The Blessings of the Lord

                                                                                                                       August 18, 2014

Hola mi familia maravillosa!!! Thank you for all of your letters this week. I can´t believe that time has passed so quickly. I think this is the last time I get to write you from the mission field as I am unsure what I will be doing next Monday.

It is so bitter-sweet right now, I can`t describe the feeling, I just want to cry and let it all out. I am so grateful for my mission and for everything I have experienced and learned while serving in Chile. The Lord knows what is best for us, and I am so grateful that He prompted me to serve a mission. I am also so grateful that I still have one more week in the mission field. This week I am going to work so hard and give my all. 

  
I have some sad news...Alejandro didn´t get baptized this week. But we are still working with him to help him change and be prepared to be baptized. I felt so sad, because I know that this is the best choice that he can make for himself and his family for all eternity, but he has his agency and I respect that. I know that Heavenly Father was strengthening him. Thank you for all of your prayers and faith, they really did make a difference because he has made so much progress and is changing. The Lord is working miracles right now and I am so grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who helps us become the best that we can be. Please keep praying for him. 

 

We were able to visit Claudia and work with her and she was going to come to church, but sadly  wasn't able to come. We are going to visit her sometimes, but we are going to start focusing on finding new investigators to teach. We are always working to teach everyone but we need to find those who are prepared to listen, and accept this message from our Savior. Please pray that this week we will be able to find. Thank you so much!!!

 

We did better this week with working with the members. We are strengthening them and helping them, and we have received some references, but I know that as we continue to strengthen them and work together, we will be able to help them share the gospel with their friends. Mostly everyone here are converts, so they love missionary work! It is such a blessing!

On Sunday I was able to give my talk about the Savior. I spoke about how I came to love Him, and how He loved us first. I shared about His life and His Atonement and weaved a few things that I have learned on my mission about His Atonement. I also used a little from what I want to share in my homecoming talk, so we will save that for later. I felt a little bad because I went a little over my 10 minutes (got to learn to look at the clock) and the children were a little crazy so it was hard for the adults to listen. But today the zone leaders in our Ward told me that they went to lunch yesterday after church, and the Sister whom they ate with shared that she had really felt the Spirit during my talk. She had been feeling overwhelmed and was going to ask to be released from her church calling, but then she was strengthened by what I said, and was crying. I felt so good when they told me that because all I wanted was that the Spirit would be able to work through me to help those who were listening. I prepared and I did my best to deliver the message that I felt that Heavenly Father wanted me to share, and I know that the Spirit magnified what I had to offer so that Heavenly Father could help His children. The glory is His and I am so grateful for Him. We are all in His hands. 

 

This week I will get to do 2 exchanges as a sister training leader!! We were supposed to do about one a week, but with Alejandros baptism planned for last week, we postponed them. Now we will have two! That will be so exciting and help me work hard at all times. And we always see miracles when we have exchanges! 

 

Today for P-day(preparation day) we had another zone activity. We played the amazing race were we split into teams and did a picture scavenger hunt. The sisters won!!!! ha ha so fun! 

 

I am so grateful for all of the blessings of the Lord. I know that they come from obedience and diligence in living the gospel. Sometimes I feel so sad when we offer to teach people and they reject it for a number of reasons. They don´t know the blessings that they are missing. I just want everyone to have the blessings of the gospel. I know that we are called to be the Lord´s hands in blessing everyone. As we share the gospel, we will do His will, and help His children receive the blessings that He has for them. I am grateful for all of His blessings! I hope you all have an amazing week, and bask in the blessings that He has given you. But most importantly, I hope that you share those blessings with EVERYONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love you all!!! Have an amazing week!!!
Hasta luego!!

 

Con todo mi amor, Hermana Harris