Monday, May 26, 2014
"she`ll see it later clark, her eyes are frozen"............May 26, 2014
Yep, the cold has officially arrived! It came in fast and without much warning. Today is actually pretty nice, but this week was C O L D. And my favorite part about Uruguay (not really) is that the houses (okay, OUR house) is colder than it is outside. Getting up in the morning is now a great act of will power. And don`t even get me started about showering.
So, this week was pretty dang dandy!
At the beginning of the week, we went out with a girl named Florencia, who`s 14 and got baptized by the Elders back in March. Going out with us is like her favorite thing to do now! So while we`re out with her, a lesson falls through. We had heard her comment before about a friend of hers who lives nearby and is named Bruno. So we ask her if she`d like to go see him, and she says "absolutely!" So we go to Bruno`s house, and his older sister Camila (who is 18) was also there, and really surprised us by sitting down and listening to the listen, which was just talking about our purpose. And they both had a LOT of interest! And guys, F L O R E N C I A. That girl is incredible. She had no fear in bearing her testimony and saying "What`s special about this Gospel is that with it, the Lord will make us a clean again so we can live with Him." So cute. And then after the closing prayer, Camila says "I have a question: my grandma who lives here just recently lost one of her kids, my uncle, and she`s having a really hard time. can you guys help her?" Why yes, yes we can! Or, the Gospel can. And then immediately, before we could even respond, Florencia pulls out her Book of Mormon and says "2 Nephi 9." And reads a verse, and then says "but can we come back and talk to your grandma about it, too?" Guys, she ALREADY is a missionary! I so wouldn`t have A. had that scripture knowledge or B. that courage when I was 14. She is incredible. So we are going to be working a lot with Bruno and Camila, and hopefully her grandma too! Because of crazy schedules we couldn`t get back to them this week, but we for sure will.
On Thursday, we did D I V I S I O N S. In the morning, I went out with Hermana Olson. She is the one I lived with in Rivera, so it was a lot of fun to go out with her when I actually knew Spanish and could help her with the lessons haha. What`s cool is she told me that this woman we had visited when we did divisions with her in her area in Rivera who before was completely inactive, is no active and quit smoking and talks about me sometimes. And her granddaughter who was there when we had taught the lesson (which we taught on the Book of Mormon) got baptized, and talks about the Book of Mormon that I gave her that she reads from which has my testimony written inside. It was a sweet tender mercy, because sometimes I had worried if I had done anything in Rivera. So it was so great to hear that!
So with Hermana Olson, we went to Maria, who is actually Florencia`s mom. She is really incredible and goes to church and reads the Book of Mormon, but her problem is smoking. We taught the first part of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and focused on the page that has the picture of Christ raising Jairus`s daughter from the dead. We focused on how the little girl is looking ONLY at Christ, and she was able to leave her bed and rise. We told Maria she can do the same. She has a really sincere desire to change her life, and the Spirit was so strong. We gave her the invitation for baptism for the 14th, and at first she said she didn`t know if she could be ready for something like that because she has so many burdens. So we invited her to pray in that moment and ask. And her prayer was incredible, and she cried, and we cried, and the Lord confirmed that date for her! So we will work with her to make sure she can make it to the 14th of June. Pray for her, please!
