Well from the locura that my mission has been, you would think I would have learned to expect the total unexpected but NOPE--things always get me by surprise! haha This week has been FULL of changes, craziness, responsibility, amazing experiences, and I am just so grateful!
Ok, so Monday we got a phone call from the ZLs telling us we had to go to the terminal to pick up Hna Sanchez so she could come open up Samanes, and train, and be living with us. We were shocked because she was very "special" when I lived with her, and Hna ward trained her. We were glad it wasn't us doing that, and knew that we would have to help them and encourage them, etc.
Well Tuesday we went to Zone meeting and upon getting there, the ZLs told us that the assistants wanted to talk to Hna Orantes. They said that President had changed his mind and that Hermana Orantes would now be training, and that President wanted me to open the area of Samanes with Hermana Sanchez. We were shocked and it was like a pail of cold water over our heads. Hna Orantes started crying and I was just so sad and nervous and just lots of feelings. During the whole meeting we tried to concentrate but Hna Orantes leaned over to me at one point and said she just wanted to bawl and bawl but had to hold it in. It hit me during the middle of the meeting, and I started crying too. We were pretty dang stressed. Elder Falk (our ZL) looked at me several times very knowingly and understandingly, and if it weren't for him and Hna Orantes, I don't know what I would have done! We got home and although Hna Orantes and I were just stressed and feeling empty, etc. I looked over and saw Hna Sanchez looking pretty down. I sat down and asked her if she was sad that she wasn't going to be training anymore and she opened up to us and we helped her. She said she felt like it was her chance to prove herself, finally, and that she felt like she was being punished for how she acted before, etc etc and we told her no. I told them how incredible it was that each trial is SO personalized. For example, Hna Sanchez really wanted to train badly and now she can't and has to deal with that. Hna Orantes really DIDN'T want to train, and now she has to deal with that. I felt so stressed and dizzy already, and felt like I couldn't handle anymore when the Lord gave me another change and responsibility to open an area and be with Hna Sanchez. All very personalized--but we all realized that we could accept the Lord's will and it was all for a reason.
Wednesday we woke up and I was physically sick to my stomach,etc. Hna Orantes left early to go to the trainer's meeting and to receive her new companion. We were in the middle of our personal study (and I was seeing the Lord's blessings in my life as I prayed fervently for the Spirit to be there, calm my nerves, help me focus, and receive revelation, which all happened) and I was beginning to really accept this change WHEN the phone rang. It was the assistants, and Elder McGinn told me he needed a favor. He then asked me how long it would take us to get to the trainer meeting. He then said that he needed us to go there right that instant because there had been another change and he would explain everything when we got there. WHAT?!!! We were so shocked yet again, and going crazy. 3 changes (transfers) in 3 days! We quickly called a member to help take us and left immediately. We got there and entered the doors, and Hermana Orantes turned to look who was coming in, and the look on her face when she saw us was priceless. Her mouth dropped open and was like WHAT are you doing here?!! Elder McGinn then took us 3 aside and said there had been another change. He said President had called him and told him he had received an impression. He told us that Hermana Orantes and I would still be companions in Guayacanes, and that Hermana Sanchez would be training in Samanes. BUT that President felt that Hermana Orantes needed to work with the new hermana (Hermana Vidrio from Mexico) and I was to open the area of Samanes with Hermana Sanchez for this week. He then turned to me and Hna Orantes and said that President trusts me and her a ton. What a tender mercy to hear those words and what a crazy but merciful change! Hermana Orantes burst into tears of joy and hugged me like crazy and I was just laughing. I felt like the Lord was trying us to see what we were willing to do to follow Him, and also that President knew that in some way or another the 2 transfers he had done had to happen and it had to be a mix. He said we would have 4 days and Sunday we should start working with our normal companions again. I was excited and felt the responsibility of making sure things were set up for the hermana and that she knew the area in 4 days.
Wednesday I quickly looked through the area book and wrote down everyone and then called the Bishop and he was SO excited they had missionaries, and wanted to accompany us in the evening. I had my lists of references and old investigators, the area map, etc in hand and we left to go work when the hermanas got home from their meeting. We found an hermana home that was a reference from my old area! We had a good lesson with her and then went with the Bishop. I am SO impressed by this Bishop. He is young, works a ton, studies, has a wife, etc so enough to be sufficiently busy, but still accompanies us, does personal visits, plans activities, etc etc and had SO many plans and ideas for us and was so enthusiastic. It was incredible and how I imagine Joseph Smith being. It was a GREAT day and I just felt like I was shining when I got home from happiness and light and just was SOOOO grateful to my Heavenly Father for that opportunity. It was incredible seeing the changes in Hermana Sanchez, and incredible being able to help her learn the area and gain the confidence of the Bishop from day 1 (he at the end wanted to bring us home, know his wife, they made us food, etc, it was great) and was just SO happy and beaming! Wow I felt so grateful and like again, WHY do we ever question the Lord's will?!
