My beautiful beautiful family whom I love dearly dearly! How are you?!?! I am great, I miss and love you all!
This week was really good, and it seriously flew by. I decided today
that I am just going to relate a couple really spiritual experiences
from the week. Bear with my scattermindedness :) I just made up that
word I think :)
On Wednesday we went to read the Book of Mormon with Faviana (she is the
recent convert who is 75 and can't read) and when we finished the
chapter and asked if she had any questions or anything, she asked us what
she had to do to go to the temple and receive her endowments. We just
about fell over and died. We have been trying to encourage her for weeks
to go, but she was nervous about this, that, and the other. Her health
isn't great. She can't read. She doesn't always understand well. She can't
remember for very long, and she was nervous to have to travel. But she
had been praying a lot and some of the relief society came by to
encourage her about it. When we came by she decided she wanted to go.
Well we hopped right on that. She had an interview with President
Galargaza (the Branch President) on Thursday and an interview with the
mission counselor on Saturday, and she is all good to go. We were a
little worried just because sometimes it is hard for her to understand
and sometimes it is hard to understand her, but both interviews went
perfectly. The thing is, even though she may not understand a lot of
things or a lot of what will happen in the temple, her spirit and her
faith make it impossible to deny that she is more than ready to go to
the temple and a more than worthy candidate to be endowed from on high.
She has had a very hard life, including an incredibly abusive husband,
which is why she has so many issues. But the Lord blesses His followers
and loves those who just keep on trying. It was a very happy few days
with her :)
On Friday, we went down to Marcona to do family history and were very
successful. The members down there are awesome. Me and my comp split up to
be able to teach and create accounts online at once. I ended up
teaching a recent convert couple with an older lady who has a son on a
mission (who I actually knew in Ica, but that is random info). As we
talked about the temple and vicarious work, their questions lead us to a
higher focus on eternal marriage, enduring to the end, and repentance.
They are an AMAZING couple, and they just really want to progress and
do everything they should be doing. They were so cute and sincere, and
the member with me bore a powerful testimony of eternal families and the
sealing ordinance. I am so thankful for the priesthood and the temple. We are so blessed.
Then, yesterday, all of our investigators with baptismal dates fell
through and couldn't come to church. I was devastated. None of them lost
their date, but I just felt like we had explained everything; the why,
the how, the blessings, the consequences and had made really good plans
and it all just fizzled out. I was praying really hard and asking
Heavenly Father to forgive us for whatever mistakes we had made to not
help them get to church when one of the ladies we have been teaching
walked in with the member (Mayi) we had committed to get her and HER
HUSBAND AND LITTLE BOY. A family walked in to the church :) It has been
my prayer for months to be able to teach and help a whole family. So
when they walked in, I just started to cry. We had made really firm
plans with the wife and she really gets everything we teach her. They
are young and have a lot of questions about everything, and they are
amazing. Their names are Lisbeth and Enrique, and their little boy Fernando. HUGE tender mercy, and we are way excited to start teaching
them.
I also had to speak in church yesterday, and spoke on praying,
reading the scriptures, and attending church to receive personal
revelation. I felt the spirit so strongly as I spoke, and had been
feeling it all morning as I prepared the talk. I felt like it was really
what Heavenly Father wanted me to speak about. Then, after the meeting,
9 different people came up to me and thanked me, saying that it was
exactly what they needed and that they would never forget what I had
said, but more they would never forget what they felt. All 9 of them said
that. It was a huge testimony to me that God knows His children, and
that He will prepare his servants to be instruments in His hands when we
seek it and are worthy and listen. He knows every one of his children. He orchestrates it so that an insufficient missionary can
give a talk and 9 people with real problems in Vista Alegre Nasca Peru
can feel His love. God is big, but He loves individually. I know that.
Christ will walk with us every day if we let him and invite him. His
atonement is real, and the love of God is infinite.
I know this gospel is true, and that Heavenly Father loves us.
The blessings of the temple are priceless.
The Atonement of Jesus Christ is REAL. And it happened. On a cross at
Calvary, many years ago. And my life changed that day, and continues to
change every day because of that day.
The Holy Ghost is real, and powerful.
I love my family dearly, and feel eternally blessed every day to have each and every one of you :)
I love you!! Have a great week :)
Hermana Lauren Bailey
Juan 3:16
Alma 7:11-12
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