Hellooo friends and family! This week's taught me so much I can't wait to share!
This week, there have been moments I wonder how I'm going to do this! The days can get repetitive! Those days, we end our evening with lessons and as we teach others, the Spirit very clearly reminds me why I'm here. There is power in the gospel and in sharing it with others. The feelings that come from a lesson are SO powerful and I feel so lucky to be a part of this work!
Ashley and Irving (Liz's younger siblings) got baptized this last Sunday!! It was so special to see their excitement and I'm so grateful for their constant desire to learn! One thing that has been so important for Hermana Silva and I to reiterate to all recent converts and people we teach is that baptism isn't the end! Not even close! It opens the door to a lifelong relationship with our Savior.
With Liz, Ashley, and Irving all being members of the church now, we're hoping to strengthen the youth group. There are not a lot of spanish-speaking youth and we're praying to see that grow so they can have that support system.
President and Sister Rodriguez visited Santa Maria, which is 2 hours away from the mission home and they brought pizza and it was soo good.
Hermana Silva and I give a spiritual thought at the end of each English class at the church (for the spanish-speakers). I still have so much to learn and there have been a few times I've turned to Hermana Silva to ask her how to say a word in Spanish. There was one time I turned to her to ask and the spanish-speakers understood and all helped give me the right word at once. It was actually so sweet and warmed my heart haha, I'm glad that they're there to help and support me as I learn the language.
Hermana Silva crashed her bike yesterday on the road and it was actually so sad. We keep joking about her and her luck with bikes hahaha:) Last week her seat got stolen, this week she crashed. She's feeling a little better today though!
SPIRITUAL:
This week I was reading the Book of Mormon and came across a verse I really liked. It's near the end of the book of Alma, and at this point in the scriptures, the Nephites are choosing to follow the Lord and the Lamanites aren't. There's a Nephite named Amalickiah who ends up rebelling and turning a lot of people against the Church. The rebellious Nephites follow Amalickiah and join the Lamanites.
Alma 47:36 says, "Now these dissenters [rebellious Nephites], having the same instruction and the same information as the Nephites; yea, having been instructeed in the same knowledge of the Lord, nevertheless, it is strange to relate, not long after their dissensions they became more hardened and impenitent, and more wicked... than the Lamanites..."
This verse really stood out to me.
"Having the SAME instruction... the SAME information." Why did the dissenters turn out so different?
We can all go to church and do what everyone else is doing. We can all listen to the same speakers in sacrament meeting. We can all read the same verses of scripture, but how much are we getting out of it? I know I can personally do better at this, and I think we all can! This week, I challenge everyone to have a WHY. Read the scriptures with a question in mind. Try saying prayers without just repeating the muscle-memory phrases. Make a daily goal!
We can all do the same things, but having a WHY will help us get the right things out of it.
FUN FACT:
-Mixteco originated in Guerrero and Oaxaca Mexico. These areas are near where people believe a lot of Book of Mormon stories took place. It's cool to think that it was an ancient dialect spoken around the time frame of the Book of Mormon, and even though it might not be exactly what they spoke, knowing that helps me feel a little more connected to the scriptures!
Love you all!
-Hermana DeMordaunt
PICTURES:
-I got my Mixteco name tag!
-Night comp selfie
-Ashley and Irving's baptism!
-Comp selfie
-Planning lessons on the church floor after Hermana Silva's bike crash :(
-More people at the baptism!
-Biking yayyy
No comments:
Post a Comment