Friday I finished the New Testament! Also when we got to lunch (we ate lunch with the other hermanas cuz we didn't have lunch scheduled yet) Hna Orantes told me that Paul wasn't home because he had left early for the weekend out of town. She said that Grace (the CR and Paul's cousin) told Hna Orantes that on Wednesday when we didn't show up, Paul got super upset and sad and thought that I had been changed. He then asked Grace, "Who is going to challenge me now???" and that he was very sad. That made me feel so appreciated and like I have a specific purpose here---tender mercies of the Lord all over the place! Friday while opening Samanes, we had an awesome day! We found an investigator from a reference a lady had given us the night before (she was present in a lesson and refused to participate, but after told us we should go visit her brother). We got there and Christofer got home and joked the whole time about being in love with me, blah blah blah. We kinda laughed uncomfortably, but knew he was totally joking, and then taught. He is INCREDIBLE. Wow. An escogido for sure. The whole time I was just in awe of his good, strong spirit and he just has a personality and spirit that says leader! He will be a great leader someday. Hna Sanchez took advantage of the fact that he was all willing to do whatever while we were there and put a baptismal date--what a beast!!!! But the hermanas tell me he came to church yesterday, stayed all of it, loved it, and said he was bringing his sister and niece the next week. What a wonderful opportunity and experience!
Saturday--our last day opening together, we went to all the limits, etc. We went to lunch at a house and came across this RM who started telling us all the dumb things he did in the mission, etc and I obviously showed my reaction and he just laughed and said he didn't see why it was a big deal. I asked him if he never read the mission handbook or didn't understand obedience, etc cuz he was getting to me. It made me so mad inside and I couldn't believe how horrible it was to hear those things--like it was nothing. He wasted the Lord's time! The mission affects our ETERNITY!!! It is not something we go on and experience and come back. It is eternal blessings or consequences and it's incredible how being a RM doesn't mean anything necessarily. It is all about what type of missionary you were and who you are. I LOVE the mission!! It's a miracle.
Saturday--our last day opening together, we went to all the limits, etc. We went to lunch at a house and came across this RM who started telling us all the dumb things he did in the mission, etc and I obviously showed my reaction and he just laughed and said he didn't see why it was a big deal. I asked him if he never read the mission handbook or didn't understand obedience, etc cuz he was getting to me. It made me so mad inside and I couldn't believe how horrible it was to hear those things--like it was nothing. He wasted the Lord's time! The mission affects our ETERNITY!!! It is not something we go on and experience and come back. It is eternal blessings or consequences and it's incredible how being a RM doesn't mean anything necessarily. It is all about what type of missionary you were and who you are. I LOVE the mission!! It's a miracle.
Saturday we were contacting and a guy called us over. We went over and he asked for our pamphlets and then told us he was a Jewish self-proclaimed traveling preacher. He talked all softly and smoothly and full of fake love and it was hilarious. He wanted to know our beliefs, and we testified and shared our beliefs, and he kept asking questions and we shared beliefs and he would question it with the Bible and then told us we had to memorize the Bible, that not everyone is a child of God, that the Spirit can't talk to us through feelings, that we should apart ourselves from Joseph Smith, etc and he said it all with such love. I just bore my testimony and told him to read and pray about the pamphlets and that we had to go. He then quickly asked if we could pray. In the middle of the street. We agreed and he asked to hold our hands (we refused and refused his many attempts) and then asked us to close our eyes (we peeked the WHOLE time hahaha I was not falling for anything). Luckily all I saw during the prayer through my half open eyes, was his fist going up and down with his crazy emotion as he prayed. He prayed like a crazy man--yelling and super loud and I'm sure you can imagine. After, we walked away and started BUSTING up laughing. Oh the experiences of the mission. Saturday night, we ran home to use the bathroom and went out for one more lesson. On the way out, I grabbed a BOM just because I felt I should. In the lesson, we had such a fight with knowing what to say, getting the Spirit to be in the environment because of distractions, etc. Nothing we did or talked about helped an I'd felt confused or like maybe they aren't interested so we should leave; WHEN I took out the BOM and we began to teach about that. The Spirit immediately filled the room and we testified, and the little girl and her mom felt it and were excited to read and pray and it was just SUCH a testimony to me of following the impressions of the spirit--that without the Spirit, we can't do anything, and I was so grateful for that experience.
