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| Merry Christmas |
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| After baptism shot.....Cute D |
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| Before baptism shot |
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| Hno Rocha |
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| V came to Richmond! Love him and cute Di. Reminded me of good Charlottesville times. |
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| I've been sicker than three dogs this week. And so has mana Powell. This photo describes our feeling quite nicely. (Also Hna G's face got ATTACKED by chinches so....Awkward.) |
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| Goodbyes are more fun when you're not saying goodbye! #Chesterfield4lyfe #willmissmycomps |
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| Abuelitaaaa. Dream girl. Love her so much. She finally memorized my last name and now we're best friends. |
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| Sprite modeling aka so so sick so sick |
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| The infamous coro de barrio de Chesterfield. So many peces en el rio. #Navidad |
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| Cute girls and cute walls and I'm going to miss these bbs with my whole heart. |
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| The cutest of all the sisters/hermanas in our zone--on our way to ZOO CHOIR! #twoyearsinarow #HeavenlyFatherknows |
not literally, of course #missionary- to figure all of these crazy
issues out, like we needed to find someone from the ward to come with
me and be my companion in order to make our appts for the night/we
also still were in need of a ride to our Spanish meeting the next day
and.. Eek! For some reason (probably because my companions are both
leaving me for good) I just got way anxiety overloaded and ate lots of
chocolate and was just hardcore wigging. I went downstairs and pleaded
with Heavenly Father for guidance, because- whoa. The stress. Also it
had been kind of a while since I really spoke to Heavenly Father and
just layed all of my concerns on the table, so it was kind of a neat
thing. As so often happens with prayers and answer seeking, nothing
happened for a little while so I continued to wig, just a little bit,
and went on with my studies and such. Then we received a text, from
the assistant ward mission leader Hno Molina, asking if we'd been able
to find a ride.. Uh, okay. Thank you! So grateful for a loving
Heavenly Father and devoted humans who are both willing and ready to
follow even the simplest of spiritual promptings. But wait! There's
more. Re member that I was also stressed about making our appointment
with Guery because we couldn't find a member to accompany me? Well,
not ten minutes after the text from Hermana Molina, we receive a call
from this sweet newly returned missionary, Sister Baugh from one of
the English wards that meets in our building. She simply asked if we
needed her help.. And, yeah. We did. My eyes just filled with little
baby tears as I realized that Heavenly Father truly did hear my pleas.
And even though they weren't the most crucial of things, they were
important to me. And he just waited patiently until I poured out my
heart to Him, then proceeded to pour out his blessings. He's the best!
I'm so grateful.
So Sister Baugh and I hit the town! Of chesterfield and it was a real
good time. I had been feeling all day that we needed to find our
investigator El.. Remember her? Well, basically, she had been
progressing really well, then we had this lesson where weird things
were happening in her house and the spirit was NOT there and.. Then we
lost contact. And we hadn't been able to find her for like a week.
Anyways, we went.. And she was home! And proceeded to tell us that
she's been texting us all week but.. We haven't received anything.
Anyways, it was such a blessing. Because cute sister Baugh followed
that prompting of the spirit, I was able to work in our area instead
of stay with the other sisters and we were able to find her again!
Miracles!
Then, the cherry on top of Heavenly Father's understanding and love
for all is His children.. We went to G's house for the lesson,
Sister Baugh told him that she just returned from serving in Portugal
and only speaks Portuguese, and.. He just spoke right back to her in
Portuguese. So, um, yes. Surprises all around. G speaks Spanish,
English, Portuguese, a little bit of French, flies helicopters and
airplanes, carries a license to start his own business, has fallen
several times from incredibly high heights, already owns white
pants/shirt/tie.. Don't worry, I asked if he was already baptized a
member.. He said no, haha.
Speaking of G, he got baptizeddddddd! Yay! It was the most magical
day. He is such a miracle. People always say, "people are prepared
just for you", you hear about these baptisms that happen in two days
when people just walk into church and ask to be baptized and you never
believe they're real.. Until it happens to you! Heavenly Father is so
loving. It was such a neat thing, because Hermana Powell's boyfriend
(who's serving in Mexico) specifically prayed (3 weeks ago, mind you)
that we would find someone that we could put on date for before they
left and, it happened. It's like he was made to be a member! We walked
into church yesterday and he just looked so spiffy in his classy suit.
We were talking about it this morning, just about Heavenly Father's
preparation. It was so beautiful, because his natural self was
completely overtaken by this soul that ALWAYS knew the gospel of Jesus
Christ. In his own words, "Antes era un tigre o un león, pero ahora,
soy una oveja." It was like the heavens had been waiting for this
moment when it would all click. When he would look at his life,
realize he was, in fact, empty and be led right to the doors of the
church of Jesus Christ. I'm just so grateful for the little part I've
been able to play in his conversion process. His baptism was so sweet,
and he couldn't wait to bear his testimony.. They were like, "okay
G, let's get you baptized first, then you can share all the
feelings of your heart" hahah. He opened his testimony with this one
liner..
.."Al llegar a este punto es como llegar al cielo, agarrar una
estrellita y estar con Dios."
Which basically translates to- getting to this point is like arriving
at Heaven, grabbing a tiny star and being with God. # Gueryquotes
You best believe the little baby tears were flowing! I love himmmmm!
And the gospel and all the goods. Also, I ate an apple for breakfast
yesterday, so of course I had to tell him and he was like, "Okay, now
how do you feel?" And I was like "still sick" and he was like, "It's a
process, your first time won't change things drastically but little by
little" and I was like, "Hno rocha, I know I've gained 300 lbs of
arroz con leche weight (but literally, baptisms = big bubbling pots of
arroz con leche) , but I've ate an apple before sheesh!" Hahah, he's
literally the best.
Also, the ward had another baptism- her names D. It was such a
beautiful thing because she's been investigating for a year and a half
and FINALLY got permission from her parents to be baptized. It was the
most emotional experience. The whole ward was just elated. I love her
so much and am so grateful for examples of such stalwart disciples of
Jesus Christ that fight to do right. The circle was filled with all of
the beautiful recent converts as she was confirmed and I couldn't
handle the happiness I felt. Chesterfield is a little baby corner of
heaven. I'm so grateful for all the people I've been able to meet and
love throughout the course of my mission and also the ones I'll be
able to meet soon.. Like today. Three months, still got time!
The biggest PS ever.. Remember when J and E found anti
material and it was real scary? Well, Heavenly Father is so good. We
met with them on Monday and they were like, "we still don't really
have any doubt that this is the true church" and THEN we invited them
to watch he full restoration movie and now their testimony is
solidified. They are progressing towards a date once again and
Heavenly Father answered all the cries and pleas and prayers of our
hearts. I AM SO GRATEFUL for the spirit that testifies of truth. So
grateful to see my investigators find their testimonies in the same
way that I did. Conversion is so sweet. ✨
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