Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Don`t let me sing anymore...............April 28, 2014

Heeeeey kids! Hello, and welcome to this week`s episode of My Life In Uruguay.
This week was a good one! First of all, we FINALLY saw Carolina again. We were with her two nights this week. The only thing was we couldn`t teach an actual lesson lesson because both times there were a trillion and a half people at Veronica`s house. But, both times with the Elders we made sure we shared something, and made sure it was directly and at the same time indirectly geared towards her needs. And, that way everybody got to hear it! And, another one of Veronica`s friends is now interested!  We`ve talked to Veronica about this week making sure we`re with just the two of them. It`s the last week that the 4 of us will be here and we want to make sure Carolina can progress well enough that even though two new missionaries come, she has progressed enough that she`s there for the Gospel, and not just because we (the 4 of us missionaries) make her feel good.
We also met her fiancée one of the days, Alvaro. And you guys, they are the most adorably perfect couple. All they need is eternity and they`re good! They are two truly beautiful people, inside and out.
Friday was the second time we saw them, and Veronica told us and the Elders to come because she said she had a surprise for us. And the surprise was that MARY was in town! It was so good to see my Mamà.
The best surprise of all, though, was that CAROLINA WENT TO CHURCH!  The super awesome part of that is that neither of us nor the Elders had even extended that invitation; Veronica invited her and brought her herself. It`s amazing how they`re both progressing together as Veronica is coming back to church and Carolina is learning about it.
I realized there`s one story that I haven`t shared that happened a few weeks ago. There`s one member in our branch, Hermana Lopez. Her son Leandro got back from his mission in January and is now our Ward Mission Leader. Anyway, they aren`t very well off economically. During the day even though they`re house is pretty dark, they keep the lights off to save money. So for March, Hermana Lopez had signed up to feed me and my companion lunch one day. But a few days before, she came up to us in church with tears in her eyes and said they just didn`t have the money to feed us, so she couldn`t give us lunch. She said over and over how sorry she was, and we of course said it was okay. But then, a couple of weeks later, she came to church with a big smile on her face and said “I managed to make some extra money to get you lunch” and handed us a bag with bread, tuna, rice, and milanesas. It was way more than I`m sure she could afford, and we figure she bought us that food before even buying for themselves. It was a really humbling experience. People here just give and give and give and they never stop. They have no limit.
Thursday, we had INTERVIEWS! I can`t believe it was already time for interviews again. I feel like it was like two weeks ago the last time I wrote about them and it was really over 3 months ago. So let`s talk about that interview with President Smith. It was a different one, because changes are next week and obviously either I am or Hermana Zumeta is leaving Colonia. So President asked me “what`s on your mind?” and I of course said “changes!” And then, Pres dropped a bomb on me. He goes “do you think you`re ready to leave Colonia and have a new experience?” Without missing I beat, I said “nope, nope, definitely not.” He just laughed and went “come on hermana, go easy on me here!” But then he said “for right now, I have it thought out that you`re going, because you`re needed by somebody. But I`ll pray about it again, and see what I get, but will you trust me that whatever decision is the Lord`s decision?” I of course said yes, and he said “I already know you do.” So basically, even though he will pray to appease me….I`m pretty sure I`m leaving Colonia. It could change, but that`s what I`m thinking is going to happen. Mostly that`s what I`ve been preparing myself for ever since interviews, so that if it happens I`m not shocked. But no matter what, leaving is going to be really hard. Leaving Rivera really wasn`t that hard for me, but Colonia is where I really found my family. Brian and Angela don`t make it any easier by constantly talking about how much they don`t want me to leave…..those guys are my best friends. I also wanted to see more progression in Carolina. She is so special and I have a really special place in my heart for her. But, I know we were put in each other`s paths for a reason, and the Lord knows what that reason is. If He needs me somewhere else, I will go where He wants me to go. I will miss Colonia so much and it will always have a special place in my heart, but honestly I can`t imagine that I`ll be ready to leave even if I stay another change. So it`s all in the Lord`s hands. He knows a heck of a lot better than I do!
So just a quick little “duh” moment that happened in church yesterday:
We were singing “Divina Luz” (Lead Kindly, Light) as one of the hymns during sacrament yesterday. That`s one I know by heart, so I wasn`t looking at the words. But, I started to sing the 3rd verse instead of the second verse. I`m also one of the loudest singers there. So as you can imagine, EVERYBODY heard me. But no one said anything until Mary nudged me like, halfway through the verse! So then after sacrament some of the members walked passed and said “Hey, Hermana, sung Divina Luz lately?” Haha oh gosh. Bless my heart.
I love Colonia. I love being a missionary. I`m scared of how quickly time goes by here. It`s way too fast. I love the Uruguayos and everything they teach me every day. I`m thankful for the Lord and that He`s let me be here. I`m thankful for my WONDERFUL family and for everything they do for me and everything that I am thanks to them. And, I`m SO thankful for all of you! Thank you for your prayers, I really feel them!

I love you, I love you, I love you!


Hermana Dolan 

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