I have news! Good news!! I'm staying here in Granjas for my last transfer! I'm so happy!! This really is one of the best areas, and I feel so grateful to be here. The sad news... Hermana Leri finishs her mission tomorrow. So...no surprise transfers this time, she definitely won't be my companion again. :( But my new companion will be awesome too, I know it! I'll find out who she is tomorrow!
This week was a great week 6. We were able to see a lot of miracles - in others and in ourselves. This week, we were able to start teaching a new family that contacted us in the street! The Familia Mora Soriano - Mateo (the dad) is less-active, and introduced the church to his wife, Nancy about 6 years ago, when their little girl with Downs Syndrome was born. Since the first moment we met them, we felt something super special. Amber, their daughter, is just pure love. She lights up the world, and the parents have been able to strengthen their testimonies of God through their experiences with her. Nancy still says she's not ready to get baptized, but their little boy Irving is! His baptism date is set for May 2nd and he is super excited! He's been reading the Book of Mormon everyday and is so smart! We just love this family! They came to our ward for the first time yesterday, and everyone just fell in love with them.
And Lupita and her family! So Lupita is a reference from a less active family, is about 65 years old, and this week we were able to teach her and her daughter the restoration! Her daughter is SUPER interested and they are so prepared! And...they say that her son is even MORE interested! We haven't been able to meet him yet because he works a lot, but he takes all of the pamphelts that we give them and reads them over and over and over again. They weren't able to come yesterday to church, but we feel like they're really going to progress!
We also saw SO much progress in less-actives this week! So many of them came to church yesterday, and most of them are starting to align their lives with the Gospel again. There is one who told us that he met with the Bishop this last week to start preparing for a mission! I think we literally screamed for joy, haha.
Friday was just a great, crazy day! I had intercambios with Hermana Rojas and we both felt the need to study about the Book of Mormon during our personal study. After sharing what we studied, we made the goal to teach and testify specifically of the Book of Mormon with everyone that we saw that day. And...I'm not joking, the only people we saw that day were all the people that we have been trying to see for the last 6 weeks and none have been able to! But Friday was that day! Investigators, less-actives...and as we talked with them and got to know them, we felt the strongest impressions to read from the Book of Mormon with them and testify that it's true. And wow - the results were amazing. We have appointments with ALL of them this next week, and they all seem generally interested. There is a lot of power in that wonderful book, and I know that it is true. I know that it is the most correct book that we could ever hold in our hands, that it testifies clearly of our Savior, and that we will draw closer to Him and our Heavenly Father if we study its words.
This week was also a week of lots of reflextion. As Hermana Lerigeth is finishing her mission and I'm starting the last transfer... we were able to think of a lot of goals of how we can become more and more converted disciples each day. And to go along with that, Mom sent me a really awesome quote this week, and I want to share it:
"You only get one chance to serve a mission; it is your responsibility, your duty, to use it to the fullest; to give every last ounce of energy until you collapse in exhaustion at the end of it. All the hardships, all the tears, all the hard work will be looked back upon as the best thing you've ever done, not because you enjoyed it, not because you baptized everyone, but because you gave everything you had, even when you didn't think you could, and especially when you didn't want to. Live your mission to your fullest, work harder than you've ever worked before. Let people know that this is the most important thing in the world to you... If you do not run until you have nothing left to give, and then keep going anyway; cry and pray and work and sweat and plead until you are so drained that all you can do is turn to the Lord; if you don't do this, then these people will not come to this joy because of you - their failure to come to Christ will be partially upon your head. Come out of your mission proud of what you've done, and this experience will bless the rest of your life."
~Elder Jeffery R. Holland
I really like this quote. And...even if you're not serving a mission, everyday needs to be lived to the fullest as well. Everyday, we have to give our all to Heavenly Father, our families, our church callings, others... Let others know that this Gospel is the most important thing to us. This Gospel is the most important thing that I have, and I love that I get to share that with others. Maybe I haven't been perfect in doing so... but I have tried to give everything I have. And I will continue to do so, and so must all of us. The race never ends! And luckily, we have a Savior who is running with us, every step of the way. And I love that it says "until you are so drained that all you can do is turn to the Lord." Asi es.
I love all of you so much! Have a fantastic week!!
Love always,
Hermana Smith
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