Happy St. Patty´s Day!

March 17, 2014

Happy Saint Patrick's Day! 

I almost forgot about it, but one of the gringa misioneras reminded me on our way into town today :) None of us were wearing green.... haha whoops! They don´t celebrate it here, I´m pretty sure the majority of people haven´t even heard of it. But I will be sure to eat something green to celebrate!

This week has been good! Super hot, but we had a couple of days of relief with rain. I think it rains here a couple of days everyweek. I definitely won´t complain because it feels soooo good for a few minutes. Then the sun comes out and everything starts to steam again... haha I´m happy for my little umbrella that I´ve had since I got here. It´s designed specifically for the wind so it´s super durable. I wish it was twice it´s size but it will do! The other day it kept turning inside out, but with a simple flick it´s back to it´s normal shape. Hermana Maldonado kept laughing at me because it kept turning inside out, but then hers turned inside out and everything snapped and broke.... whoops! We had a good laugh about it.

This week I have learned a lot about God´s love that He has for each of His children. I always believed that, but this week I feel like I´ve become more aware of it. Not necesarily for any big experience, but just from thoughts and feelings that have come to my mind as I listen to someone tell me the story of their life, or meet somebody in the street, or feel the spirit as we are teaching a lesson. For example, we stopped by an investigator´s house and she wasn´t home so we visited with her grandma. She is super catholic, but she still likes to listen to us. She told us once of a story where there was a time when they didn´t have much money for food. She was sitting on her porch and a dove landed by her. All she could think about was how delicious it would be in a soup. She said she prayed to Heavenly Father and told him how wonderful it would be to make dove soup, but that she appreciated that the dove was his creation and wouldn´t harm it. Then lots more doves came and she started feeding them a little of the corn that she had. All of a sudden one of the doves choked on a piece of corn and died! So... she made herself some dove soup.... :) It sounds so silly, but I could really tell how much it meant to her and how much she felt like God loved her and listened to her prayer. As I sat listening to her I feel like I got a little bit of a glimpse into the love Heavenly Father has for His children. ALL of them! No matter who they are, where their from, or what religion they are a part of. Any honest seeker of truth, love and answers to prayers can get them. It made me take a step back and think about just how important the work is that we are doing. God wants all of His children to be able to return to Him again, and He expects us to spread the word! I´ve noticed lately that I´m the type of person that really likes to think and reflect... haha The other night after planning the four of us missionaries just sat outside of our house (we have a big yard protected by a locked gate so don´t worry - we´re safe!) and just talked and looked at the stars. It´s nice to just sit back sometimes and soak everything in. Heavenly Father really does love us. Don´t forget it! 

This Saturday we are planning to have the baptism of I! The missionaries found him about a month ago and he was suffering from alcoholism, so they weren´t sure if he could progress. but they decided to go back with him again anyways. They invited him to change and invited him to come to church. They weren´t sure if he would come, but he did! And now, he´s completely given up alcohol and has completely changed his life around. His family couldn´t be more happier. To me, it´s a miracle. It´s also a privilege to get to see the Atonement of Christ in full force in someone´s life! The work in this area is really growing. They just added another missionary to our area so now there are 8 of us to one branch! That´s like one missionary for every 25 members.... haha I´m excited to see where this branch will be in just a few short months. 

I hope you all know how much I love each of you. It´s a little hard to be away from home sometimes, but I´m thankful for your prayers and for all of your support. It´s amazing sometimes what a little note of encouragement can do to help lift one´s spirits :) Thank you for all of your examples and for all I have learned from each of you. I´m so thankful for the opportunity I have to be here and the things I am learning each day. 

Until Next Week!

Hermana Bennett