August 17: Mini MTC!

 This week the Primary held a mini MTC and invited us to be there! It was such a special experience for every one of us! We got assigned a little district and we divided them into companionships and we had 2 hours to teach them. We taught them the missionary purpose and the rules of a companionship, and whenever someone had to go to the bathroom we made them go with their companions ahah. We taught them one of the 10 Commandments—The Sabbath—and what things are good to do on the Sabbath and what aren’t. And then we had them get up in front of the group and practice! One kid was a friend who invited the other to go to the movies on Sunday, and the other kid had to explain why he wasn’t going to go. I invite all of you to take advantage of these little missionary opportunities in your own lives. Live the gospel and you will see and feel the blessings of obedience in your lives; see and feel the blessings of obedience and you will have a simple and powerful way to explain why you do what you do. Explain why you do what you do, and you will be fulfilling another commandment: take the Gospel to all the ends of the earth.

I have a huge testimony of the Sabbath Day and it always makes me so happy to teach this principle.

8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.

 9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:

 10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:

 11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

(Exodus 20)

On Sundays, we don’t need to work or cause anyone else to work (by buying things). But it is more than that. What is it about this commandment that makes us think Sunday is OUR day? It’s MY day to nap or rest or catch up on tasks I didn’t get to in the week? It clearly says in verse 10 that “the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God.” It is not MY day; it is HIS day. As members of the Church, often Sunday turns out being one of the busiest days, but there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s a day to dedicate to Him. And what better way to dedicate a day to Him than serving the brothers and sisters in the tiny or large part of His vineyard that He has assigned to us? What did Jesus Christ do on the Sabbath? He healed and taught. What can we do on the Sabbath? Heal and teach. We can be the hands of the Lord. And in so doing, we serve our Lord and Redeemer: “Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me,” Matthew 25:40.

Anyone who knows me knows that I’ve always been a really good student. I had always done homework and studied on Sundays, because there just didn’t seem to be enough hours in the week. Some semesters at BYU, I went to school at 8 every morning and got home at 10 every night. Except Saturdays, when I got home at 3 and went and hung out with friends. Sundays, after church, I studied in my apartment. It didn’t seem possible not to study on Sundays, if I was already studying all the hours I could manage and barely getting by. But there came a point where I was physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually exhausted, and I decided to lean on someone more smart and powerful than myself—the Lord. I decided to keep the Sabbath Day holy, and I stopped studying on Sundays. My grades stayed the same! I had more energy!  I became closer with my family because I suddenly had time for them—Sunday. I had time for my calling and time to go to a nursing home and sing—Sunday. Truly everything changed on the inside and out. I gained a personal testimony of the power of the Lord’s commandments to make our lives more productive, peaceful, and satisfying.

Our Sweet Family

For 3 months now we've been working with Graciela, a young (25!) single mom of three kids. Her kids' dad is in jail and she has a boyfriend of a year and a half who doesn't have any kids of his own and loves her kids and wants to live with her and have kids-- but doesn't want to get married. She wants to marry him-- but doesn't want to have kids. She says that she doesn't want to damage him!!! For her, having kids has been far from bliss. Just being able to feed them each day is a struggle. She lives with her parents and some of her siblings, but her parents drink and never like to take care of their grandkids. When she goes to work for a few hours or take the oldest to school, her parents brainwash her kids, telling them negative things about her.

We've seen a beautiful change in her. Before, we never saw her smile. Now she looks young and radiant. All the neighbors have noted a change, too. But we couldn't seem to teach her! We got there with a great lesson planned, and she just talked so much we just couldn't get a word in! Last week, we fasted for her... And went to the lesson... In just one day, we doubled the amount of teaching she had! After 3 months of working with her, everything changed overnight! She listened and when she answered the questions, she didn't start talking about other things-- she stayed with the subject. The power of fasting has been evident over and over again on my mission, and I invite you all to apply it in your lives. It is a way to make your petitions powerful and your spirit strong.

