May 19, 2014

Hello!

Another week has passed! That can´t keep happening. It´s terrible every time I tell someone now how much time I have left they get all surprised, "Wow, that´s nothing!" Yeah, thanks for reminding me. I´m going to be terribly sad to go, but if I wasn´t then I would have wasted my time here. Everything has its correct time. And then we go on to the next thing.

But for now I´m still a missionary! And that means up and downs. This past week Alex and his family told us that they no longer want to keep meeting with us. They don´t agree with the idea of tithing and say that they just can´t commit to do that right now. But the real reason is that they still haven´t received a testimony of the truth. I feel like they could have done more, but mostly I just feel that now is not their time. Honestly, I feel that the ward is not prepared for them. The majority of the recent converts here are inactive and there is little or no effort from the ward to help them. I don´t think they could take care of an entire family right now. I hope that´s not just me looking for someone to blame, but that´s the feeling that I have gotten. The good thing is I can see how we have been those that have prepared them to receive other missionaries later on and when the time is right. It hurts, but I know that the Lord will take care of them. I know this isn´t the end of their story.

A cool experience from this week. On Tuesday in companionship study my companion told me about what he had studied about listening (something that is particularly difficult for him). He shared what he learned about how important it is becuase what really matters is the people. We are here to help them out, and to do that we need to love and listen to them and understand their needs. It was wonderful to see that light in him, to see his desires to really go out and help people, to forget about himself and serve. I got in that moment a strong feeling that we were going to see success together this transfer, specifically a baptism together before the end of the transfer. Then that night we had a lesson with a man we had contacted the day before. It was one of the most spirit-led lessons I´ve had in my mission. It was really special. Edgar is possibly the most humble man I´ve met. He truly loves the Lord and wants to serve Him. We listened to him for a while and then we taught the restoration and felt the spirit strongly. His desires to do the right and know and share the truth are impressive. We talked about baptism and invited him to be baptised the 21st of June. He said yes, and then he said his greatest dream is to be baptised, something that he has always wanted to do. We promised him that he could be prepared by that day. It sounds too good to be true, but the spirit was so strong. The most amazing thing to me is how much he wants to share the gospel with other people, how much he wants to help them. He even said that he wants his 4 year old son to be a preacher some day. It was really special and confirmed the feeling I had that we were going to see success together. 

That is about all the news from this week. Lots of walking and looking, but I feel like I´m seeing a lot of progress in my companion, if not a lot in the area, so that´s good. 

I´m glad you liked the letter Mom. How interesting that I felt the need to write that right around the same time that you spoke about the influence of righteous women. I hope you can see the limitless influence you have had in my life and many others. I was able to go to the girl´s baptism, and she told me that her mom has decided to stay.

Here is something that may be able to help Sarah with her new calling. I´ve shared this scripture with my last few companions who have had trouble with confidence in their abilities. D&C 100:4 Therefore, I, the Lord, have suffered you to come unto this place; for thus it was expedient in me for the salvation of souls. If you have been called at this time, to this position, in this place it is because the Lord needs you. He needs your unique talents and abilities. There are girls in your class who will need help in the way that only you can give it. I have seen this countless times during my mission. I know that you have talents and abilities that others do not have and the Lord will magnify as you serve relying on Him. If the Lord has called you, then He needs you and the people you serve need you, and I promise there is nothing better than following the spirit to help another person.

Tell Erin she can´t quit soccer because I still need to see her play! She´s so good too, it would be sad if she stopped now. It´s worth it to do hard things. But I don´t want her to not be able to walk either. That would be sad.

Please tell Grandpa thank you so much for his contribution and for his continued support for my mission. Tell him he is pretty great. I like that :) 

Your talk was great, Mom! Thank you for letting Dad attach it. I love hearing your voices and testimonies. And it´s so true that each of us has a limitless potential to influence others through our righteous decisions. 

That is all for this week, hope you´ve enjoyed. I hope you know also how much I love you. I thank the Lord everyday for giving me the perfect family. Thank you for your love for me and all the people I work with. I know it makes all the difference. A mission is and should be a family affair. I love you! Take care and have a wonderful week!

Love,

Quinn