To my household full of birthdays!!
We spent our whole P Day cleaning because it used to be the
house of Elders. I’m talking we bought a
new broom and mop and just went to town, throwing away all of the clutter and I
felt like a true Rawe. I think I will be a clean freak after the mission.
We are FINDING people!! We found a family this week and just
some really great people! I know that the Lord is preparing people but we have
to give it everything we’ve got to help them understand and feel the Spirit. I
know that the Lord uses us as instruments in his hands when we give Him
everything we’ve got.
Okay, now for some funny stories! There is this little grandpa
in our ward and he’s adorable. We found him in the street this week carrying a
bunch of stuff and helped him carry it to his house. He starts telling us about
how he coached PE for kids and how much he loved exercise and all of the
sudden, he takes off running in the street! Then he loops back to where we’re
at and drops down in the street in front of his house and starts doing push-ups.
Then he jumps up into his jumping jacks.
It was everything we could do not to start laughing. We made it about 3
blocks from there and just lost it. I love these people.
That same day, we visited a less active member who’s 92 years
old. She can barely hear and doesn’t like the hearing aids so we kind of yell
basically. She sees that we’re scratching our legs and starts asking us if the
mosquitos are attacking. Then she shuffles to the kitchen and brings RAID! That
stuff isn’t for skin!! Before we can say anything, she starts spraying us both! I’m talking two full minutes on each leg as
the Raid is just running down our legs. After we share a message with leave
there and our legs were on fire the rest of the day! This was old people week
or something ;)
Also, I was totally manipulated by a 10-year old boy. He comes up
trying to sell us some cream or something and he’s talking a million miles a
minute and says stuff like, “I’d personally really recommend it to you” and
then he winks. I’m literally dying and what do you think? I buy the muscle
cream.
Do you just love these pants?? I do.
Okay now for the serious stuff. Our President called a meeting
for all of the zones in Guadalajara and he and his wife talked to us. They were
pretty blunt about obedience and well, the hammer came down a little bit. I
guess we’re losing a lot of missionaries. But wow, I love our president and his
wife. They speak with so much love and I know that they want what is best for
us. They strongly invited us to repent, to put our lives in order and be
perfectly obedient to every missionary rule. I felt so inspired to give
everything that I have, to give the Lord all of me. Hermana Camarillo said that
our obedience in our missions determines how obedient we will be the rest of our
lives. I never want to justify or make exceptions, during or after my mission,
I just want to be obedient and marry someone that was obedient during their
mission and still has this desire after. She told us a story of when they first
got married. They didn’t have anything and she was offered an incredible job
but had to work some Sundays. They sat down and talked about it. What kind of marriage are we going to have?
To what degree are we going to be obedient together? Well, she didn’t take the
job and they have lived a pretty obedient life! I loved this example. It really
hit me and I realized the kind of marriage I want, the kind of life I want
after my mission. Wow, our President and his wife are just great!
This week we also had exchanges with our Sister Training
Leaders! I stayed here in Tlaquepaque and Hermana Malacara went to Cruz del Sur
(or my old area). Hermana Quisbert visited me here! I love her to pieces. She’s
from Argentina and is an incredible missionary. It was so nice just to talk to her,
to express everything I’ve been feeling this month and she just listened and
helped me out. Wow, real talk in Spanish! She talked about these past transfers
were really hard for her, like she sobbed Sunday night. Who does that remind you of? She asked
President, “Why did you do this to me?”
He told her she had learned all that she needed to there and these are
some of the sacrifices we make in the mission. I had never thought of that
before. I always thought our sacrifices were leaving home, being obedient to
every rule, not watching Disney movies.
Ha! Ha! Those those kinds of things. But it’s more than that ... we
sacrifice our hearts. We leave areas with people we love, we are heartbroken
for their problems and trials, we worry about them instead of thinking about
ourselves, we give up all of what we want in order to follow the Lord and where
He needs us. He has a plan and requires a lot of us, but the blessings are
awesome. I had to pass through Cruz del Sur about 7 times this week to go to
the meeting and also for exchanges. Saturday, I just got really sad on the bus,
like really, really sad. I too thought, “President, why did you do this to me?”
I realized how much I’ve grown in one month. It’s been really
hard, and I should probably be more patient, but wow, I can see that I’ve
grown. I’m just a little more patient and a little more humble. I love my
mission. I know my day with Hermana Quisbert was a little tender mercy of the
Lord! I loved teaching with her. I caught the fire again! I felt the Spirit so
strongly like when Hermana Buttars and I taught. One taught and then the other
jumped in with testimony, like we were both just pumped to be there. Friday
night we talked a lot, cried a little, and then hugged some. I realized that I’ve
been holding back a little bit. Sometimes I’m still wanting to be in a
different area with a different companion or being frustrated or negative. It’s
holding me back from giving everything I have here. I decided to start loving
my companion and this area one hundred percent. I decided to lose myself and
just worry and stress for the people here and their concerns, not for anything
else. The time is going by so fast, it’s already September, and I just pray I’m
using it the way the Lord wants me to. I want to be humble and learn all that
He wants me to learn. I have been so blessed!
Also, I saw my daughter at our meeting with President. She’s struggling
a lot too and just hugged me a lot and said I really miss you. I worry about
her, but she’s so strong and I know that the Lord trusts her too. Just that
motherly love for daughter kicking in!
I love you all and hope that all is well with all the changes
this week! You are all incredible and I am a testimony that change helps us
grow...even when we don’t want it! We put our faith in the Lord, we work hard
and be obedient, and the rest works out.
All the love in the world,
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