In the afternoon I went out with Hermana Petien from Nicaragua. LOOOOVE HER. Pretty much all of our lessons fell through, so we did a lot of contacting and had a lot of fun in the streets. Overall, it was a great day of divisions. Hermana Olson and Petien both go home in July, so they have a lot of experience and I learned a lot from them, and had a lot of fun too. :)
On Friday, we had planned to do an activity with the Tree of Life in the ward that I did in seminary in high school. Now, let me tell you guys something I have noticed about Elders: they are very smooth about their way of asking Hermanas for favors. Example: we are in the same ward as the zone leaders, and one other companionship of Elders. And so the ZL`s told us to worry about making the tree, and they would take care of the rest. But at last minute they had to go do a baptismal interview, and it was 7:15 and they hadn`t left the other ward building yet (the activity was supposed to start at 7 and we hadn`t set up yet.) So they call and Elder Bulloch says "so, have you guys started setting up?" and I say "well we got the tree, but we don`t really know what you guys had planned for the rest." And he goes "well...we didn`t really have anything planned exactly yet. BUT Hermana, you just do what you had done in high school. I mean....just use your hermananess (he used that word), and your awesome creativity because you`re just great and you`ll do it better than we could anyway and it`ll be awesome." SMOOTH Elder, very smooth with the compliments. That my friends, is why missions prepare one for marriage.
So anyway, we led a rope through the church, starting from one room and ending with this "tree of life." We took one family at a time, blindfolded them, and told them they had to follow the rope to make it to the tree. If they let go, there were obstacles and a good chance they would get lost. They started with the other pair of Elders, who read some scriptures from the beginning of the story. Then when they got upstairs, the zl`S told them "come here! you`re safe! And we have treats for you!" And some people let go, and they taught about temptation and the Great and Spacious building. Then they came back downstairs, and my comp and I read the last scriptures that talked about those who held on the whole time and endured to the end.
It was incredible! With this one family, the little girl Nicole kept letting go of her dad`s hand. And we saw him reaching out for her and going "Nicole!" and then we`d put her hand back in his, but then she`d let go again. And it went like that, until finally they all made it to the tree. Afterwards, the dad was crying when he took of the blindfold! And he said he had never looked at the story that way, and could feel how much it would hurt to not have a family member make it to eternal life. With Maria, it was perfect too. Florencia had already gone through, but her mom was the last one and we asked her to go with her. When they got to me and my comp, we said "who has made the necessary covenants with the Lord? All of you?" And Florencia said "no, just me." and we said "you have to make those covenants to be able to eat of the fruit of the tree." And Maria started crying, and we told Florencia "Do you want your mom to be able to go with you, and will you go alone?" And she said "I want my mom with me." So we said "you go in front. Take your mom`s hand, be the example. Lead her to the tree." And told Maria "Maria, do you want to be with your daughter?" And of course she said yes and we said "take her hand, follow her example. You can eat of the fruit with her if you follow her example." It was INCREDIBLE! At the end, everybody got a white piece of paper in the fruit of an apple to write their testimony, and we put it on the tree. It was amazing, and gave everybody I think a whole new perspective. We finished it off with tortas fritas and bon bons, so that they had some sort of "fruit" to actually be able to eat.
It gave me a whole new perspective, too! And I want so badly to be able to have EVERYBODY be able to hold on and make it to the tree.
So anyway, all in all, this week was fantastic. With a lot of cold, and I feel like Christmas should be soon because of it, but that`s okay. All worth it :)
ONE MORE THING. Funny/mean story for the week:
So like I said, I love Hermana Petien, and I was excited to live with her for these next two changes until she dies. But we had heard that President Smith had come to Artigas last night, so when we come home we ask the other hermanas if they know why. And they say that because Hermana Petien is still sick (she was really sick a few changes ago), she has to go back to Montevideo to be closer to the doctors. And I was so sad, and so sad for Petien too! And her comp was crying and everything. I thought at first "nah, they`re playing a prank on me like I always do to them." But then they seemed serious, so I thought "I need to be sensitive for in case this isn`t a joke." So then I believed them, and said a long, good prayer last night for Hermana Petien, and was all sad thinking she was leaving and going back to Montevideo TODAY. So then, this morning, Hermana Petien says "hey, Hermana Dolan, will you write in my notebook? But wait, can we go into your room, I have something to tell you." So we go into my room, she gets this seriously look on her face, and then says "nah it`s a joke, I`m not leaving!" And walks away! It was JOKE! And guess what else? ALL THE OTHER HERMANAS KNEW. So there you have it kids, I live with a bunch of scummy liars. Haha nah it was a good one, good payback. I was proud. And glad Hna Petien isn`t leaving. Even if she`s a scummy liar.
HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY! I love you, I love you, I love you!
Hermana Dolan
So, this week was pretty dang dandy!
At the beginning of the week, we went out with a girl named Florencia, who`s 14 and got baptized by the Elders back in March. Going out with us is like her favorite thing to do now! So while we`re out with her, a lesson falls through. We had heard her comment before about a friend of hers who lives nearby and is named Bruno. So we ask her if she`d like to go see him, and she says "absolutely!" So we go to Bruno`s house, and his older sister Camila (who is 18) was also there, and really surprised us by sitting down and listening to the listen, which was just talking about our purpose. And they both had a LOT of interest! And guys, F L O R E N C I A. That girl is incredible. She had no fear in bearing her testimony and saying "What`s special about this Gospel is that with it, the Lord will make us a clean again so we can live with Him." So cute. And then after the closing prayer, Camila says "I have a question: my grandma who lives here just recently lost one of her kids, my uncle, and she`s having a really hard time. can you guys help her?" Why yes, yes we can! Or, the Gospel can. And then immediately, before we could even respond, Florencia pulls out her Book of Mormon and says "2 Nephi 9." And reads a verse, and then says "but can we come back and talk to your grandma about it, too?" Guys, she ALREADY is a missionary! I so wouldn`t have A. had that scripture knowledge or B. that courage when I was 14. She is incredible. So we are going to be working a lot with Bruno and Camila, and hopefully her grandma too! Because of crazy schedules we couldn`t get back to them this week, but we for sure will.
On Thursday, we did D I V I S I O N S. In the morning, I went out with Hermana Olson. She is the one I lived with in Rivera, so it was a lot of fun to go out with her when I actually knew Spanish and could help her with the lessons haha. What`s cool is she told me that this woman we had visited when we did divisions with her in her area in Rivera who before was completely inactive, is no active and quit smoking and talks about me sometimes. And her granddaughter who was there when we had taught the lesson (which we taught on the Book of Mormon) got baptized, and talks about the Book of Mormon that I gave her that she reads from which has my testimony written inside. It was a sweet tender mercy, because sometimes I had worried if I had done anything in Rivera. So it was so great to hear that!
So with Hermana Olson, we went to Maria, who is actually Florencia`s mom. She is really incredible and goes to church and reads the Book of Mormon, but her problem is smoking. We taught the first part of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and focused on the page that has the picture of Christ raising Jairus`s daughter from the dead. We focused on how the little girl is looking ONLY at Christ, and she was able to leave her bed and rise. We told Maria she can do the same. She has a really sincere desire to change her life, and the Spirit was so strong. We gave her the invitation for baptism for the 14th, and at first she said she didn`t know if she could be ready for something like that because she has so many burdens. So we invited her to pray in that moment and ask. And her prayer was incredible, and she cried, and we cried, and the Lord confirmed that date for her! So we will work with her to make sure she can make it to the 14th of June. Pray for her, please!
In the afternoon I went out with Hermana Petien from Nicaragua. LOOOOVE HER. Pretty much all of our lessons fell through, so we did a lot of contacting and had a lot of fun in the streets. Overall, it was a great day of divisions. Hermana Olson and Petien both go home in July, so they have a lot of experience and I learned a lot from them, and had a lot of fun too. :)
On Friday, we had planned to do an activity with the Tree of Life in the ward that I did in seminary in high school. Now, let me tell you guys something I have noticed about Elders: they are very smooth about their way of asking Hermanas for favors. Example: we are in the same ward as the zone leaders, and one other companionship of Elders. And so the ZL`s told us to worry about making the tree, and they would take care of the rest. But at last minute they had to go do a baptismal interview, and it was 7:15 and they hadn`t left the other ward building yet (the activity was supposed to start at 7 and we hadn`t set up yet.) So they call and Elder Bulloch says "so, have you guys started setting up?" and I say "well we got the tree, but we don`t really know what you guys had planned for the rest." And he goes "well...we didn`t really have anything planned exactly yet. BUT Hermana, you just do what you had done in high school. I mean....just use your hermananess (he used that word), and your awesome creativity because you`re just great and you`ll do it better than we could anyway and it`ll be awesome." SMOOTH Elder, very smooth with the compliments. That my friends, is why missions prepare one for marriage.
