Hey, hey, hey, my lovely familia y amigos!
How is everybody this week! for some reason the question mark on this keyboard doesn`t function, y the caps lock for some letters tampoco. so, my bad. Maybe i`ll speak proper english again when I get home. Except for probably not....the other day I tried to give a prayer in English, and I literally could not find words for some things. Haha, what is happening. (again, no question mark.)
so we had an AWESOME week! It was hard as far as there were some investigators that we couldn`t see at all this week because they weren`t ever home, but it was still AWESOME in other ways!
soooo first off, the aduezo family. They have been recieving the missionaries since January or february. They are from Venezuela, and are super great, but very very philosophical and apparently have a tendency to get off topic. But we visited them for the first time this week, and A. it was the first time the husband has ever stayed the entire lesson, B., he told us he`s been reading the Book of Mormon, and C. They told us they wanted to go to church! They didn`t go on sunday, but the Elder who has been here for forever told us all of those things are huge. seriously, we didn`t even say anything about church. The husband brought it up on his own! They are super great, and we`re really excited about them.
There`s also saul. saul is about 80 years old, and we found him contacting a couple of weeks ago. He is SO prepared, and SO open! We have to go a little bit more slowly with him because he doesn`t understand some things and his hearing is bad, but he is wonderful! When we taught him on friday, he said "is your church during the week" and we said "nope, only sunday mornings." and he said "oh, I always thought it was during the week! I`d really like to go then." Um, OKAY. He ended up getting really sick on saturday and couldn`t go, but he felt so bad when we went to see him on sunday afternoon. He kept apologizing and promising he`d be there next week. you guys, he is so wonderful! He knows nothing about anything religion, but that makes him so open and ready to learn!
We also have Guadalupe. she`s 14, and she LOVES learning. about everything. We gave her a Book of Mormon with some passages to read, and she ate it up. Reading is one of her favorite things to do, and she told us she was excited for something else to read and learn about. We are hoping to teach her mom too, and her little sister. But she is so great! so open.
We`re going to have to work really hard and be really patient with Maria. Remember her, the adorable old lady whose husband Miguel is a member. The people who have us over every friday. Well, she has tried a bunch of religions but still doesn`t know if there evenis a true church. It`s hard too because she says she believes Joseph smith is a prophet and everything else the missionaries have ever taught her, she just doesn`t know if this is THE church. But the stories of very close family members of mine remind me to never give up on anybody. I fell in love with Maria the first moment I met her. It broke my heart to have her be so stubborn on friday, but we aren`t going to give up! Miguel bore a beautiful testimony and said he knows she will figure it out, and I know so too. It will just be in the Lord`s time, and if I`m only here to help her in her journey, then that`s okay with me.
WEDNESDAY. We had interviews with President. My first interview with him of the mission. Gaaaahhhh he is I N C R E D I B L E. and I love talking to him because he reminds me so much of my own dad. during our interview, he told me "i love your attitude. do you know why you were sent to colonia...it`s because colonia centro needs a change. there is no excitement, no joy in this branch. that`s why i called you here. i knew you could bring that change. you radiate the confidence that "today is the day", and you bolster my confidence." and he starts crying as he says this. kind of like my dad would. haha. the spirit was so prevelent. I told him thank you for saying those things, because I was still wondering a little bit why i was called myself. I shared with him some insecurities I was feeling. he said "i know why you`re here. so does the Lord. you are here to be obedient, and to prepare to testify to the people of uruguay, as well as to your future posterity, of things to come, our savior. the rest is just a bonus." THE REST IS JUST A BONUS. Be obedient, testify. Everything that comes is just a bonus! L I G H T B U L B. President is incredible. afterwards, he gave a really beautiful prayer and started crying. so of course i started crying. he then looked at me after the prayer and said "but you`ve gotta have faith, because Hermana dolan, you bolster my faith. When you leave, Uruguay will be better because you were here, and i hope to do the same...and you know what. I expect to, because I have the Lord." and then he apologized for crying and i told him I liked it because it`s just like my dad. I LOVE HIM. He is so inspired, and he is changing Uruguay.
SUNDAY!!!! you guys, we did the impossible. The average attendance of our branch is 27 people. This last sunday, we achieved something that has NEVER been achieved in this branch EVER in its HISTORY.....55 people! 55 souls that took the sacrament. GAHHHH! President smith was in another area in uruguay about an hour away, but when we called him and told him, he drove the hour to centro just to congratulate the four of us! MIRACLES. miracles, miracles. It`s so amazing to witness changes the Lord is making here, and to be a part of it!
and then at the end of every wonderful day here in Colonia, the Lord gives us this firestricken sunset across the horizon of the river. sometimes, i just can`t believe how much love i feel from my Maker.
Be obedient. Live every day. do the Lord`s will. THE REST IS JUST A BONUS! I love you, I love you, I love you!
Hermana dolan
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