mayo 16, 2011

Well too bad I forgot to tell everyone that P-day goes back to normal since I was transferred back to full-pros.... (aka Mondays)... no emails for Hermana.... :( lol

PERO! ESTA BIEN!

So on Thursday, I headed out to Kaw River--aka Kansas City, Kansas--to serve with my other MTC comp, Hna. V!!
We taught an investigator, M, that evening and then had really good Hispanic food at a member's house with the Spanish elders.
Friday.... was truly a Friday the 13th. Other than being able to teach a really good lesson to the Bs, the day was slightly wacko. It was the end of our no-car week and the bus was just a disaster lol. One of the many weird things that happened... we started talking to this guy on the bus and missed our original stop (we did it on purpose because we thought talking to him was more important, but then found out he was basically nuts or at least prided himself in acting as such.)

Eventually we were able to get off the Crazy Bus and get to our dinner... with Sis. S, who used to dance for the KC Chiefs and used to coach a drill team and cheered for KU haha. She was a 50-year member of another church and converted just 5 years ago to the LDS church. Amazing faith.

Saturday we went to an all-mission conference in the Lenexa stake center and were graced by the presence of Elder Russel M. Nelson, Elder Legrand Curtis (70), Elder Clayton (president of the 70), all the stake presidents and one other 70, Elder Deschler. Spiritual feast! Elder Nelson just went into the scriptures and the sisters always sit in front, so we were a couple rows away and it was neat to just study the scriptures with him as well as hear his counsel as well as the others'.
He talked about being persistent. Don't necessarily take someone's "no". He talked about giving a friend his copy of the Book of Mormon to read and she returned it a little while later saying basically, "Thanks. It was cool. But no thanks." He said, "That is a TOTALLY inappropriate response for someone who has read the Book of Mormon! You didn't read it. Now take the book and read it this time and pray about it! And when you're done, I want my book back." So the next time she brought it back she said, "Thank you. I know it's true. I want to learn more." And as of a few weeks ago, because of her conversion, there have been 309 people brought into the church from descendants serving missions, sharing her testimony with friends, etc.
Oh, and we got to shake his hand. :) It was very neat. I felt his love and his eyes are so pure and sincere. How lucky I've been.
After the conference (which lasted only 2 hours), we went to the trailer of a recent convert (the M family, whom I gave a tour to a couple weeks ago at the VC and we fell in love with each other then so it's so neat now to serve in their ward...) to help them as they remodel their home, with the English elders. (Oh, P.S. in the Kaw River ward, there are 4 sets of missionaries, English elders, Spanish elders, and Spanish sisters, and a senior couple, the Bs, and then at least 2 "part time" service missionaries. Chya!) Oh this family is so sweet. 2 of the ward missionaries found this family (la familia F) right after the husband and father had been killed and they were going through a major financial crisis. We also celebrated Hna. F's birthday that day. :) Then we went to teach a lesson to a man with a baptismal date to see if he was really accountable and should be baptized... (we later decided no) but we were able to teach 4 different people on the porch with our ward mission leader and his son and one of them is named A.... and we are super excited about him!! He came to church yesterday, all 3 hours, and answered questions in Sunday School and every time someone brought up prophets, he'd pipe up about Joseph Smith. I'm positive he felt something strong on Saturday when we taught them all about the Restoration. He was right there with us the whole time and when we were leaving and committing him to read and pray about the Book of Mormon, he indicated he already knew it was true and of course he'd read it. So yesterday at church, he said that when I called him that morning to remind him about church, he said something to the effect of something told him he needed to come. The sacrament meeting wasamazing. I heard things I needed to be reminded of and felt things I needed to feel and was so glad he got to hear the same words. And then in Sunday School (which lesson was on the organization of the church) he, like I said, answered questions and every time the prophet came up he'd mention Jose Smith. And then I dunno how Priesthood went because by the time we got out of RS he had left, but we're meeting with him again today and we're going to commit him to baptism. So please pray for him!

So working with Sis. V again has been AWESOME.We are really similar and yet funnily different. It's interesting working with 4 other elders in the same ward and keeping sane. Funny little dynamics within the elders keeps us laughing and wondering and impressed (and sometimes rolling our eyes).

Oh, by the way, this is my first area living with members... or member, I should say. We live with Sis. J, an older single lady, in her tiny little house. We have prayer with her at 6:15 a.m. and she's very particular about her kitchen, haha, but she's great. :)

Well, I love my new ward, I love my companion, and I'm loving learning about a new area once again. Different things are difficult (like mastering myself and learning the things the Lord wants me and needs me to learn for myself as well as in order to more effectively bless His other children)


Hasta la semana venidera.....