So anyway, we led a rope through the church, starting from one room and ending with this "tree of life." We took one family at a time, blindfolded them, and told them they had to follow the rope to make it to the tree. If they let go, there were obstacles and a good chance they would get lost. They started with the other pair of Elders, who read some scriptures from the beginning of the story. Then when they got upstairs, the zl`S told them "come here! you`re safe! And we have treats for you!" And some people let go, and they taught about temptation and the Great and Spacious building. Then they came back downstairs, and my comp and I read the last scriptures that talked about those who held on the whole time and endured to the end.
It was incredible! With this one family, the little girl Nicole kept letting go of her dad`s hand. And we saw him reaching out for her and going "Nicole!" and then we`d put her hand back in his, but then she`d let go again. And it went like that, until finally they all made it to the tree. Afterwards, the dad was crying when he took of the blindfold! And he said he had never looked at the story that way, and could feel how much it would hurt to not have a family member make it to eternal life. With Maria, it was perfect too. Florencia had already gone through, but her mom was the last one and we asked her to go with her. When they got to me and my comp, we said "who has made the necessary covenants with the Lord? All of you?" And Florencia said "no, just me." and we said "you have to make those covenants to be able to eat of the fruit of the tree." And Maria started crying, and we told Florencia "Do you want your mom to be able to go with you, and will you go alone?" And she said "I want my mom with me." So we said "you go in front. Take your mom`s hand, be the example. Lead her to the tree." And told Maria "Maria, do you want to be with your daughter?" And of course she said yes and we said "take her hand, follow her example. You can eat of the fruit with her if you follow her example." It was INCREDIBLE! At the end, everybody got a white piece of paper in the fruit of an apple to write their testimony, and we put it on the tree. It was amazing, and gave everybody I think a whole new perspective. We finished it off with tortas fritas and bon bons, so that they had some sort of "fruit" to actually be able to eat.
It gave me a whole new perspective, too! And I want so badly to be able to have EVERYBODY be able to hold on and make it to the tree.
So anyway, all in all, this week was fantastic. With a lot of cold, and I feel like Christmas should be soon because of it, but that`s okay. All worth it :)
ONE MORE THING. Funny/mean story for the week:
So like I said, I love Hermana Petien, and I was excited to live with her for these next two changes until she dies. But we had heard that President Smith had come to Artigas last night, so when we come home we ask the other hermanas if they know why. And they say that because Hermana Petien is still sick (she was really sick a few changes ago), she has to go back to Montevideo to be closer to the doctors. And I was so sad, and so sad for Petien too! And her comp was crying and everything. I thought at first "nah, they`re playing a prank on me like I always do to them." But then they seemed serious, so I thought "I need to be sensitive for in case this isn`t a joke." So then I believed them, and said a long, good prayer last night for Hermana Petien, and was all sad thinking she was leaving and going back to Montevideo TODAY. So then, this morning, Hermana Petien says "hey, Hermana Dolan, will you write in my notebook? But wait, can we go into your room, I have something to tell you." So we go into my room, she gets this seriously look on her face, and then says "nah it`s a joke, I`m not leaving!" And walks away! It was JOKE! And guess what else? ALL THE OTHER HERMANAS KNEW. So there you have it kids, I live with a bunch of scummy liars. Haha nah it was a good one, good payback. I was proud. And glad Hna Petien isn`t leaving. Even if she`s a scummy liar.
HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY! I love you, I love you, I love you!
Hermana Dolan
Monday, May 19, 2014
The Lord has more May 19, 2014
Hey everybody! I hope everybody is doing swell! I`m doing pretty well here in Artigas!
First of all, we decided we needed to leave some investigators. That`s always hard. Especially because President Smith has given us a specific lesson to "formally" leave them so that they understand why we don`t come back. They are super great people, which is so hard when you know they feel the Spirit but just don`t want to make necessary changes in their lives. But we knew if we did it and trusted in the Lord, He`d take care of things! And boy, has he!
Also, Wednesday was pretty cool. Tuesday I had come down with a pretty gnarly ear infection which affected my throat. On Wednesday it was really bad, so the ZLs came over and gave me a blessing and permission to stay in that day. But I thought "nah, let`s go out." And I don`t say this to boast at all! I say this because it`s amazing how the Lord knows what His missionaries need and blesses them for it! That day, we found new investigators, got some rockin`references that we didn`t even ask for and are excited to contact, and saw this really incredible miracle with this woman named Edita.
Edita is the mom of a member named Gabriela, who is in her late twenties and has served a mission. Gabriela is A M A Z I N G. Every human being needs to be like Gabriela. She is so cute and she also loves English so sometimes she`ll just go into English with us. Haha. But anyway, her mom has listened to countless missionaries, and always liked the message, but never wanted to do anything about it. Her husband especially made it that way because he was a hardcore Catholic and even against Gabriela getting baptized when she did. But, her husband passed away just a few months ago, and Gabriela told us "it`s her time. She is so sad and I know she can be happy. And I know my dad is being taught right now, too. She is so close, Hermanas! Please teach her!" She also said she thinks it would be good to talk more about prayer with Edita so that she can start praying on her own and that way get her own answer.
So on Wednesday night, I prayed to the high heavens that Heavenly Father would let me be able to speak more (my ear infection made it really painful to talk, and poor Hermana Sump had been having to lead all the lessons that day. Which she did rockin`at!) When we got there, I still couldn`t really. But then as soon as we started the lesson, I suddenly didn`t feel any pain and was able to speak freely!
We taught the story of Enos. It was one of the best, most spiritually powerful lessons I have ever had on my mission. Edita opened up a lot and started crying as she talked about how she missed her husband. But then she said "but as I hear you guys talk about these things, my heart is lifted and I actually feel peace." We testified to her that she can feel that every time she prays. She said she would and that she even would about baptism. It was amazing! We went back to her last night, and she very kindly and honestly told us "I don`t think I can be baptized right now, because of respect towards my husband and the things he wanted." But then she followed it up after a pause with "I know I will though, Hermanas. I just need you to be patient with me. He died so recently and I need some time. Please stay with me here." GOOD ENOUGH FOR ME! It was incredible. SHE is incredible! So that was a great miracle.
We are also teaching a man named Nelson. He`s an older man who misses his wife SO much. He always talks about her. We`ve seen him several times this week and every time he says "I always feel better when I talk to you. I finally feel at peace. How can I feel that all the time? How can I take this sadness away?" Well, let us show you sir! It`s so amazing to see the way the Gospel and especially having a knowledge of the Lord`s amazing plan of happiness can really lift hearts. It`s amazing to see the happiness fade in their eyes as they hear it. Nelson`s nephew is also a former member who I guess had told him we worship Joseph Smith, but we explained to him how that`s not true and explained more about prophets and Joseph Smith`s role. The next time we went back, he said "I told my nephew what you guys said, and he said you were lying, but i told him you guys can`t lie and that he`s wrong and that HE`S lying! How about that, Hermanas?" He is so cute. Super great!