Sunday Hna Orantes and I were together again. The Bishop was SO glad I hadn't been transferred, which touched me. I loved what a Stake Presidency counselor spoke about in Sacrament meeting. He talked about ACTIVE reverence. He said that just sitting there and being quiet is not enough. We need to be paying attention, praying to receive answers, really wanting to learn and feel the Spirit, etc. I think that key makes such a huge difference in our spiritual progress: personally, investigators, as companions, wards, etc etc. Active reverence is the key. Also something someone said on Sunday REALLY touched me. They shared scriptures in D&C and then said that maybe we don't see the fruits of our labors right now, but that the Lord gives us the strength and enthusiasm to continue on. And that in the heavens, our works have been recorded and we will see those fruits there. I immediately thought of the people I have taught that will accept later on in life, and how rewarding it will be to see them after this life and see the fruit of one seed planted. What a blessing! Also, big news of the week that I just found out about today:
Sunday Hna Orantes and I were together again. The Bishop was SO glad I hadn't been transferred, which touched me. I loved what a Stake Presidency counselor spoke about in Sacrament meeting. He talked about ACTIVE reverence. He said that just sitting there and being quiet is not enough. We need to be paying attention, praying to receive answers, really wanting to learn and feel the Spirit, etc. I think that key makes such a huge difference in our spiritual progress: personally, investigators, as companions, wards, etc etc. Active reverence is the key. Also something someone said on Sunday REALLY touched me. They shared scriptures in D&C and then said that maybe we don't see the fruits of our labors right now, but that the Lord gives us the strength and enthusiasm to continue on. And that in the heavens, our works have been recorded and we will see those fruits there. I immediately thought of the people I have taught that will accept later on in life, and how rewarding it will be to see them after this life and see the fruit of one seed planted. What a blessing! Also, big news of the week that I just found out about today:
MIGUEL GOT BAPTIZED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh my gosh I was SO excited! His waiting and suffering has ended and he got baptized in Colombia!!! My whole mission is worth it just because of him, and if no one else got baptized apart from him, it was all worth it. What a miracle.
So a few things I learned and liked this week from my studies are: in 3 Nephi 19:3 I was so amazed by what an example of preparation these people were! They really got it and understood. They knew that Christ would come the next day and that if they were prepared, they would get a lot out of it and be in the right place when He came. We need to prepare ourselves for spiritual experiences and always make sure we are in a place where Christ will come or His Spirit will be present.
In Revelations 21:7--the true followers and heirs of God overcome. D&C 76:58-60--we can overcome all trials given to us because we are children of God and have His help and in overcoming, we prove our faithfulness to Him and He blesses us.
Also, Hna Orantes and I were studying True to the Faith about the Priesthood, and as sisters, we have the right to the pertaining missionary keys of the Priesthood during this time. WOW!! Elder Washburn told me I had the keys to the ministering of angels and now that makes sense (that is one part of the duties of the Aaronic Priesthood). While we are called and set apart as missionaries and respresentatives of Christ we have those keys and this is the only time where that would be able to happen for us sisters. What a blessing! Also in 3 Nephi 21:25 I loved it so much. As missionaries, I truly feel that the power of heaven comes upon us and that Christ is in our midst. When we are serving Him, we are entitled to His help, and He helps us SO much and gives me so many tender mercies. I am so grateful for my Savior and for His Atonement, for the mercy and grace I receive abundantly and for the happiness and lasting joy the Gospel brings.
I LOVE my Heavenly Father. I know that He gives us the preparation we need and gives us the experiences we need to become more like Him and reach our full potential. I see His hand in my life daily. I know that this church is true and I know that this work will and does bring more joy and happiness and eternal blessings than any other work on earth. I feel so humbled and grateful and privileged to be here on a mission. I love it. I pray for you and love you all!! have a wonderful week. LOVE YOU!
So a few things I learned and liked this week from my studies are: in 3 Nephi 19:3 I was so amazed by what an example of preparation these people were! They really got it and understood. They knew that Christ would come the next day and that if they were prepared, they would get a lot out of it and be in the right place when He came. We need to prepare ourselves for spiritual experiences and always make sure we are in a place where Christ will come or His Spirit will be present.
In Revelations 21:7--the true followers and heirs of God overcome. D&C 76:58-60--we can overcome all trials given to us because we are children of God and have His help and in overcoming, we prove our faithfulness to Him and He blesses us.
Also, Hna Orantes and I were studying True to the Faith about the Priesthood, and as sisters, we have the right to the pertaining missionary keys of the Priesthood during this time. WOW!! Elder Washburn told me I had the keys to the ministering of angels and now that makes sense (that is one part of the duties of the Aaronic Priesthood). While we are called and set apart as missionaries and respresentatives of Christ we have those keys and this is the only time where that would be able to happen for us sisters. What a blessing! Also in 3 Nephi 21:25 I loved it so much. As missionaries, I truly feel that the power of heaven comes upon us and that Christ is in our midst. When we are serving Him, we are entitled to His help, and He helps us SO much and gives me so many tender mercies. I am so grateful for my Savior and for His Atonement, for the mercy and grace I receive abundantly and for the happiness and lasting joy the Gospel brings.
I LOVE my Heavenly Father. I know that He gives us the preparation we need and gives us the experiences we need to become more like Him and reach our full potential. I see His hand in my life daily. I know that this church is true and I know that this work will and does bring more joy and happiness and eternal blessings than any other work on earth. I feel so humbled and grateful and privileged to be here on a mission. I love it. I pray for you and love you all!! have a wonderful week. LOVE YOU!
Love,
Hermana Bryan
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