1st Transfer DONE!

 Hi everyone!!

We just got our transfer news this morning, and... I'm staying here in Santa Maria with Hermana Silva yay!! I'm relieved now because we wanted to stay here! My P-day's on Thursday just this week because of transfers :)

Two of our sweet friends got baptized this last Sunday! Fidelina and Angelina! These two girls have been coming to church for a little while now because their aunt, who loves the church but sadly has a boyfriend who's been keeping her from getting baptized, has been taking them with her. They're now our newest members of the Church and I'm so happy for them! Say prayers for her parents, because we hope that they can be inspired by their daughters' examples!

Happy late Halloween!! We didn't really do anything for Halloween, just wore each other's name tags in front of our district and told them we were dressed up as each other haha. Halloween night we had a missionary zoom and then just got ready for bed. I walked out of our room into the kitchen area and Hermana Silva said, "I put up our Christmas decorations!" We just have a little tinsel and a tiny tree but it made me laugh that she literally put up our Christmas decor Halloween night haha

The mission has taught me so much about being grateful. A lot of the people we teach live in pretty poor circumstances. I know I have a lot of friends serving in other countries who are seeing this poverty on a really extreme level, but it's sad to even see the people here in California who moved here from Mexico to work in the fields, rented out an apartment with a almost a dozen other people, and work all day to afford the tiny 2 rooms they all share. The living setting tends to be really dirty and overcrowded. Most people we teach drag over their foldable chairs from the plastic kitchen table for us to sit on as they sit on their bed for lessons. We have all been blessed so much and I definitely feel a stronger desire to share what I have with others! Most of all, I'm really grateful that I get to share the best thing of all with each of these people: the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

With this transfer ending, I've thought a lot about my progress over the last 6 weeks. Sometimes it's hard to see progress when it feels like I'm doing the same things over and over each day. It's also been amazing but overwhelming to be studying two languages at once. We had a lesson 2 days ago with one of our new members, Joaquin, and he started telling me that he was impressed with how my Spanish had improved over the last month and how he wished he could learn English that fast. It really meant a lot to hear him say that and it felt like a little tender mercy for me. It was a way for Heavenly Father to remind me that I made it through this first transfer and He helped me make progress. He'll strengthen my abilities little by little.

SPIRITUAL THOUGHT:

This last week I've been thinking more about the importance of not just praying, but remembering who we're praying to.

While I was in the MTC, we had a big devotional where I specifically remember the person who got up to pray accidentally using the word "me" instead of "us" a few times and correcting himself.

"Please help me - us - to feel the Spirit..."

"Please strengthen me - us..."

I know it was an accident, but I actually really liked that he kept specifically referring to himself, because it almost felt like he was focused on his direct connection with God rather than just the crowd. It made me think more about the way I pray, especially in group settings. I have to admit that a lot of the time I'm too focused on what everyone else is thinking about what I say and forget the fact that I'm talking to our Creator! A Heavenly Father who has so much power, who gave us everything, but still wants to hear from me! My prayers feel so much stronger as I imagine the God I'm speaking to and let my entire focus shift to Him, instead of what anyone else thinks.

This week, I want to challenge everyone to focus on remembering WHO we're praying to, especially in group settings! Prayer is one of the greatest gifts. We have such a miraculous, intimate way available for us to speak with our Father in Heaven.

I love you all! Have a great week!!

Hermana DeMordaunt