Hola familia!
Can you believe the time? I've officially hit the final 12 weeks of my mission! As part of those twelve weeks, our mission has a tradition where we read the BoM in its entirety in those 12 weeks...with a specific purpose..So I've decided to make the theme of my reading, "How can I be filled with charity, the pure love of Christ?" I'm excited to embark on this adventure!
So this past Tuesday was transfers and as part of that...I had to say goodbye to my dear Cran, Fletcher, Hale, and Zabriskie..And in return, I picked up my final companion.. Hermana Clement! Guess where she's from.....California! That makes 5 companions that I've had from Cali! She has been out for 8 months, she's 20 and went to BYU provo before the mission! She's super cute and quiet..which is interesting because I've never had a shy comp before!
Needless to say, I was feeling so stressed out at the beginning of the week because taking over an area in just 5 weeks is no easy task. This new challenge has seriously been a humbling experience..On the first morning, I read Ether12:27.."And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them." Helloooo scripture of the transfer!
I've learned so much this past week...For instance...this work is not possible without the helping hand of the Lord..After all, it's His work! With relying on the Lord 100% of the time, comes the need for being exactly obedient to His commandments..Every single one, no matter how silly they may seem at times, we have to keep them! When we keep a commandment with God, we're binding ourselves to Him, meaning that He has to bless us. Hermana Clement and I made it a goal to be as exactly obedient as possible because we need the Lord's guidance so so badly! Well...our obedience has brought forth so many blessings and miracles! For example, we were contacting at an apartment complex and we decided to start on the far side...As we walked to the end of the complex, a family walked out of their apartment, right in front of us! When I first saw the mother, I got a little bit intimidated because....Mexican women can be scary! But after introducing ourselves she said that her entire family that lives in Monterrey, Mexico is mormon! What the what?!? Seeing that they were on their way out, we made a return appointment with them for tomorrow :)
We have so much work to do! The problem now is deciding how to best use our time! This is a fantastic problem to have haha!
hmmm what else has happened??? I think the greatest experience that I had this week and will continue to have throughout the next twelve weeks is developing charity like I've never done before. My sweet little companion has had a hard mission and so she's a little bit banged up..How do you heal a wound? LOVE! And not just love, but the pure love of Christ called charity. I read Moroni 7:48where it says, "Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God..." Attaining the gift of charity is not a one time event but a life long challenge that each of us have to go through..But this week, I feel like I've tasted a sample of what it feels like to be filled with this love, 24/7...and I cannot even describe the happiness that I've felt!
We taught my dad on Saturday about having faith and trust in the Lord when going through hard times..My favorite part of the lesson was the end...We talked briefly about the Holy Ghost and I asked, "When you've felt the Spirit, what did it feel like?" Expecting him to say, "Well, I don't know if I've ever felt it..I'm not good at paying attention to my feeling..", he totally surprised me when he said, "Hmm....It has felt peaceful...warm...like stress-free.." WOAH...He just said that he has felt the spirit! BIG STEP HERE, PEOPLE. My heart lept for joy!!
With everything pertaining to the Gospel, it's all a step by step process..We can just wake up one day with the faith sufficient to move mountains! Just how Elder Bednar talks about how conversion is not a one time event but a life long journey, we need to develop our faith in Jesus Christ on a daily basis...And how do we do that? In the words of Jeff Seymour, "Read the Book of Mormon and pray daily and go to church." Such small and simple things lead to such great potential!
I have come to see the hand of the Lord in every single miracle that I witness every day. This is His work and we're just His instruments in helping Him bring about His great purpose, to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man!
If your answers to your prayers haven't come yet, keep pushing forward. The Lord will answer every prayer in His way and on His timing.
I love you all!
Hermana Emma Seymour
IVAN! meet Ivan...he's 7 years old and we're getting him ready for his baptism in October when he turns 8..We taught him while he sat at the kitchen counter :)
Blanket Burritos
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