We had ZONE CONFERENCE on Thursday! We were in Tacuarembo with Salt, Rivera, Artigas, and Paysandu to hear from our Area 70, Elder Zeballo and his wife. It was AWWWWEEEEESSSSSOOOOOMMMMMMEEEEEE. We were all even more pumped for the work after!
One of my favorite parts was President Smith, who talked to us about prayer. He really wants all the missionaries here to be using the power of prayer to their fullest advantage to make the mission even better. One thing that I loved that he said was "we sometimes forget that the Lord WANTS to give us blessings. He wants to grant us our desires. What are your greatest desires? They are evident in what your prayers are. Maybe you think you ask for too much, or that you already have so much and don`t want to ask for more. But that`s where you`re wrong, because THE LORD HAS MORE." That was the main theme of the conference....the Lord has more. He has more strength to give us to help us suffer our afflictions (P.S. Alma 31:31...it`s a winner!), more blessings to give us, more happiness waiting.
It was an awesome zone conference and a great week! On Sunday, a less active named Teresita who hasn`t been to church in 2 years WENT TO CHURCH! It was the best thing ever to be able to see her in church!
So anyway folks, that`s what`s new here in Artigas!
I have been blessed be on measure in my life and especially here on my mission. So many lessons learned, so many miracles seen, so many happiness experienced. And you know what the best part is?
The Lord has more.
I love you, I love you, I love you!
Hermana Dolan
Monday, May 12, 2014
Home to Home May 12, 2014
Hey
errbody! So before anything, HAPPY MOTHER`S DAY YESTERDAY TO ALL MOMS. You guys
are the best. But especially my mom. She`s like, the best of the best. And
also, everybody go watch Alex Boye`s video called "Roar" (cover by
the song by Katy Perry). Those are some pretty rockin`mommy bloggers (one in
particular ;)).
So, as
you have all figured out now, I am now in ARTIGAS!!!!!
Leaving
Colonia was literally the hardest thing I`ve ever had to do. Seriously, of all
trials that the mission brings....that one`s the hardest. Veronica and her
kids, Carolina, the Elders and Brian and Angela showed up at the bus station to
say goodbye. Carolina and I hugged and cried for a good five minutes when it
was time to go. I had said goodbye to Brian and Angela first and her last, but
right before getting on the bus, I turned around to wave one last time to the
two of them....and Brian was leaned up against the wall, with tears streaming
down his face. Leaving them all was so, so hard, but they have the Lord and
they know that now. He`ll take good care of all of them, and we`ll be friends
for eternity. :)
And
now I`m in ARTIGAS! I´m with Hermana Sump. She is from Lehi, Utah and she
graduated in 2013, and she just barely finished her training. She is
great!
Artigas
is awesome too! Presidente Bueno and his family are the GREATEST EVER. Ever.
There are a lot of people to teach here, so we`ve always got something to do,
which is what I like. It makes planning for the days a lot less stressful. I`m
still getting to know things here, so I really don`t have a whole lot to say
haha sorry. Espinozita (the Elder I worked with in Colonia) is now my District
Leader! So that`s pretty awesome.
The
people here are really warm and open. The ward, although it is a WARD....gah so
many people were at church. It freaked me out a little bit to go from a branch.
But it still needs a lot of work and help. We have a goal to double church
attendance, so I`m excited to have a lot to do.
The
past few days in my study, I`ve been trying to figure out why I had to leave
Colonia. I really wanted more than anything to have another change there. But
then, I read in Jesus the Christ (I`m super sorry, I really don`t remember what
page or which chapter in Matthew it sites), where it talks about how Christ
leaves Caupernaum to teach in the neighboring cities. Everybody wants Him to
stay, but He says He has to go from city to city to preach His Gospel. Christ
knew the importance of EVERY person receiving the Gospel. It`s some other
people`s turn to help more people in Colonia, and it`s my time to always carry
the people there in my heart, but also recognize that there are people here in
Artigas who need the Gospel just as much. I was going back through my journal
from my first couple of weeks in Colonia, and I was really scared and had even
written "I hope the Lord makes this my home." And He did in ways I
never imagined. So I trust that Artigas will have the same effect on me, and I
am ready to get to work here!
