Passion Fruit & 13 Months!!!

 Hey friends and family! Miss you all so much and hope you're doing great!

IT'S PRESIDENT NELSON'S BIRTHDAY!!! I'm so thankful for our Prophet and I know he truly speaks for God!

Two days ago I hit my 13-month mark woohoo! I can't believe how fast time is flying. It's crazy and I'm just trying to enjoy every day I have here!

On Thursday we had Zone Conference, which was amazing as always!! It was in Santa Barbara so it was so fun to drive there! Santa Barbara's sooo pretty. At zone conference, we talked a lot about controlling what we can control, and then leaving the rest up to God. He'll always make up the difference when we do our best.

Later that day, we had a really good lesson with one of our friends, Guadalupe. It honestly started off super chaotic because her little grandkid was running around and yelling and driving his mini car through the house. Hermana Nielson ended up with a microphone in her hand as she taught the lesson because he was trying to get her to do karaoke hahaha. We were trying to feel the Spirit together but it was really hard. I said a prayer in my head and kept having the thought to show them a video. I couldn't think of any short church videos I knew that fit with the topic we were teaching. But the thought kept popping into my head so I figured I should at least try to follow the Spirit. I turned on my phone and scrolled through the videos on Gospel Library, but nothing looked right. I kept praying that one would stick out with me, and just then I saw a video that felt like the one I was looking for. It ended up being the perfect length and fit exactly with the topic we were teaching. As Guadalupe watched the video, I could feel the Spirit enter the lesson. After, it was really quiet and we were able to testify about what they needed to hear. I am so grateful for little promptings from the Holy Ghost, especially as we're teaching such an important message to people.

We also had a lesson this week with Cornelia and Pascual (who are new members of the church) and their son and neice, Luis and Romalda (who are not members of the church... yet). It was a great lesson but it was superrr long because Cornelia and Pascual only speak Spanish, but Luis and Romalda prefer English so we had to switch back and forth. Cornelia and Pascual's family has been dealing with some really hard financial situations because of Pascual's paralysis, so one of the members was able to come over during the visit and actually help them get signed up to be fed through the church. It was amazing to see how grateful they were and Cornelia got teary-eyed as she was offered the service. It was really special to get to see someone who was in desperate need of the help receive it through our church's donations!

As we were walking into Cornelia and Pascual's lesson, one of the people I've been messaging about English Class on Facebook for the past month (his name's Jesús) saw me walk into the lesson! Apparently he lives right next to them and was outside working on his truck! He messaged me about it right after and that gave him the courage to come visit the church the following day and get a church tour, which he'd been nervous to do! So it was such a miracle that he just happened to be outside and saw us by Cornelia and Pascual's house.

One of our friends works on a ranch that grows passion fruit here, and he gave us a huge bucket of passion fruit the other day! Anyone who knows me knows I'm obsessed with fruit so that was the happiest day ever.

I had an exchange with Hermana Howell this week! It was super fun!!! It's her first transfer on the mission and she's already killing it! She has such a good attitude and it felt like the day with her flew by! We talked to some amazing people and got to teach some new friends too.

SPIRITUAL THOUGHT: 

Yesterday, I listened to a SUPER good BYU devotional (definitely recommend listening to it). It's called "Wrestling with Comparisons" by J.B. Haws.

In the talk, he shares a story about his two sons. When they were young, he was playing catch with them outside. One son could not catch the ball no matter how hard he tried, even when his brother kept catching it. Even though he couldn't do it himself, he was so sincerely excited each time he saw his brother catch the ball, cheering loudly and telling him he could do it.

Brother Haws says, "Somehow [his inability to catch the ball] did not dampen his enthusiasm for Parley's success. Somehow he knew his contest was not with Parley. He could have joy in Parley's success."

I was so touched by this little boy's excitement for his brother. I know sometimes it can be hard not to beat ourselves up when we see someone else succeed at something we just can't seem to get. But imagine how much pain that's inflicted on both ourselves and others could go away if we could just feel excited about everyone's success around us!

My goal is to get to this point. I want to be able to feel complete and genuine pride for the success of those around me, especially when I feel like I'm falling short in those areas! I want to invite you all to work on it with me! When you start feeling jealous or wanting to compare, pray specifically for that person. Give them a compliment. Be proud for them and with them! I know that's what Christ does every time we succeed.

I love all of you!

-Hermana DeMordaunt