June 29: The Book of Mormon

We were in our first lesson with Benarda and Jesus; first lessons are always hard because you don’t know the person, but have to help them understand the importance of baptism in their lives, and how they can receive answers from God to specific questions they have. You have to listen so hard to the Spirit! Everything felt warm, nice, but I didn’t expect what happened when I pulled a Book of Mormon out of my backpack as my companion was teaching. Before I even had it fully out of my backpack, before we could start to explain what it was, the husbands eyes got huge. I had no idea what that meant, if it was a good thing or a bad thing. So I just asked what he felt upon seeing the book. And he said, “Right away it calls your attention and it makes you feel like reading it.” Whooooooooa. The Lord prepares people!!!

I gained a testimony of the Book of Mormon my freshman year of high school. It was the year I was sickest. Almost every week I went to the hospital, missed school, and had make-up work; I was getting blood transfusions constantly, trying all kinds of medicines that never worked, and simply talking and smiling was a tiring effort for me. But I hardly EVER missed 6:30 am seminary before school. I felt like I could not make it through the day if I did not go. It gave me a strength and a peace that helped me survive. We were studying the Book of Mormon. Ever since then, I have known of the power of this sacred book. It’s so much more than just a book. It’s God’s words. It’s the instructions and advice he wants us to have. I love the Book of Mormon and invite every one of you to take advantage of it by reading it every day and applying its holy instructions.

(caption) This week we said goodbye to Presidente and Hermana Camarillo, two of the most dedicated servants of the Lord I have ever met. I am so grateful for them!

June 22: You are a masterpiece

Yesterday we were teaching a lady named Marta for the first time. I was speaking, but I paused so that I could think of the right word to explain what I wanted to say without being disrespectful. And while I was trying to think of the right word, she said, “You don’t even know what you’re talking about. You’re losing your marbles. How can you preach to me when you don’t even know what you believe?”

It was one of those moments in life where you felt fine 2 seconds ago, but now you really don’t. I know exactly what I’m talking, and I know exactly what I believe. (I may be losing my marbles, but that’s beside the point haha.) But simply because I wanted to be loving and respectful, she saw me pause and said those things to me with a face full of disgust. A few months ago, I might have gotten mad. But I can honestly say that when you let yourself be moldable in the Master’s hands, He will change you. It is not easy or fast. It is so painful because you are being broken apart so that you can be put back together—a better person. I have not yet become the person I want to be, but I have gained a testimony that through sacrifice and the sacred steps and covenants the Lord has offered us—repentance, baptism, the gift of the Holy Ghost, and the temple—the impossible becomes reality.

Last night I took out some pictures I have of Christ and looked through them. I lingered on the one where He was washing His disciples’ feet. I felt like yesterday I got a very small chance to wash Marta’s feet. I invite you all to persevere and become the person the Lord created you to be. When they asked Michelangelo how he achieved his masterpiece David, he said, "I saw the face in the marble, and I carved until I set it free." I know the Lord sees the masterpiece in every one of you, and is trying to set it free. As much as the carving and chipping away at the marble hurts, we must let Him work if we want to be set free. D&C 122:7.

blog. june 15: Pray to Answer Prayers

This week we were in a lesson with an inactive family, when a missionary from another church knocked on the door. (There are tons of missionaries here!) The dad of the family was like, Don't worry about it, you guys beat him to it. And I just thought he was being funny and laughed. But then at the end of the lesson he told us he had been talking to God that morning and telling Him that He had forgotten about him and his family. And that the first church that knocked on their door that day was going to be their church. 

