Happy FOURTH OF JULY!! Wow I can't believe I'm not home for this amazing holiday.. ahhh my I hope you all enjoy the food, parades, fireworks, festivities, and family time. The fourth of july/ Independence Day is the best time of the year. I also am going to do something really cool and I'm going to relate the fourth of July to my area. haha But for real, my area is somewhat like a fire work. It's just sitting there waiting for someone to light fire to it so it can explode and bring forth many people who are just sitting, waiting, ready to hear about the restored gospel.
My area started out with nothing. Literally nothing. A bunch of Less Actives and that's pretty much it, but I am happy to announce that things are starting to slowly look up. The fire is slowly starting to light. This week we had the opportunity to have Zone Conference and it was all about working with Members and really finding those who are ready, or those who are "white". It was such a great conference. Honestly I say this all the time, but I am so blessed to be in this mission because of my Mission President. He is such and inspired, worthy, honorable man of God. I was able to have the opportunity to speak to him one on one and talk about my next steps as a missionary and how I can do better and better. Wow. The inspiration he receives is amazing. So Zone Conference was wonderful.
The next day after the spiritually high day at Zone Conference, boom I got super sick.. like 103 degree fever sick. It was terrible.. Two days I was super sick and just laid dying in bed. So that was awesome...
On Friday we were able to have a FHE with the Revemonte Family. We were able to teach them and help them bond together as a family. Everyone in their family is a member, besides the Father. It is sad, because the wife has so much faith and is full of love and really has a strong testimony. More than anything she wants her husband to accept the gospel and to get sealed in the temple for time and eternity. So being missionaries we are trying our hardest to make him feel love from us. Make him feel welcome in everything we do. It was a really neat experience to see him in the FHE participating and showing faith by being apart of the lesson and everything. It was really nice, because I know one day he will accept the gospel and the Revemonte family will be able to go to the temple to be sealed for time and eternity. (little bit of fire)
Sunday was probably the best day on my whole mission. I have been fasting and praying so hard for my area, for my people, for everything to start happening, just start progressing here in Puerto. I pray SO hard. I have never felt so close to Jesus Christ and to my Heavenly Father than I have in this area. I have to really rely on them everyday. So Sunday was amazing. After weeks with no one coming. No less actives, no investigators, nothing... the Lord brought a miracle to us. He brought Marjourie to church!! Marjourie is one of our investigators who we recently found through a Less Active Family. She is so prepared for the gospel in her life and I am so excited to see what happens to her and with her conversion. She also had one of her friends from the Less Active family join her in coming to church. So wow, I really testify that the Lord can work miracles through the weak and simple. I am about as weak and simple as they come, yet we were able to experience a miracle yesterday. Ahhh I really feel so happy. (boom one firework went off)
The fire works are coming. They just need more fire, more work, more love, more prayers. I love this work and I love being a missionary. One thing I really feel like the Lord is trying to teach me in this area is to rely on Him, as well as try as hard as I can to reflect His love to everyone. So when people see me or meet me, they don't see "the white American" or "Elsa/Barbie", but instead they recognize me as a disciple of Jesus Christ, or better yet, a reflection of Jesus Christ. I know I am nothing without the Lord helping me. I love love love the scripture in John 15:5 "I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing." I think in this area I have really learned how much I am not. I really am nothing without the Savior. I can do nothing. I have learned that I truly need to rely on Him every single day and be worthy of the Spirit in order to get through the day and do the work he has called me to do. I really love the word abideth too. It shows that we need to be interlocked or interconnected with the Savior at all times in order to have His power to do His work. I really really love being a missionary. I love the experiences I am having and the miracles the Lord is showing me. I have changed so much in just the short 8 months I have been here. I still have so much more to experience and so much more to do here. I hope all of you are doing what the Lord would have you do. Make good decisions, help others, and chose the right palagi. I love you all with my whole heart. Have a Happy Fourth of July and eat lots of watermelon for me.
Mahal ko kayo,
Sister Barton
Ps. I really have changed... I sang a solo in Zone Conference and I suck at singing.. that just shows you how weird I've become hahaha
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