I`ll
probably have more to say next week and after that. But until then,
I love
you, I love you, I love you!
Hermana
Dolan
Wednesday, May 7, 2014
God is good. May 5, 2014
Hey hey hey kiddos! I hope everyone is swell, because I sure am! And also dying a little inside. And also super swell! Mission emotions are so confusing, especially around times for changes.
So.....CHANGES!
Are you ready?
I am headed to (drumroll, please.......)
ARTIGAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :)
I am headed back up north! Artigas is right next to Rivera, at the border below Brazil. And you guys, in our mission, Artigas is the promised land! EVERYBODY wants to go to Artigas. And Rivera. And I remember 3 months ago talking to my companion about those wingnuts who in their mission get to go to BOTH....haha, woops. ;) But yep, I´m also going to Barrio 2, which has 6 missionaries and the stake president, Presidente Bueno. He is talked about by everybody in the mission because of how awesome he is. And, the super cool part is that that´s where Elehem and Daniel got baptized before moving to Colonia! They told me "we´re sad to see you go, but you´re going to the best ward in the world so we´re not that sad." My comp is Hermana Sump. She just barely finished her training, so since she´s pretty new I haven´t met her yet. But I´m ready to tear it up with her in the land of Portugese and Guaraná! I am so excited!
Hermana Christensen is coming to be with Hermana Zumeta. I met her in Rivera and she is super awesome. I´m not worried one bit. She´ll do a great job of caring for my family here. I will miss Hermana Zumeta so much! We had some really indescribable experiences together, and she´s forever a sister to me.
It´s amazing how the Lord knows us. A few weeks ago, I remember making the offhand comment to Hermana Zumeta of "man, if I leave Colonia, the only thing that will make it bearable would be going to Artigas." And then I forgot about it until we got our calls for changes and they said Artigas! Heavenly FAther definitely knew that I would need that to make leaving my beautiful home here easier. I leave at 8 tonight. I am stoked!
Now for the more important things:
I said my goodbyes to the Flia Aquino last week. It was Uruguay´s version of Labor Day on Thursday, so they invited all of us over for asado. By the way, labor day is like, religious here. EVERYTHING closes. And a bunch of members were absolutely gobsmacked (shoutout to Rob) that we still had to work as missionaries that day. "But, it´s Day of the Worker! You guys shouldn´t be working!" Hahaha. But anyway, I love that family. Adán is seriously my hero. He is the most Christlike person I have ever known. He is so humble, hardworking, and selfless. He is ALWAYS looking for opportunities to either bring more sheep to the Savior or to rescue those who have fallen away. Besides references, he´ll sometimes tell us of some inactive that nobody knew lived here and takes us to them. He is amazing and I will never forget him. Or any of them. They are seriously my family!
We had our last hurrah with MIguel and Maria on Friday also. Maria is taking some small yet significant steps and i know that even if it takes years,s he´ll make it to baptism. And all of the missionaries who taught her, all of us "grandkids" of hers, will rejoice when we see her in Heaven. They´re the sweetest human beings on this planet, and I will miss my Uruguayan grandparents so much!
Brian and Angela are going to kill me when I say goodbye to them at the bus station tonight. Brian actually started crying yesterday. It´s the first time I have ever seen him get emotional like that. But I´m not worried about them one bit. They´ll stay on this path forever. They basically taught themselves!
