Those pictures of Emma almost knocked me out of my seat! I pretty much announced to the entire computer store that I had the most beautiful sobrina, and my companion agreed hahah.
Well, remember last week how I had my face smashed in a torta (cake) for my one-month mission anniversary? Well, that got to happen two more times this week. heheh We counted, and from last Saturday to this Saturday that just passed, we've partaken of a total of 7 tortas in one week! Almost 8, but that one accidentally got burned in the oven and we never ate it heheh. Two for baptisms, three for both my birthday and anniversary, and 1 for my companion (Hna "C"), who celebrated her 9-month mark on the 8th. Soooo much cakkke. We had barrigas afterward every time, but still had to face the feat of conquering those dang hills afterward. Thank goodness for those hills though, because if not I would be an Oompa Loompa right now.
Remember how "A" was baptized last week? Well, in the photo I sent, there's a picture of a young man with a shirt that says "Just Do It." His name is "M", and he's their brother visiting from the coast. That day in that picture was his first exposure to the church ever. Hna C and I took advantage and gave him a tour of the chapel. Let me tell you. The spirit in the church speaks for itself. And after, we gave him an invitation to simply sit in the sacrament room for a little while and pray to know for himself if this is the true church. He did and came out only minutes later, with a very concerned, yet serene look on his face haha. We asked what he felt. He responded that he felt like his heart was completely filled. M is only 14 years old. What courage to be able to complete and acknowledge an invitation like that. We taught him the commandments that very day, and the First Restoration the next day. And he immediately accepted the invitation to be baptized. Under special circumstances, President Richardson gave us the permission to have M baptized the very next week, so that his older brother W (also in the last picture), who received the sacerdocio the Sunday before, would be able to baptize him.
So Saturday, M was baptized by his older brother, W. Without having a perfect knowledge of things, but having a confirmation of the Holy Ghost that there is something about this church that is no less than true and complete. And that is all he needed to know. I love the look on their faces as they completed the ordinance and stepped out of the freezing cold baptismal waters. There was something powerful about this experience this week. And miracles continue to abound.
So Saturday, M was baptized by his older brother, W. Without having a perfect knowledge of things, but having a confirmation of the Holy Ghost that there is something about this church that is no less than true and complete. And that is all he needed to know. I love the look on their faces as they completed the ordinance and stepped out of the freezing cold baptismal waters. There was something powerful about this experience this week. And miracles continue to abound.
As servants of the Lord, I know there is power in what we say and what we do. And the only difference between me and you is that I am able to speak on behalf of Jesus Christ as His representative. Anything else I do is the same, because the Spirit has the same influence whether it comes through me or you or anyone else. It's the Lord's work, and His will. And I know that the more I am able to prepare myself and fill my cup, the more the Spirit will be able to access the things the investigator or members need to hear through me. And I love having that role and confidence.
This week, on my birthday in fact, Hna C and I went on divisions with the Hermana Lideres. I was very stressed about it because I didn't know if I was ready. I didn't feel as if I knew the area well enough to go off on my own in a different companionship. And I didn't know if I needed to be the one to lead the lessons or if she would help me....stresss. But, I cleansed my mind with the reminder that I am on the Lord's errand, and, with confidence in Him, I would not fail. I was very calm when the time came, and although we did get a little lost in my sector, we made it to an appointment with the above-said gentlemen. And guess what! I started and led about 70% of the discussion. Holy Smokes. What a blessing to know that, once again, if we open our mouths, they will be filled.
I love the scripture: "Neither take ye thought beforehand what ye shall say; but treasure up in your minds continually the words of life, and it shall be given you in the very hour that portion that shall be meted unto every man." I definitely treasure and delight the words of life, which is this word: the Word of God. And I feel it in my heart continually. So, knowing that, coupled with knowing that the Spirit makes all things possible, miracles and blessing like this are bound to happen.
I love the scripture: "Neither take ye thought beforehand what ye shall say; but treasure up in your minds continually the words of life, and it shall be given you in the very hour that portion that shall be meted unto every man." I definitely treasure and delight the words of life, which is this word: the Word of God. And I feel it in my heart continually. So, knowing that, coupled with knowing that the Spirit makes all things possible, miracles and blessing like this are bound to happen.
And I am so grateful that, though nerve-racking, I was able to experience that! Since then, I have been more confident in speaking in whatever instance, with whomever. People at the store? No biggie. Asking for something? Sure. Conversing with my companion? A cinch. heheh Telling stories is still somewhat of a feat, but it's getting there heheh.
The morning of my birthday, I woke up swimming in a pool of balloons on my bed. They had attributes written on them that Hna C said that I possessed. We went to "N M's" house to eat torta and get my head smashed in cake. Then we had a mini zone conference where myself and another Sister got our heads smashed in cake (again). And for lunch, we had delicious lasagna that a less active family made. Lasagna is a rare treat here, and they didn't even know it was my birthday! It was a very special and lovely day, filled with little surprises. Hermana C was very sneaky doing a lot of these little things for me :)
We spend a lot of time in the M-family home. N is the 18 year old who is recently reactivating in the church....and thank goodness for that! We see her pretty much every day, helping us with the investigators. And her boyfriend, C, is also so involved with the missionary work here that I am awestruck. He is the motivational speaker who makes me want to go out and conquer the world after having a little bit of training from him.
