September 10, 2012

CAMBIOS!!!

during interviews with president this week, he told me my changes early. i literally sad down, he said "how are you" then told me my cambio.....i´m going to pitrufquen! not that that means a whole lot to you, but still.  it´s a really small town a lot like my first sector (victoria), and it´s actually where my mom, hermana miller, started her mission right before she became my companion. the sector is only about 45 minutes south of where i am now in temuco, so it´s pretty likely that i´ll be back here every once in a while for p-day activities, cuase from what i´ve heard there´s not a whole lot to do down there in the boonies of chile...we´ll have to get creative. my new companion will be hna delcastillo, from peru! i´m excited to have another latina companion, and to hopefully tune up my spanish a bit. i´m excited! also, hna nelson´s new companion will be hermana miller! i´m SUPER happy about that because i know they´re giong to work SO well together, and that hnas nelson and miller will take VERY good care of the sector and our recent converts whom i love love love! i feel very at peace in leaving the area knowing that they´ll be here. another way i can see god´s love for me. so weird to think that after 6 months here, i´ll be leaving  at 9 tomorrow, and i have no idea when i´ll be back! crazy!

 

the week:

• tuesday
• one of our investigators, nicolas, who´s 34 and a very accomplished lawyer, got all excited because he can feel that god is answering his prayers by giving him much success, and helping him uncover some very interesting hidden talents. for example, during the lesson, he insisted on showing us that all of a sudden he could play pet-shop boys on his keyboard (yes, he played us a song), and that he can do a handstand push-up (also demonstrated right there in the room during the lesson!) it was SOOOO funny. i really had to bite my tongue not to laugh too much with that one. just another testimony to me that god answers the prayers of his children in a way that they can understand. nicolas now is 100% willing to come to church and be baptized, because he can see that god is trying to tell him something, and he wants to follow him.
• wednesday
• today we had interviews with president, which was especially uplifting because he shared his gratitude for having me in the mission, and that he trusts me to take care of my new sector. i feel very grateful to have done something to deserve his confidence, just by working hard and being obedient with all i´ve got. 
• thursday
• paulo accompanied us for a few hours to visit some investigators, and it was so much fun! i love that he is so comfortable sharing his testimony and experiences of conversion with others, and that he is so focused on helping others recieve the same gospel that´s brought him so much joy in these few short weeks. he also shared with us one of his favorite scriptures that teaches that every trial that we go through is for our own learning and experience, and only makes us stronger (doctrine and covenants 122:7)
• we had a family home evening with a less-active family, inviting two neighboring active families to join us. we had a really powerful lesson about temples, and showed a slide-show of fotos to music that invited the spirit so strong. half-way through the lesson, the 12-year old son asked, "what do i have to do to be able to go to the temple?" we talked about the importance of going to church, paying tithing, and receiving the priesthood, and he committed to do everything it takes to be worthy to go on the ward trip in november! his mom was also very motivated, and wants to take the whole family on the trip. i was so happy on sunday to see the mom with her 2 sons at church this week, putting into practice what they´d learned and felt. this experience helped me see the power of focusing on the eternal perspective, and WHY we keep the commandments every day - to have eternal life with our families through the ordinances and covenants of the temple! very memorable lesson for me.
• saturday
• we had my last lesson with yasna today, and it was AMAZING to see the changes in her since she got baptized last week! she´s been studying in her scriptures every day, and even studied in her gospel principles book, highlighting it and taking notes and everything. she said she´s felt such a difference as she´s taken the time to really study and pray, and that she just feels hungryfor more every time she does it. at one point in the lesson i held up the bible and the book of mormon, to show that they go hand-in.hand, when she said, "i think those two books right there hold all the secrets to true happiness..." WOW! that really hit me, because it´s so true! what a blessing to have the scriptures in our lives.
• sunday 
• sunday was a beautiful day, but also difficult because of all of the goodbyes. one thing that was really special was that yasna bore her testimony for the first time, and shared gratitude for all of the love and support she´s received during the process of her conversion, and that she´s just HAPPY to be a member of this church and feel the love of her heavenly father through those around her. 
• one of the most memorable experiences of the day was when the bishop took hna nelson and i aside to be able to say goodbye, and he said that he wanted to thank me for the love i showed to others. he said that i have the gift of love, and that it impacts all of my interactions with my companions, with the ward, and with my investigators. he thanked me for my dedication and for doing my part to show the  love of god, and for being such an asset to his ward. he looked me in the eyes, shook my hand, and thanked me, and i really felt it! that moment was so precious to me. i feel so blessed to have left a positive impression with the bishop, and that through simply doing my best to be a good missionary, i was able to transmit the love that heavenly father has for these people. now on to the next sector! 

so that´s the summary of the week! today hna nelson and i are going to do a little last-minute shopping, and we have the goal to eat some mexican food that we´ve been coveting for the past 12 weeks! we´ll see how that goes.

much love and prayers - keep being GOOD!

hermana wright