Hola Familia and Amigos!!
Did you complete my challenge I gave to you all? To share
the Bednar talk from conference? If not, it's okay. we have this wonderful
thing called repentance, where we can try again! ;) (es un chiste) but I hope
you all did the challenge!
First of all, THANKS FOR THE PACKAGE. I may have shed a tear
or two, because it was like everything I could ask for in that moment. I sure
do have a great family!! My roommates also say thank you :) one day
I will send my package to you guys when the DR Stamps get here...
hopefully that's before I leave the CCM! Luc, it has your birthday stuff in it-
so i'm really sorry if it gets there way later than your birthday. But I will be
thinking about you on your birthday :) Also tell Mckenna,
Hermana Echard from Utah State says congrats on her mission call! Also LEXI I
AM SO EXCITED FOR YOU. You are going to be a great missionary!! A mission is
the best decision you could ever make, no joke!
Wow this week was SO amazing! I wish I could type out every
detail of the awesome experiences we had but I don't have time, but I will do
my best.
Starting with last friday at the university-
So we only got 5 Book of Mormons to hand out but we had a ton
of pamphlets of the restoration and the plan of salvation as well. We started
off and literally... every single person we talked to either accepted a
pamphlet or a book of mormon!! They all seemed pretty interested. Later in the
time there, a man came up to us and started praying for us. His name is
Antonio. He is catholic but interested in learning about different religions.
He seemed so interested after I repeated the first vision to him!! When you
share the first vision, especially memorized and slowly (as the Lindley's
taught us - shout out to them), there is so much spirit in the conversation and
it just floods in! After that he got the mission info, and he is actually
meeting us tomorrow at the university so that we can teach him the second
lesson!! Our teacher Hermana Diaz is helping us out, because it's like... real.
I'm teaching a real investigator tomorrow---- AH. I'm so excited!! After that
it started pouring rain, and I mean pouring. Utah rain is fluff fluff, in the
DR we get real rain! After that we went around and I had an idea that we
should go sing around this huge group of students. Mostly we just got
weird looks but hey because we did that we actually gave out our last 2 books
and the rest of the pamphlets! So all though we laughed about how silly the
whole situation was, it ended up being a good choice :) Plus, Hermana Triplett
is a super great singer so she impressed people I believe.
So yeah, THAT WAS AMAZING. People here are so nice! Every
time we said hi to people (mostly) they smiled and talked to us. It was great.
Oh, we also talked to a girl named amada who was just so ready I think to hear
the word. She gladly accepted the Book of Mormon and hopefully will follow
through on her committment to meet with the missionaries!
We had a great broadcast devotional with Elder Bednar and
his wife. In part of it they talked about faith and power. He said, "Power
does not come until after action, and fear is the absence of action". That
can not be more true for us right now! Our mouths won't be filled before we
open our mouths, only after! We have to be brave and just attempt to talk in
spanish if we want the power behind it. And fear is what holds us back, in my
most terrified moments here I remember that and think, Okay Hermana Schmidt - have
you shown your faith and done something so that the Lord can help you with His
power? And it has made a huge difference, especially in perhaps the most
powerful experience since arriving here. Also, they talked about how every
missionary should have their family pray every day specifically for their
missionary to receive the gift of tongues. I was so excited to extend that
invitation to my family, but you guys are so inspired and wonderful you already
accepted the challenge before I invited you to do it! And this week, I needed
it. I felt your prayers, so thank you so much.
A couple of nights ago, our teacher let us go to a nearby
park and talk to people about the book of mormon and the church. Hermana
Triplett and I said a prayer for help, that we would be lead to those
willing to listen and ready to listen, and that our mouths would be filled. So
we walk down the side road of the park until the very end. Before we get there,
I kept thinking there's the end and we still haven't found anyone, maybe we
should turn back. But as soon as I thought that, the Holy Ghost so powerfully
in my heart helped me to know that there were people ahead who WE needed to
talk to. Only about 10 seconds later, we ran into a huge group of workers...
these people were very poor but so humble and kind. We started talking to
some (about 3) and 2 of them left pretty quickly but one was truly
interested. As we began talking about Joseph Smith and the first vision,
suddenly 2 or 3 more workers came over and listened. In less than 15 minutes we
had 10 at a time around us, (actually talking to about 5 at a time) and we had
to take seperate groups! There were probably more than 15-20 people during our
time there that read the pamphlet who we didn't get to talk to because of other
conversations. I felt like we were Alma and Amulek in alma 32.... that was
seriously us. The scriptures came alive for me. These people in the DR are
ready, humble, and willing, and when we become like the people in this country-
then the Lord will show miracles in our lives. That's when the Lord can change
us. That is when we can recognize that the Lord loves us. I especially thought
of verse 6- read it. It was the coolest experience of my (whole life) mission
so far.
That night I got 22 mosquito bites, (we didn't have time to
put on repellent my teacher said), and oh boy it has been painful and horrible
and I can't sleep--- However, it was 100% worth it. A mission is 100% worth
every pain, ache, stressful moment, hard nights... It is SO worth it. Seeing
those people so excited and just see light come into their lives just a little
bit was life changing. I'm so grateful I could witness such an amazing scene. I
am truly so fortunate to be here!!!
Now on a more funny note my class built a "tower of
bible" this week with our scritpures. Hopefully I will have the pics to
send. It was great! Also Elder Wood, probably one of the most funny people I
have ever met, taught us a lesson on redneck spanish words like: Abierto- as he
pronounced it "Ab-ur-toe" (instead of ab-ee-air-toe) and said it
means a work out between your abs and toes. So there is that! Another person
this week said, "This foodo is no goodo for me estomacho" so there is
also that. I also got yelled out by the lady we visit teach in the CCM because
in my broken spanish, she thought I was telling her false doctrines... whoops
good thing I have Hermana Triplett to help me out! (and I thought she
might kill me so i'm grateful I survived) There are a bunch of native
missoinaries here who are secretly cracking up at all the wrong spanish words
we say- but it makes for comic relief right? :)
I just want to let you all know that this choice to serve a
mission was the best choice I have ever made. I'm so grateful to be here and be
an instrument of the Lord. I love you all, but more importantly I know the Lord
loves you all a million times more than I ever could. His heart is big enough
for all of us :) Trust in the Lord, trust in his timing, and trust in his
promptings. He will never lead you astray.
The church is true, The book is blue, CTR when a choice is
placed before you!
Love you all, but not with more love than a missionary
should give,
Hermana Schmidt :)
Also we ran out of books for everyone
at the park and all of them wanted to meet with missionaries!! :)
 |
Elder wood being himself with my glasses.... thought you
would laugh haha
|
 |
| roomies |
 |
| tower of bibles |
No comments:
Post a Comment