I need to talk about the most life and mission changing person I have met so far, though. Carolina. I´ve talked about her before. Carolina has suffered a lot of things in her past that no 23 year old, or ANYBODY, should have to suffer. But it was something she was never able to talk about. She has a really hard time trusting people and always feels like she has to defend herself, so it makes it hard for her to tell anybody. Well 3 months ago, my companion and i meet her. And a little bit later, the Elders. And this amazing thing happened. Carolina started to change us without even knowing it, and without us even knowing it, we started to change her. It got to the point where she really wanted to talk about it to SOMEBODY, this thing that has happened to her in her past. She didn´t want too many people there though, so first last week, she started with the Elders. It was a miracle too, because her older sister happened to show up. The same thing that happened to Carolina happened to her sister, but her sister has never talked about it to ANYBODY, not even her husband. Yet, for some reason, she felt compelled to tell it to the Elders. All they needed was somebody to listen. Naturally, the Atonement of our Savior was talked about. Carolina said that night that ever since she met the 4 of us, her life has changed completely. She has managed to laugh again with us in a way she had forgotten how to do. She said that now, she knows there are people who listen. She knows there´s somebody (the Savior), who knows EXACTLY how she feels.
I´ll admit, it was a little hard for me to not be able to be there, but instead I decided to be so 100% grateful for the grace of God and that he helped us find her so that she can find some peace.
Last night, we had a little going away party for me and Elder Castellanos at Veronica´s house. I don´t know how it happened, but Carolina ended up alone with me and my companion in the kitchen. She started out saying how hard it was going to be for her to let us go. She said "All my life I´ve felt like I´ve had to defend why I am the way that I am. But with you four, it was different. It was like you saw right into me and into who I REALLY am. Of course I won´t stop listening to the others that come, because I know that this church that you´re teaching is true, but it will be hard for me."
Then she started to tell us about everything she told the Elders, and even one more thing, the thing that was TRULY holding her back from finding peace, but one that she didn´t feel comfortable telling at the time because she wasn´t sure she wanted her sister to know. She got it all out, right there in the kitchen. And I felt the strongest love for her, something I´ve never felt. And I knew it came directly from the Savior. And we told her that. And we stood there and hugged and cried, and she said "thank you for listening Hermanas. Thank you for coming into my life."
Then she said something that I will never forget "Until I´m old and gray, I will tell my children and my grandchildren what it was that the 4 of you did for me."
Here´s the amazing thing: the 4 of us don´t feel like we did ANYTHING. And it´s really because we didn´t. It was ALL the Lord. He worked through the four of us, and, more than that, he gave the four of US the honor of meeting HER. I´LL be the one to tell to my kids and grandkids about the amazing Carolina.
I think back to the day we found her. It was raining harder than it ever had in my mission. The water was up to our calves. Everybody told us to stay in the member´s house that we were at at the time. We had told Veronica we would be there that day to help her daughter with something, but we thought about calling and canceling. But we decided against it, and went anyway. And that was where we met Carolina. And if we hadn´t gone, we wouldn´t have found her. And i don´t say that to boast, I say that to say that God is SO. GOOD. I can´t even believe that he loves me so much that he gave me the privilege of meeting Carolina, and being an instrument in helping her feel the love of God and Christ, and to let her change me. My last goodbye to her will be tonight at the bus station. It will be so hard, but she is a friend for eternity. i am so blessed to know her.
God was good enough to help Carolina find her peace, and good enough to let the four of us find a love of the Savior even more profound than we had ever felt before.
Colonia will always have a special place in my heart. It has changed my mission and my life. I saw countless miracles here. I saw the hand of God manifest in ways I never imagined I would see. I have discovered and felt more love from the Savior as he picked me up in my hardest moments, and loved me in spite of all my imperfections, and worked through me to give the absolute honor of being an instrument in helping others feel His love. I am sad to go, but so excited for the future! Time is flying so fast and i want to breathe in every moment. There is absolutely nothing like the mission. it´s nothing I can describe. I love my Savior, and I love my family I´ve found here, and i love the Lord. They are SO. good.
I love you, I love you, I love you!
Next email from ARTIIIIIIIIGASSSSSSS!
Hermana Dolan
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