April 21, 2014
Hi family and friends!
Another week gone and look at this, I've only got two more P-days till the next transfer.
So this week was really awesome!
Last week on P-day, my comp and I went and did some "clothes
shopping" but we actually just bought a t-shirt and some "ugly pj
bottoms" but they're so dope! I will send pics later! We have been toiling
all week as well. Our shower was fixed on Tuesday and we had the chance to
teach our progressing investigator Nilson... he is having difficulties giving
up his coffee and the worst part is HE ISN'T EVEN ADDICTED HE ONLY DRINKS IT
LIKE OCCASIONALLY but he cannot comprehend the word of wisdom. We challenged
him to trace back his testimony of Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon (which
he hasnt been reading) so hopefully he will be able to do his best to read.
Also, I've faced some struggles
regarding my health but it's nothing major. Maybe I have to get used the the
bacteria here or who knows but I got a stomache ache on Wednesday from an awful
lunch I ate and it sucked because the irma (sister) is inactive and she is easily
offended so it was hard to refuse her food... the other sister who ate with us
got lost and bailed so Neide was really peeved at that plus it felt like
everything I was doing was offending her. Even breathing... but I survived and
the other food struggle I had was on Friday during the Zone Conference. They
made stroganoff for everyone and I am lactose intolerant... I didnt even think
of telling anyone so basically all I ate was rice and salad... RABBIT FOOD TO
COMMEMORATE EASTER and my is nickname "bunny," right?! It was sad though
because I couldn't eat one of my favorite dishes and the irmas that prepared it
kept telling me "next time you should tell us youre lactose intolerant
blah blah blah..." but other than those two incidents lunches have been
great.
We had many interesting teaching
experiences; on Tuesday, we met a lady named Sueli and her friend Bruno. So we
taught the first lesson and talked about prophets and she was totally intrigued
with latter-day prophets! You could feel the spirit as we testified of the
Restoration. After the closing prayer, we saw that Bruno had tears in his eyes!
Jackpot! Also we met a kid named Diego who was visiting his god-mother. Though
he was born catholic, he no longer has faith in Christ. Rather, he has adopted
agnostic-like beliefs and asked us a BUNCH of questions to the point where we
could NOT keep up with the discussion. At one point I had to ask him to halt so
we could answer one of the many questions that could be answered through the
restoration. Still, he kept asking and such, but he was intrigued with the
Apostasy. It got out of hand (we did answer some of his questions, but it was
hard) and then Sister Pence couldn't take it so she just bore her testimony and
I bore mine... we stayed there for over an hour because of the hulabaloo of a
discussion we had, but in the end, Diego's mother thanked us for coming since
his faith is waivering and she was suprised that he was even wanting to talk to
us. Diego also told me that he was suprised that we didn't walk out on his
questions or seemed frightened. He was impressed with our conduct, our calmness
and our organization, which is good right??
Saturday took the cake though. Once
again it looked like it was going to rain,
so my comp and I thought it best to stop by our apartment and get my umbrella. We passed in front of this lady's house that is right in front
of our complex; we thought we could talk to her before going home, why not? She
was SO interested in our message and I even started to cry during the lesson.
It was a very spiritual experience, despite the fact that it started to rain
hard on us and the roaring thunder interrupted some of our discussion. Darci
is her name. She felt the Spirit in our message and we set a date with her.
Also, she asked what happened to the other sisters, so we told her about
transfers and blah. She then tells us that "I always saw them walking by
and they always said hello, but they never stopped to give me the message you
shared." and it hit me hard. Sometimes we go through such great measures
to find the elect. We walk in the blistering sun and in the pouring rain in
hopes to find someone in need of the gospel. We walk for miles to find them,
but sometimes they are literally in front of us. This was the biggest lesson I
learned this week, right next to the awesome teaching techniques we got from
zone conference! If there are a few things I could leave with all of you now,
it would be to always see what is in front of you. You never know. The answer
could be right in your face and you won't know it. Second, always open your
mouth. This is directed at the member missionaries but it applies for everyone
else. Third of all, you can never help others when you are comfortable.
Thats my motto. At times I feel like I can't handle being sweaty, or my
shoulders hurt no matter how many times I swich shoulders on my bag, and I can't
escape the mosquitos no matter how much repellent I have on me. But it doesn't
matter so much since I am doing the Lord's work and I can put aside my personal
comfort to help others in need. Will others benefit if I am in total comfort?
NO! I always have to step outside my comfort zone and its not easy, but I know
the blessings are worth it.
Love you lots! Eat lots of Barilla
for me. I only had BUGrilla here in Dourados and ain't nobody got time fo dat!
-Sister Mariana Espiritu
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