Also in the M home, Mother M. She is very rough and hardened, but is starting to open up to the missionaries. She painted my nails yesterday. That's cool. She is very blunt. She knows so much about the church, and little by little is beginning to trust us. By a miraculous turn of events, she (of her own volition) has invited (aka demanded) that we eat lunch at her house every Sunday from now on. Wow. By small and simple things, eh.
Also in the M home, Mother M. She is very rough and hardened, but is starting to open up to the missionaries. She painted my nails yesterday. That's cool. She is very blunt. She knows so much about the church, and little by little is beginning to trust us. By a miraculous turn of events, she (of her own volition) has invited (aka demanded) that we eat lunch at her house every Sunday from now on. Wow. By small and simple things, eh.
She calls me Hermana Ferr. Because Fernelius, like Ash said, is always a feat to be able to say correctly here. Most people don't even try hahah. They all think it's Italian too, which is weird. But I correct them, because I love my last name and the origin behind it.
Mother M keeps teasing me. She told me she was going to make cuy (guinea pig) for lunch yesterday. When I arrived, I was pleased to find their hamster still in the box and alive. Because the thought did cross my mind....anyway. The hamster was still alive. I played with him.
Their daughter, H, is 5ish and a wild child! She is so dang cute though. She calls me all sorts of things. It started with "Hermana Franchangcha", then "Hermana Frankenstein", and now she switches between "Hermana Ferr" and "Hermana Sophie." None of us have any idea where she got "Sophie" from hahaha. Wild child, I swear. But she is definitely my friend.
Mother M keeps teasing me. She told me she was going to make cuy (guinea pig) for lunch yesterday. When I arrived, I was pleased to find their hamster still in the box and alive. Because the thought did cross my mind....anyway. The hamster was still alive. I played with him.
Their daughter, H, is 5ish and a wild child! She is so dang cute though. She calls me all sorts of things. It started with "Hermana Franchangcha", then "Hermana Frankenstein", and now she switches between "Hermana Ferr" and "Hermana Sophie." None of us have any idea where she got "Sophie" from hahaha. Wild child, I swear. But she is definitely my friend.
This week we also started something called "Fe de febrero" which brings "milagros de marzo". It's like a competition between all 10 zones in this mission. Each companionship needs to select something to sacrifice to demonstrate our faith and give room for opportunities and miracles. Hna C and I decided to set our goal to wake up at 5:30 every morning. Crazzzzy, yes I know. Because every night my eyes are purple from tiredness. But I believe in miracles. And I love a good challenge. Our week is as follows for the next two months:
Sunday - 5:30am - read Preach my Gospel and the Book of Mormon
Monday - 5:30am - memorize the articles of faith (her in English and me in Spanish)
Tuesday - 5:30am - read a talk on missionary work
Wednesday - 5:30am - Sing and study a hymn from the hymnbook
Thursday - 5:30am - memorize "The Living Christ" (in Spanish of course. it's a challenge from the mission president for each of us to memorize El Cristo Viviente)
Friday - 5:30am - study a talk from the general conference
Saturday - 5:30am - write down and share spiritual experiences from the week and then go running at our regular exercise time of 6:30.
We are machineeees! At least, that's what our mission president told us today when we saw him in Quito Central -- at the mission office heheh. We usually go there for mail and materials on P-Days.
There are so many things I am still trying to observe and understand, so that eventually I can take more initiative and be a better missionary. The culture here is a little different. Time means very little. I don't like being late, but everything here runs on an inconsistent and unreliable clock. It has potential to be frustrating, be I don't let it get to that point. Because I know there's always something I can be doing to take advantage of the time. Whether it's trying to find new people on the streets to teach, pulling out reading material, building rapport with the people we are with....there's always some way to make up for seemingly lost time. And I am grateful Heavenly Father is mindful of that - the cultural barriers hehe.
Another thing, remember my cartoony drawings? Hna C can't get enough of them hahahah. We created a little calendar to keep track of the week's events, and I drew little characters on the special days (birthdays and such). I drew one picture of Hna C smashing N's face in a torta, much like she did to me on my birthday. And a picture of C with his hands in his face saying "Hiiijole!" and "Noooo puess!" in his little voice. He says those two expressions quite often and we make fun of him for it heheh.
Me and my companion have so much fun together. She told me something that stuck with me. As I was showing them pictures of Ashley on my camera from the MTC, she commented that my smiles in the pictures looked 'familiar' to her. Hna C has a special gift much like Mom as far as dreams and feeling things goes. She explained later that it wasn't because I looked like someone she knew, but because she knew it was divinely directed. It was a special tender mercy to me to be able to once again see the Lord in the details of my life, confirming then again that I am in the right place, doing what He needs of me at this time in my life. What a comfort and a blessing! Also, I haven't mentioned this yet, but I got the weirdest deja vu feeling when I moved into our house. It all seemed so familiar. Creeeepy :P. No mentira. It was very reassuring, actually.
This week I have three days worth of training with the rest of my group who are coming from the Mexico MTC. So, that means I'll get to know them and the rules of the mission a little bit better. I came at an odd time in between transfers, so I finally get that training with the rest of my group. Just to think -- I would JUST NOW be arriving from the MTC. Whoooosh. I am so glad that the sequence of events that allowed me these three extra weeks in Ecuador happened when it did. What a blessing.
So this week should be different...and fun.
Love you all! Take care of yourselves!
Thank you for all that you do and are. I wouldn't be me without you.
Love, Hermana Ferrr
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