Hola from Ecuador! Well this week I think is best described by Logan´s email last week as Fire and Ice. Wow--I feel like every week can´t get more up and down but it totally does haha. Thats the norm here! And the hard, down, difficult days make the good days so much better!
First off, I want you to know Family that I have been thinking of you non-stop while you have been in Panama. I look at my watch sometimes and imagine what you are doing in the clinic or when you were in the fireside, etc. How wonderful it was to hear of your experiences!!! I cannot wait to hear the results of everything and all of your experiences--I miss you so much and love you and you are doing the Lord´s work and helping future missionaries--how incredible that is. It touched me to know also that you all were there but also Odie and Papa--serving the people of Panama and being able to touch their lives with their golden examples. I have the best family and am so blessed to be your daughter/granddaughter!
I forgot to tell you last week that we are doing language study together as comps and it´s so cute because my comp has very slow, broken English but she knows a lot of words! We made it a rule that our nightly comp prayers will be in English. I smile everytime she prays in English--it' s so cute and sweet! Also, I hate it that it feels weird to pray in English at times yet other times it's so relieving to express myself. Haha my mind is constantly in Spanglish mode--that's the best way to describe it. I´m not fluent by any means in Spanish and can´t express myself fully yet am so used to trying to think in that language that it comes out mixed at times. Yesterday, I had the opportunity to have a conversation in English and it felt SOOO good! Wow--I felt like the real me and I was so happy even though it was just like a few minutes. I needed that I think haha. Ok--highlights of this week!
We are struggling with a few families or people that have an answer that the church is true and the message is true but feel so badly and torn in giving up their Catholic traditions and nothing we say or testify or any answer has changed that yet. So we will see! We have other focuses too yet aren´t giving up.
Joanna and her fam--they are Jehovah´s Witnesses yet this is the 3rd time the missionaries have knocked on the dad´s door and taught him. He started to become confused because he remembered all the things he felt before that he had forgotten. Their 12 year old daughter has so much light in her eyes and when Hna Angulo asked the dad why he thought this was the 3rd time the missionaries have come into his life, she raised her hand and said I know. It´s because this is true! We didn't have a lesson yesterday because they were leaving but the 12 year old told us they all read the pamphlet together and all prayed about it, felt good, and her parents are surprised. So we will see!! I really think we are there for the 12 year old girl and it would be awesome if the family too.
Walter--he had missionaries teach him 12 years ago. He believes everything and everything makes sense to him--he loves analyzing the scriptures we read together and he loves saying AMEN to the things we testify about when he agrees or when things touch him. Haha we are teaching him tonight.
Funny story: we were visiting a recent convert and she came out with 2 plates of watermelon. She handed me a plate of watermelon that had been completely peeled and cut up into nice small pieces. She then handed Hna Angulo a plate with a thick chunk of watermelon that completely had the peel on and a spoon to attack the whole chunk of watermelon with. We started busting up laughing. I told her not to worry or feel bad--it's just because the people here think gringas can´t do things for themself probably hahahaha poor thing.
next Funny story: after a wonderful merienda with the Sanchez family--they light up my life haha we were walking down the street and this elderly man greeted us both and was very eager to say hi and shake our hands. He held onto my hand a bit too long and I pulled away and we kept walking. He followed us and asked where we were going and was soo enthusiastic about everything and offering a ride. We told him no thanks and then with his arms wide open he started running after us down the street like he was preparing to embrace us in a huge huge hug. It was crazy! So weird! Haha we started busting up laughing like is this really happening?! Weird and crazy things happen to us that we just crack up at--people don't know limits sometimes ha.
Manuel: this kid. Hna Angulo cursed me this week that I´m not going to leave Manta without baptizing this kid. haha we love him--just have to reach to the fondo and get to the point that will really change him. He is frustrating at times because he has desires and is such a great person with a heart of gold. He wants to be a missionary, wants to be baptized, wants to get married in the temple, recognizes he needs new friends, etc but also has contracting feelings and thoughts and I think he is confused. We had a lesson with his cousin Rebeca yesterday and she confided in us some things she think will help him. It was hilarious as we were leaving because all of a sudden the uncle, aunt, Manuel´s brother, cousin and then Rebeca jumped up and said WAIT! Manuel will be coming back tomorrow just so you know! Ya--tomorrow so don´t forget! :) hahaha It was soo great. We have the complete support of his whole family and extended family and it was so funny--made our night. We are going to keep persisting--I have faith :)
Kathy: wonderful experience she had this week where she was crying as she read the Plan of Salvation pamphlet and started praying and remembering the things we tuaght her and said she knew we were there for a reason. It was so wonderful. Yet she didn´t come to church and isn´t married so still working on that.
