March 5, 2012

photo explanations: (they were all from the two-ward activity we had on friday. it was a talent show, then tour of the chapel, wrapped up with a dessert contest. it was a HUGE success! except for the fact that we forgot to buy spoons or bowls, so we had to run out to a party store in the middle of the talent show to buy them so people would be able to actually EAT the postres (desserts)...haha sometimes the details slip through the cracks...)

sergio! we had a ward activity this week, and sergio came because he was leaving for college the next day and wanted to be able to say goodbye! it was SO nice to be able to see him and spend a little time with him activity, but SUPER sad when we finally had to say goodbye, not knowing if we´ll ever see him again...not the  funnest. but, overall i´m really happy that we got to know him in the first place, and the fact that he and hermana miller and i were able to become like family in such a short time, because we were always sharing about the gospel, the closest thing to our hearts.

denisse, one of the less-active recent converts that we´ve been visiting and helping to get back to church

me and a bunch of chileans...haha ok so technically my companion is gringa, but it really does look like a pic of me with all of my chilean friends! i love it.

a photo of the stage-to get a better idea of what the talent part looked like

the postres. yum. the elders made waffles with manjar (kind of a thick, caramel-like sauce that people always put on bread and things) and they were super popular cause people here never have waffles cause the machine is expensive. it was so funny because there were a ton of people there who had never had waffles before! and they say it like"wafflays" they´re so great haha (the waffles and the chileans!)

you guys, i´m such a missionary. every p-day i´m reminded how much i live and breath the gospel, because we take a break from our normal study/teaching schedule during the day to be able to take care of ourselves a little bit and prepare ourselves to work the rest of the week. but this means that i have one day a week to feel a little bit more like a "normal" person, and it´s so weird! i find that i´d be much more comfortable knocking on random people´s doors and pretty much inviting myself in to be able to teach them about christ. i can´t stop thinking about my investigators and how much i want to share with them the things i´m learning from the scriptures as i´ve studied for them. it´s not like the purpose of pday is to ignore your regular responsibilities, i just mean that having a different schedule that involves taking care of ME for a few hours has been more of an adjustment than i would have anticipated, because i just want to get out there and SERVE god´s children! man, being a missionary is so great.

other than the ward activity, nothing too exciting happened this week. we did travel up to concepcion for return and report with the mission president, which meant spending the night with 4 other hermanas the night before to be able to make it to the meeting on time in the morning, but the trip overall went really quick because the meeting itself was so short. it was nice to see president, as always, and i also got to see one of the elders from my district who is also in training further north in the mission. it was very reassuring to see a familiar face, and to know that things are going well for him in his sector.

i´m out of time for updates on daily life, but i did want to share with you something i learned this week. i was reading in the liahona from february, and i came across the talk "tender mercies of the lord" by elder bednar. IT IS SO GREAT! here´s a summary of the scriptures/quotes that stood out the most to me:
-juan 14:18, 21
"i will not leave you comfortless: i will come to you" - in the spanish translation, the word "comfortless" says  instead "orphaned" which i actually like better because it reminds us of our relationship with the father, that he is our parent and will never leave us
"he that loveth me shall be loved of my father, and i will love him, and will manifest myself unto him"
-elder bednar "one of the ways whereby the savior comes to each of s is through his abundant and tender mercies"
-salmos 145:9
"the lord is good to all, and his tender mercies are over all his works"
-elder bednar "tender mercies are the very personal and individual blessings, strength, protection, assurance, guidance, loving-kindness, consolation, support, and gifts which we receive from and because of and through the lord jesus christ. truly, the lord suits his mercies according to the conditions of the children of men"
-back to juan 14:21
"he that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me."
-doctrine and covenants 11:20
"behold, this is your work, to keep my commandments, yea, with all  your might, mind, and strength."
-elder bednar "the father´s work is to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of his children (moses 1:39). our 2work is to keep his commandments with all of our heart, mind, and strength- and we thereby become chosen and, through the holy ghost, receive and recognize the tender mercies of the lord in our daily lives. may our hearts always be filled with the gratitude for his abundant and tender mercies."
-i love tender mercies! i can see that the lord has such a powerful influence in my life right now, and that he has his hand in everything i do. even in the moments when he is stretching and pulling me to help me change for the better, he´s always there, loving me unconditionally

out of time! love you all mucho mucho. so be good so we can all live in heaven together! haha i told you i´m totally a missionary...

-hermana wright