Look for opportunities to serve!!

                                                                                                                                Aug. 26, 2013
Hola mi familia!!! Thank you all for your wonderful emails. I really needed the support this week that I always get from your emails!  So, today is my 6th month birthday in the mission. That means that in exactly one year from today, I will be arriving home! Crazy right! Well there is no time to get trunky, I have so much I need to do still! I want to make the most of my mission and help as many people come to Christ as I can because I only have 1 year left! Ok, birthday celebration is over, time to get back to work! Ha ha!!

This week has been a lot better than last week. Sometimes it is hard to find new people to teach, but we know as we keep working with diligence, the Lord will bless us to find the families and people that are prepared to hear the gospel. This week we had the opportunity to visit a kind elderly man named Alfredo. He is so kind, but it is so sad because he doesn´t believe in God. We tried our best to teach him, but he refuses to pray. if you could please pray that he can have the desire to pray and ask God all of his questions, and that he can receive and recognize his answer, I know that the Lord will help him. We've also been teaching a fifteen year old boy, named Paul. He came to church yesterday and has been learning more!!! Last night we challenged him to get baptized on the 7th of Sept. He was unsure so we invited him to pray about baptism, and especially about this date. We are going to call him today and visit tomorrow. I will let you know what happens, please pray for him to receive his answer!

This week I have enjoyed getting to know people and finding out their needs. I love that I have the opportunity to minister to people everyday just like the Savior did. But we do not need a mission call to do this. I wish I had learned this before, but I needed a mission to learn it. We can minister to everyone everyday. Thank you for your examples, for your service and the little things you can do for others, and for sharing your testimony.

In the mission we are studying Preach My Gospel together as a mission. Today I was reading about going out and doing good. As missionaries we strive to do a planned service project every week. But what is more important are the unplanned service opportunities that we find, such as carrying someone´s groceries, or talking to someone. I know that if we pray to recognize these opportunities to serve, we will see that they are all over the place. As we listen to the Holy Ghost guide us to those that need our help, they and many others will see our examples, and our service will glorify our Heavenly Father and our Savior. We will have the opportunity to share the gospel with those we serve and with others who see Christ in us.

My challenge to all of you this week is to pray for and look for the little opportunities to serve, and when the inspiration comes, act on it, even if your natural mind might think, "no, it will be weird if i offer to help". it wont be weird! it will be wonderful! Take every opportunity you see to lift another, to smile at the children of God all around you, and to help them come closer to Him and to their Savior. I love you all! You are all amazing!! Have an great week! Hugs and kisses!!