jordan to pray for the first time in his whole life!!! He´s never attended any church, he´s never prayed or read the scriptures and in our last lesson about faith he said the closing prayer! I was crying during the prayer I was so happy! And on top of that it was one amazing prayer :)

(If you can´t tell I cry a lot now! I don´t know why but when i´m happy I cry. When I feel the spirit, I cry. When i´m stressed I cry. So weird.

Nicole: Nicole is our little 11 year old that is golden! Reads and prays every day and has the highest number of assistencias out of all of our investigators! We passed by her house on Saturday to reminder her about church the next day and she said that her dad (that doesn´t live in the same house as her, never visits, and doesn´t give the mom money to help pay for the expenses) said he doesn´t like it when Nicole and her sisters attend our church ….. So we´re kinda in a rough spot with that. And it´s even worse when as Nicole was telling us this she started crying because she wants to go to church and wants to get baptized.

FUNNY/REALLY COOL STORY:

So yesterday (Sunday) we were walking to church and it was pouring rain! And I mean it was like taking a shower! Ah it was nuts and freezing cold but so much fun! We were singing at the top of our lungs all these hymns and people as they drove by thought we were literally crazy! At one point I looked behind me and there was this little 10 year old kid videoing us hahaha what the heck??? So if any of you see a video of 2 crazy sister missionaries singing and dancing in the rain, that´s me :) When we got back to the apartment later that day we were both soaked! All of our clothes were drenched!

We have a new member in our branch! One of our members got baptized! She´s so sweet! She asked that the missionaries attend her baptism because she wants to serve a mission someday! How cute is that?

ESTOY A LATINA!!! I AM A LATINA!!! After 3 days with my new companion, Hna Sanchez, she told me that my personality is more Latina than gringo, I just have to change my skin ton and I´m a Latina haha wahooooo I was so happy!! Best compliment ever!! Then we were on the phone with one of our members and she thought I was my companion!! Literally best things anyone could ever say to me haha

SCRIPTURE:

Alma 23-24 This is the story of the Anti-Nephi-Lehis when they converted to the gospel and buried their weapons of war. In chapter 24 they talk about how this action, burying their weapons was a testimony to God of their faithfulness and how they truly wanted to change. What are our ¨weapons of war¨ that we need to burry to truly be people of God. To truly show our love for him. Habits, attitudes, addictions, thoughts. What is holding us back from receiving ALL the blessings God has in store for us? One thing that also stuck out to me in these chapters is that as their enemies are preparing to attack and kill them all, their king prays. But in the prayer he didn´t ask for help, or protection or for the hearts of their enemies to be softened. He gave thanks. He thanked God for helping his people accept the gospel and for forgiving them of their sins. How many times in our trials do we forget to look at the mountains of blessings we´ve received? My companion and I have made a goal that AT LEAST once a week offer of prayer of just things we´re grateful for. I invite all of you to do the same! ESPECIALLY when you´re going through a hard time or a trial!

¨We should come running unto him¨

-Elder Andersen

les quiero mucho :)

Hermana Smoot