first of all, HAPPY BIRTHDAY GAIL! i forgot that i only get to write once a week, and that if i wanted to wish you a happy birthday last wednesday, i would have had to do it the monday BEFORE, not after. sorry about that! but i want you to know that my companion and i celebrated it all the same! it just so happens that her brother was getting married on the 22nd also, so we bought a special treat and celebrated that night after planning! i hope you had as much fun on your birthday as we did!
on to news of this week. how to describe it...emotional maybe? i feel like such a girl saying that, but it´s true. the life of a missionary is filled with SO many emotions: excitement at the thought of someone getting baptized, discouragement and sorrow when they make the decision not to or don´t keep their commitments with the Lord to read the scriptures or attend church or pray, frustration with the language and with one´s own inability to help others understand the message of the gospel, hopeful with the knowledge that the Lord will always fulfill his promises to the faithful, preoccupied with thoughts of the welfare of those contacted in the streets or in their homes, joyful when an investigator prays to their Heavenly Father for the very first time, grateful when a 70 year old man starts tearing up during the film on the Restoration because he can feel the spirit testifying to him that it´s true, overwhelmed at the thought of trying to help an entire town/sector receive the gospel in their lives and be baptized so they can receive eternal life in the presence of God, peaceful knowing that anything is possible with the help of the Lord (Luke 1:27 - at least i think tha´ts the reference)
so there´s a little summary of some of my feelings this week. always something new! more than anything though, i´m feeling grateful. grateful that i´m here, that the Lord trusts me enough to have called me to this work, and that each day he is at my side, helping me feel his love as i help others know their Savior and come unto him. i know that he´s qualifying me just a little bit more every day to be a more loving, obedient, and effective missionary. the process is just a little rough...but i wouldn´t have it any other way.
some updates:
-we met with sergio again this week and he told us he doesn´t want to get baptized. he doesn´t agree with the commandments of "the church" (he doesn´t understand that they´re not from the church, they´re from GOD) and that he doesn´t want to be a member of any church; that he can accept christ in his heart and try to live his teachings that are found in the bible. we did EVERYTHING to help him understand our love for him, and that this is the plan has for him, but ultimately it came down to his own agency, and he chose to stand by his decision to not be baptized into the church. hna miller and i were totally devastated because we just have SO much love for him, and know that he has SUCH great potential, but we know that he will be baptized somewhere down the road. he is SO close, and someday he will recognize that this is gospel is what will help fill the hole/space (can´t figure out how to translate "vacio" into english...haha) that he feels in his life. we´re sad, but still full of hope that this wasn´t sergio´s last chance to be baptized, and that when he is presented with the opportunity down the road, he´ll accept it, and tell hna miller and i all about it :)
-i sang a solo at a baptism! the zone leaders were holding a baptism for someone in another district, and asked me if i´d be willing to sing a special musical number. oh man. it was terrifying. i stood there in a room full of chileans (my comp said she´s personally never seen so many people at a baptism of someone in such a small branch) and sang "i need thee every hour" in spanish, a cappella. so scary, but i´m really glad i was able to help them out. i really do love singing, but that was still hard! a good experience though.
-the photo attached is from our "fun friday" with hot cocoa and crackers and jam, all ready to watch some mormon messages! i´m still trying to wrap my head around the fact that this is how i spend my friday nights now, but i´m totally loving it! haha
what a promise! give yourself to the lord and you will be saved! there´s no time to talk about everything i learned and felt when i studied this, but most of all i just felt the need to give the lord my heart. this means my desires, my thoughts, my everything. turn over my will to the lord, so he can bless me with the experiences i´ll need to be the kind of disciple he needs me to be.
well, that´s all for this week. i love you. i think of you often and feel so blessed to have so much support from friends and family. you´re the greatest :) have a great week and remember to put the lord first!
hna wright
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