Laura: IS GETTING BAPTIZED ON FRIDAY!!!!!! Miracles happen! Her boyfriend left in the middle of this week and she feels much more at peace, etc. yet on Sunday, left church sobbing and she was bawling into Hna Angulos shoulders. We went straight to her house after church and we all sat on her bed as she opened up and was sobbing because she feels SO alone and its so hard for her to be alone and come home to nobody and know she has to start completely over. Yet she realizes it is good too but she kept saying its so so difficult, so hard, so lonely. I was crying a lot and expressed to her my feelings of how it hurts me to see her like that because we love her. Yet that I know that the things in this life that are the hardest and most difficult to endure, are the things that will be worth it in the end. It doesn´t make it easier but I bore testmony of the Savior and the Atonement and that as the Savior suffered the will of the Father, at times we will be made to suffer the will of God if we are willing to endure that suffering with Christ´s help for a moment. It was so sweet because as I was crying, she started crying more, and Hna Angulo was crying and even though that's a lot of emotion and tears, we really felt like the scriptures say you can mourn with those that mourn--it just comes so naturally in the mission. We love that girl and are praying for her strength--she needs the comfort of the Holy Ghost and she is very excited to be baptized. Miracle!
Gisela: We had a lesson with her on Thursday and her 12 year old daughter was there too. Gisela was pretty distracted the whole lesson because they had no food for Merienda and absolutely zero money. And because her mom isn´t talking to her, she couldn´t go to her mom for help. She works on Fridays and Saturdays til the early morning but they struggle a lot and this day they had nothing left. However, the part in the lesson where Hna Angulo recited the First Vision, they both said that for a moment, all of their worries left with a feeling of peace that remained. The 12 year old said her mind went white and completely blank. Gisela gave the closing prayer and started crying halfway through and her little boy looked up at her and rubbed her shoulder, saying ¨Mommy, don´t cry.¨ It broke my heart. Gisela completely broke down to us for a few minutes as her kids were in the other room about how much it hurts to not have her mom in her life--they were like best friends and also to be a single mom and still not have the means to provide, etc. We bore testimony to her and shared our love and we would always be there.
After we left, I asked Hna Angulo if I could buy them food--if that was allowed. She agreed it would be the Christlike thing to do so I returned for my wallet and we went to the store to buy them groceries. We came back and the smiles on the kids´faces were priceless. Gisela entered the Sacrament meeting and afterwards, told us she had finished work at 5 in the morning. YET she still came to 8 o clock church--THAT is faith!! She said her daughter is enamored by us and our message and specifically told her mom to tell Hermana Bryan not to go back to the U.S. I love this woman and her strength and faith and family.
Family Lucas Hopper: this week we were assigned to save a marriage. This couple has struggled for a while. The mom has circulation and health problems and her son is a pain. The dad fishes and is gone for months at a time sometimes but now, he´s on break for a long time yet only comes home to sleep because he doesn´t want to be there. Its´bad and you can feel the heavy environment. We showed a clip from Together Forever where a couple talks about their wanting to separate and how they saved their marraige. The sister we were with was just crying. We then asked them their feelings, asked them questions to remember how they felt when they were married, etc. and relayed part of Elder Oaks´talk Desire. Our questions and testimonies were very direct yet with love too. We shared the scripture about small and simple means and I testified of the importance of small things. When we let go of doing the small things (especially as a couple), we leave the door cracked open for Satan to enter in little by little and that he wants to firstly destroy the potential for eternal families. We bore testimony and reminded them of how they felt in the temple, and reminded them of their desires. Wow it was SO heavy for 22 and 24 year old single girls to take on and tackle. I literally felt like a mom having a hard reprimanding yet loving conversation with her children who wouldn´t look or talk to each other. The Bishop was wife were there to support us but we were the ones in charge. They finally promised to start praying together and reading the scriptures together and practice using kind language to each other instead of harsh words. Saving marraiges in the mission--who would have thought that would be part of my calling?! We literally have every role and responsibility here!
Friday was a horrible day for me. I was so so down and weighed down by responsibilities, our experiences, feelings, etc and missed everything and everyone so much. I had a hard convo with my comp and we had to work out some things and I´m just glad it was one day. This was my hardest day internally for me in my mission yet. So hard. Yet the Lord lets us have these days so we can see the light of the other ones!
Saturday we made chocolate chip cookies and visited 10 families in the ward that don´t go to Sac meeting or come like 45 mins late. We shared a direct message about relaxing our commitment to the Savior yet bore testimony and with love gave them cookies :) We had them promise to come to church early on Sunday and were praying. MIRACLES!! 8 out of the 10 families came and 7 of them came on time! It was so wonderful to look around and know those families had been reminded and tried to live up to their commitment--I hope this continues haha. Slowly but surely we will see miracles in the Cordova ward!
Also it was so great to share a part of my culture with the people here--everyone wanted the recipe and was amazed at these foreign cookies that are so simple for us Americans :) I miss the US a lot but also love the people here we have found and grown close to. But it felt great to share a part of myself people really enjoyed.
So--we had more things and had a hard convo with some recent converts who were so angry with us that we don't come visit them everyday like the other missionaries used to and said some harsh things and blamed us for their not feeling the spirit, etc. We apologized yet bore testimony of the Lord´s work and there are other people now that need to know what they know and they need to be doing the things that turns out they aren´t doing on their own to feel their own light and spirit. Turn the other cheek haha
Lots of responsibility, lots of emotions, many ups and downs, many miracles, many goals yet I´m so grateful for this Gospel! It is so true. It changes lives. This work is hard no doubt but it is worth it for those moments of complete joy that comes with investigators or seeing member change too! I´m very blessed and humbled to be here. I´m so grateful for your love and support and especially prayers. They help so much and I pray for you every single day!
LOVE YOU!
-Hermana Bryan
No comments:
Post a Comment