All in the Tag: Week 10! "Is the Mood Ring Blue?"

From 3/31/14

Hi family! I don`t have much time to write today. As castigo (punishment) for not meeting our weekly goals, Hna C & I cut down on the time we would have to write today. Nooo! But more motivation to work hard this week.

Thank you for your beautiful emails. You all make me smile. Especially because I find it funny that the weeks I need the most spiritual umph are the weeks you all make me smile the biggest. Especially because Ashley`s email was so happy. It made me so happy too! haha

Well, we have 2 new Elders in our ward, making that 3 missionary companionships in one ward. The energy of the barrio is shifting a little at a time. One of these Elders is Elder K, gringo from Arizona. He has so much vibe and zeal in his work. He leads by example and gives us specific advice for how to help our investigators. He also gave my district a hearty challenge that we can`t count anyone as a new investigator UNLESS that person also has baptismal date. Ut Oh. That is motivation indeed for competitive Hna C and me. We challenged ourselves to bring 10 people to baptism for the month of April. And that, my friends, is very possible. There are so many people prepared. And when we set the standard high and work our part, the Lord introduces us to those people.

This weekend is General Conference, and you better believe Hna C and I are most excited to hear the prophets than anything else!! But, initially, I was looking forward to it as "a break" and chance to reinvigorate spiritually and physically. But what was I thinking?! This is the BIG CHANCE to invite EVERYONE WE KNOW!! So you`d better believe we are going to make hundreds of copies of invitations to invite pretty much every person we contact, and every family we see on the streets....everywhere. I am so excited to give them this opportunity to hear the prophet of the Lord. Only good things can come from this invitation! Only good.

We also had a very good Sunday yesterday, where every testimony was amazingly powerful and pure. The Spirit was very strong. And those kinds of testimonies really help me to feel at peace. And helps to realign my purpose and privilege to be on a mission.

I put on the mood ring Dad gave me years and years ago that says "princess" haha. And, silly as it sounds, it helps me to always keep my emotions in check. At times, I am stressed, and it turns a weird yellow-orange. This morning when I read from Tia Myriam, it turned purple...I think that means super excited and emocionante. And the goal is to always have it a deep, marble blue. That means content and happy. Hna C now asks to put it on every once in a while to see if she needs to change her thoughts or perspective in order to produce a deep blue as well. hahaha It`s really funny. But, it`s a small reminder that, no matter what, it`s important to be positive and happy. And this week, I feel a little too happy. I hope I don`t break the mood ring from all this good energy. hehe :P

To President:

"I am grateful to be a missionary here and grateful to serve the Lord. I am grateful for our studies that offer us vigor, renewed perspective, and light.

Saturday, 'A C' was baptized. He is 70 years old, and the father of the P family that was baptized the first week of March, grandfather of Cn and Ca (who were married then baptized), and husband of a long deceased member of the church. We are completing a family through the first covenant of the Gospel, baptism. It has been such a blessing to see a family slowly tie the strings together and enter the covenant of baptism and reception of the Holy Ghost a little at a time.

A C originally didn`t want to be baptized. He attended a Catholic church faithfully every week. And, his understanding of the lessons was poor because of his age. But, by the Lord`s miracle, he began attending church Sundays with his newly converting family. And although his entendimiento was poor, one thing he did understand: that he could be with his wife again one day. That was one concept he heard, understood, and grasped onto.

The night before he was baptized, he walked to all his family to announce his baptism the next day. He pulled out his tuxedo from dusty containers in his room, and dressed in his tux for his baptism Saturday. He is a quiet example of a man with sound understanding...not of the logic and technicalities of it all, but sound understanding in the voice of the Spirit when it testifies a pure truth to our heart. And the principle of having an eternal family is one of the purest truths of them all. Powerful enough to change a 70 year old, Catholic man`s life.

On the other hand, M was not baptized. The reason: because he vocally declared his loyalties to another church. Despite the fact that he said he felt the Spirit, he let logic and reason take precedence.

We witnessed examples of both ends this weekend. And because of it, we are witnesses that the pure, simple truths of the Gospel are the ones that change hearts. And the ones that the Spirit can testify of more powerfully than ever, as one voice with that of mine and Hna C's.

This month we have more desire than ever to find, teach, and invite people (specifically families) to baptism."