Last week: My companion thought the Internet Cafe closed at 8, but really it closed at 6... so... we ran around and looked for an alternative and as a result, No Letter last week, but... Basically I did missionary type things last week.
As for THIS week... I also did missionary type things. hahaha
I am slowly adjusting to the new Area.
I survived my "trunkiest" mission day;The Fourth Of JULY.
It came without Parades! It came without Rodeos! It came without Lagoon,Fireworks or COUSINS! The first time in 20 years I´ve missed it!
I wore a red, white and blue blouse and that´s about as crazy as it got here.
Fransisca Vera got baptised on the 5th. The first Baptism since November in Yby Yau. I wasn´t there because I am in Mariano, but I got to call and say congrats.
I remember clapping at her door with Hermana Willis, pretty scared because we had been told she only spoke Guarani. Our first lesson with her we taught about Tithing... (whatever the Spirit dictates, right?)
During the next visit with her we were running late for a funeral so we taught VERY breifly about the Book of Mormon and invited her to read and left. When we came back we found out that she had done as we said. She had opened the book and read!
She had read about Korihor, The Anti-Christ, preaching that there was no God.
I remember thinking "Oh boy, we´ve lost her!"
But then she said: "I was so confused by what I had read because you had said this book testified of Christ. I figured obviously I had missed something. I turned to the start of the chapter and read from there. I read three more chapters and then I understood... Korihor was a bad man and Alma was like a priest who taught of Christ...right?"
We got her reading the book and the rest is history!
I am a terrible, terrible teacher.
I try really hard but, I have no idea what I am doing.
All we did was visit Fransisca often, always inviting her to read more. We invited her to Church and told her that if she prayed and asked God, He would answer and that´s the only way she could really know if this church was true.
I am so happy that she listened and that she chose to act!
I know God loves His children. He loves us!
And if you ask Him in the name of Christ,
with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ,
He will manifest the truth unto you by the power of the Holy Ghost.
And by the power of the Holy Ghost you may know the truth of all things.
I know God is mindful of each and every one of us. He has a plan for us all. He sees the "bigger picture".
I am happy to be a little pawn in His loving, kind and marvelous hands! I am so very blessed to be able to see His miracles unfold.
I am glad I have such a solid proof of His love to take door to door. I love the Book of Mormon. I don´t know what I would do if I had to "convince" people the Church was true. I am so glad that´s not my job. I invite people to come unto Christ. My fanciest invitation is a 2nd witness of His Glory and proof of the restauration of His Church and Priesthood power on Earth.It is a book that testifies of Him and records His ministry to God´s children in the Americas and ends with a promise that if the reader would like to know if said record is true, they need but ask God in fervent prayer and they will recieve an answer.
I don´t convince people, I invite them
and when they act upon my invitation (which only echoes invitations of others before me)
The Spirit converts them.
I think my "job" is really cool.
So... That´s what I mean by doing "missionary type things"... just going around telling people that God is grand and trying to show them just HOW GRAND!
And, Here I go, off to do it for another 7 days.
Until Next Time
XOXO, Hermana Valenzuela
