¡Hola familia!
Things are picking up here in the
CCM. I love it here a lot. I´m loving the fact that I´m surrounded by
other missionaries who have the same goal -- to further the work of our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ! I´m not sure if I
have said this already, but an Elder from our old district told me that English
is the language of the prophets, French is the language of love and Spanish is
the language of the scriptures! I know
this to be undoubtedly true! I am slowly
but surely finding it easier to learn and understand the scriptures as I read
them in Spanish.
Not a lot took place this week in the
way of monumental happenings. However, I
did want to share a little something about everyone in my district. Let´s start with the elders. Elder Jordan was born to be our district leader. He has a lighthearted personality, but is
also very chivalrous. He looks after us,
las hermanas, and he has a strong desire to share the gospel in Spanish.
Elder York is Elder Jordan´s comp. Though a bit travieso, Elder York has a
serious side and one of the strongest testimonies of the gospel which shines
through when we practice teaching. He
has shared with us how he lost his mom when he was 14 and told us how he was
able to overcome his sadness through the help of our Savior. I don't know if I could endure what he did
and be as successful. His testimony
strengthens mine every day. Elder
Despain is a jock that likes to joke around with everyone. He is one of the zone leaders and has a very
serious side, oftentimes quite intense. He
comes from a family where going on a mission is cool, but he doesn't have a
whole lot of support. He receives
encouragement from his older brothers whom he idolizes, which is really
humbling. It constantly reminds me of
how I have to appreciate my mission and learn as much as I can every day in
order to help my brothers with all the experience that I am gaining. Elder Howell is . . . LEGEN. At least he says so. I previously relayed some of his storytelling
– maybe later I’ll share more of his awkward experiences. Most nights after daily planning session we all
enjoy what we like to call 'story time with Elder Howell'. It's seriously the best and we laugh so hard!
Now Hermana time! Hermana Bloxham is
super cool. She and I share a lot of
common experiences and I really enjoy being around her. Hermana Saunders is her comp and is the most
adorable person ever! She is an angel
with hidden wings, is great to get along with and has a strong testimony of the
Atonement. And leaving the best for last,
we have the famous trio of Hermanas Christensen, Nicholes and me! We have the most varied backgrounds, but we
all get along great and work hard with our investigators. After almost every coaching session we have
with our teachers (who have been role playing as investigators), we’re told how
hard it is to be in a trio, but somehow we overcome it and are able to give
effective lessons! YEAAHH!
We got a new district this week -- 6
new elders and 2 new hermanas! We have
been waiting so long for them to finally come so we can show them the ropes and
help them adjust to this new journey. We
also got to pass down some traditional signs we have been holding onto for them. We spent time with them last night during our
family home evening and taught them how to play some games. They will catch on soon, hopefully. But yeah, it's nice not to be the greenies
anymore.
Tender Mercy of the week was
probably during “Hermana circle.” This
is where all the hermanas in our zone get together on Sunday and share
spiritual insights, thoughts, feelings, etc. for about an hour between Relief Society
and Sacrament meeting. SIDE NOTE: the
previous night our district was asked to share brief testimonies with the new
district to encourage them about learning Spanish, and although we were running
out of time and the meeting was coming to a close, I felt a persistent
prompting to share my testimony. So I
obeyed the prompting and said something along the lines of, “don’t worry,
everything is going to be fine. Learn
the doctrine first and the Spanish will come.
You may not be perfectly fluent by the time you end your mission, but the Lord has
asked you to learn Spanish because there is someone out there waiting for you
to enlighten their mind and awake their Spirit in their native tongue, and even
if you only use your Spanish to speak to just that one person, you will have
accomplished what the Lord needed you to do.” I said all this not knowing who, if anyone,
needed to hear these words.
Anyway, back to Hermana Circle, one
of the new hermanas (Hermana Perez) spoke up and shared with us how she had a
dream about a woman she believes she is supposed to find and teach on her
mission, and how because of what I said Hermana Perez received great comfort and
she prays for that woman every night! My
eyes welled up with tears because I was so glad I followed the prompting of the
Holy Ghost to share what was in my heart.
I read a great talk from Elder
Eyring called “A Child and a Disciple,” and in it he talks about how we will be
lead to say things that we will not have previous knowledge of. I know that as a missionary, we will be lead
to say things that only the Lord will know and through the power of
discernment, I can use this inspiration to help those I teach. I, along with Hermana Perez, pray every night
for our future investigators and for the help and strength we need to touch hearts
and change lives. I STRONGLY encourage
every prospective missionary to make their own binder of favorite inspirational talks. It has already
given me so much hope and light and I love spending spare moments engrossed in
the words of our great prophets and apostles.
Their wisdom inspires me and I am so glad I brought the binder with
me!!!!!!!!
I gave my first talk on Sunday about
repentance! I was so excited because I
had prepared what I felt was a really good talk! I actually had been praying that I would have the opportunity to speak, if it was the Lord's will, and that if there was someone who
needed to hear what I had prepared, that the Lord would give me the chance! And He did! Although I ended up reading most of it, I
think I was the one who needed to hear those words more than anyone else. I realized that I am still a baby at learning
how to speak Spanish, and how even though I am limited in what I can say, the
gospel is truly meant to be taught in simple language, even if one is very fluent
and has access to a wide vocabulary.
Sunday was also a great day because
I was able to listen to so many devotionals and spiritual messages. The instruction was so plentiful, I hardly have time to write down all that the speakers were saying and all the revelation that
I was getting. I heart Sundays!
Welp, I'm almost out of time, but I’ll
be able to get back on e-mail in a couple of hours to write some more to
everyone else. I wish I could stay on the
computer forever and tell y'all everything about my week. I'll end with a short testimony that I KNOW
this gospel is true, Jesus is my savior, and I have been blessed with the
knowledge that He loves me. Check out
Alma 22:15 – this is where Lamoni's father (the king over all the land) expresses
his willingness to give up all his possessions for the Kingdom of Heaven – it's
truly marvelous!!!
I love y'all!! Moss missionary signing out!
Hermana Moss
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