We didn't know that it was important to be with them that exact day, at that exact time, but Someone did. I feel so grateful every time the Lord lets me be the answer to somebody's prayers. I invite you all to pay special attention to the whisperings of the Spirit, because the Lord will use you as an instrument in His hands. The Lord always answers our prayers, President Monson said, usually through a friend, a neighbor, a stranger. It strikes me as so beautiful that He lets us participate so much in His work. I remember mom telling me one time, "You kids were the only 4-year-olds who cut out sugar cookies starting from the outside and working inside, putting the cookie cutters close together." I think about how many things I learned because she pulled me into the kitchen or because she helped me clean the floor, even though it would have been so much easier for her to do it herself. And I think how Heavenly Father is the same way with us. He lets us participate in His work and His glory- to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. On tiny step or word of encouragement or hour of helping at a time. Everyone of you who is reading this has been an answer to my prayers for comfort, for friendship, my prayers to learn new things or to understand what I was going through. Thank you for your support and your love. Thanks to my parents for your HUGE patience with me and your HUGE belief in me. "In the end, the number of prayers we offer may contribute to our happiness, but the number of prayers we answer is of much greater significance," said President Uchtdorf.

May 18: Merry Christmas

Hermana Luci was sooooooooo nervous the day of her interview. She had to leave work early because her blood pressure sky-rocketed—and she doesn’t even suffer from high blood pressure. Then, when she and her husband and daughter all showed up together for the interview, and Elder Mills asked who wanted to go first, she almost shouted, Me. I have never seen her take so much iniciative EVER. When she came out of the interview she was SO HAPPY she did a little dance. She was so happy that when we were filling out her paperwork and asked, “What is your dad’s full name?” she goes, “I only know his first name was Refugio, his last name—who knows!” And my companion goes, “Well, it would be your last name, too.” HAHAHA. She s always so reserved, but on Thursday she was all emotions.

Friday, the day of the baptism, I woke up at 4 in the morning to go to the bathroom. You know how you usually feel so much relief to see that it’s not time to get up yet—that you get to back to sleep? I didn’t. I didn’t want to go back to sleep—I wanted it to be Friday already! It was like Christmas—the second you wake up you know it’s Christmas, there’s none of that waking-up grogginess.

Their daughter also got baptized; the elders have been teaching her because soon after we started teaching them, she got married and moved out of our area. One night when she invited her fiancée to listen to the lesson, he whispers to her, “I’m a member of this church!” Her husband was less-active… not anymore! Now his mom’s coming back to church, too. It is hard to believe in coincidences anymore. The baptism was perfect and we love knowing that we promised to find them and because of the Lord’s hand we kept that promise.  

May 11: What do you focus on?

We’ve been doing family home evenings with all the members who live in this neighborhood; they all take turns hosting it and everyone else goes. Well, when they can. Cause sometimes no one goes. But last week, guess who hosted it? The Robles! It was their second time hosting it and they’re not even members yet. And not all the members have even hosted it yet. They’re so in love with the Spirit and it is so beautiful to see. Because sometimes I take it for granted, but when I see how much it impacts them, I realize what a miracle it truly is to simply have the Spirit in your life, in your home.

On Thursday we went to see them and they told us that the blood draws they had done a couple weeks ago in preparation for their marriage (I’m not sure if that’s a law in the US? I assume so…) expired! They have to pay to have them done AGAIN. But they’re not discouraged. They’re going to do whatever they have to do, even though it means more sacrifices. We should all follow their example. Refuse to let setbacks discourage us. Focus more on the successes than the frustrations or failures.

Hermana Hererra and I called our moms on Saturday (miss you, Mom!), and on Sunday we had church and the normal lessons but we spent a good part of the day singing a sweet mother-daughter song one by one to all the moms we know here! We didn’t have room in our hearts to feel sad that we weren’t with our moms, because our hearts were too busy giving love to be selfish. I know when we forget ourselves in the service of others we find a really sweet peace and happiness in our hearts. Because each and every one of us truly are brothers and sisters, since we are children of God, we have the need to love and be loved.

In the April 2010 General Conference, Bradley D. Foster said:

"Perhaps the reason we respond so universally to our mothers’ love is because it typifies the love of our Savior. As President Joseph F. Smith said, “The love of a true mother comes nearer [to] being like the love of God than any other kind of love”"

Making salsa by hand, helping one of the hermanas