From 8/4/14
We were sitting in the ward council on Tuesday night. Bishop welcomed me in and we got started. Ward council was a little hectic...a lot of voice, lot of side chatter. Then bishop looked up at me.
¨Is your mother Silvia Fierro?¨ he asked. My eyes got a little wider, ¨Yes.¨
He proceeded to explain that he knew Mom in Ventanas. I asked if he knew Dad too...he responded that he did. It was so unexpected!!! It had to be my last name! Because at that point no one even knew that I was half Ecuadorian!
Then my companion and I ate lunch with his wife on Thursday and he called her to say that he would be home soon and for us to stay there until he arrived, jaja. He shared a little more about how he went to school with one of mom's older sisters and served his mission with one of mom's brothers. He also shared the story about how Mom helped to raise money for a group of young men to be able to go on their missions, and that he was one of those young men she helped to pay for his mission.
He seemed so orgulloso of the situation, and even shared in front of the ENTIRE sacrament meeting yesterday his testimony...saying, "I am very grateful Hna Fernelius is serving in this ward. When I was 18 and her mother was about 16, her mother helped me in the church when I was just starting to take baby steps as a new member..."
Then he looked in my direction and added, as if no one else in the sacrament room was listening, "Oh, your mom wrote back to me by the way..." jajaja
I felt so close to home when he said that. I thought of what Dad said on the phone conversation before my plane flight from the US to Ecuador....that he felt very strongly that I would meet someone or some people that he knew from his mission. Although my bishop isn't necessarily one of Dad`s converts or anything, I still feel like he is one of those people I would be able to get to know being able to serve here :)
So, I received my new companion on Thursday!!! Her name is Hna "L". She is from California and has Mexican heritage, so her understanding of Spanish is pretty good! And she speaks a lot better than a typical gringo fresh to Ecuador from Gringo-Land :)
It was kind of funny because, when I went to pick her up and have capacitaciòn that day, President mentioned several times that he REALLY prays to know about the companionships and transfers, and that he feels very strongly that the companionships are always inspired. It`s very true, I know it is too.
During the training, there were a couple occasions when President would say something like, "So when you receive your sons.....and daughter," or "Elderes....y hermana..." jajaja. It was only a process of elimination to know that she was going to be my companion, while all the elders looked around nervously, not knowing who their trainer or new companion would be.
Hna L reminds me a lot of Ashley. She has long, dark hair and brown eyes. She speaks a lot like Ashley in a sort of soft-spoken way. She has a very tender spirit, is very obedient, humble, and has desires to work hard and learn quickly. She makes my heart so happy. She`s the perfect companion for the adventures that await us:)
This week was very special. There were several times where my companion and I felt almost as if the Lord`s eyes were directly on us....like we had a lot of His attention....and we felt a lot of His love for us this week.
My sector is pretty big....and we got lost several times this week. There were a couple nights we were pretty much taking buses and/or walking down streets with a mere IDEA of where we were going and where we were TRYING to go.
On one of these nights, we were trying to get to a cita on a famous street....this street is very important because apparently it`s where we have most of our investigators and less active families we are teaching. It was late at night, and we decided to contact along the way. As we approached a rather quiet, lightless street, we saw our district leaders come up to us. They stopped us, asked where we were headed, and gave us directions and 50 cents to take the bus there so we wouldn`t have to walk through this seemingly dangerous passage.
When we finally got to our destination, it was too late to get to any of the planned citas on this famous, super long, and up-hill street. So we decided to head home, paying attention to how to get there. We walked down a street in the direction that seemed right, and just as we started to doubt our safety and direction again....a member I had met just a couple days before called our to us, walking with his girlfriend in the opposite direction! They pointed us in the right way to go.
Another night, we took the right bus heading home, but got off a stop or two too far in another direction. We got off the bus knowing it would take some walking to try to find our way back. Without saying a word, we stepped off the bus. But the bus driver didn`t budge.
Dad and Mom know, usually people have to leap on and off buses because the bus drivers stop and go so fast. I usually fear old men`s lives getting on and off those things. But this bus driver just stayed parked there watching us get off.
We were about to take off walking, but he called out to me, asking me where we were headed. I gave him a general idea. He and the coin-collecting lady said we were far from our destination and "equivocadas". They gave us advice to take a taxi and pointed out the area and direction we should take. Even as he commented to us, the entire bus chimed in and began giving directions and suggestions for us to get home. I commented to Hna L that this was all very unusual and how even the strangest people in the streets would eagerly take the time to give us advice and directions.
This bus-full of people reminded me a lot of that part of Finding Nemo when Dory asked the school of fish for directions and everyone began agreeing and commenting all at once.
This was all very unusual. None of my other sectors were like this...at all. I wanted to help Hna L understand how blessed we have been this week. There have been a couple times her eyes filled with tears in knowing how much the Lord has been blessing us and loves us.
One of these same nights we were on a quiet intersection and decided to take a taxi the rest of the way home. NO TAXIS ANYWHERE. We waited....Nothing.. We decided to pray. In her heart-felt prayers, she asked the Lord to help us get home. It sounds incredible, but just as we said "Amen" and opened our eyes, two empty taxis came driving our way from both directions. We just looked at each other with that look that says, "I can`t believe this...This is incredible...But I`m not surprised..." We know the Lord answers prayers. But it just amazes me at HOW CONSISTENTLY He has been doing so.
These things seem so little....but sometimes, when we pay enough attention to our needs and to our blessings...we see how close the Lord really has been to us all along.
I feel great in this sector. It`s weird how confident I feel in our ability to improve and do the Lord`s will. Our task seems a little intimidating at times, but the Lord has blessed us with a great ward and great sector. It is so fruitful and the members have been taking the initiative to set up and make visits with us. The members have been following through with their church callings! It is so relieving and gratifying to see, and causes us to be excited to be a part of it.
I got dejavu in my new house again. Our study room has a thin strip of wallpaper print of cars from the movie "Cars"...and I felt like I had been there before. Our house is also fairly large and luxurious. I feel so spoiled here.
Also, someone called me "Hna Forbich"...That`s a new one. jaja
Anyways, I love you all! The Lord is so mindful of us, I know it. He has really blessed us this week.
I love you all!! Have a great week!!
Hna Fernelius
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