Hello hello :) Wow, always
so much to say and so little time. First off, WOW. Devin is a
missionary! In Uruguay! Just hearing him talk about everything just
made me realize again how different every mission is! There are
different challenges in every place of the world. I am so happy for Dev
to be there and to be a missionary! How incredible, he was able to
baptize and confirm Maria on his first Saturday there! That is so
exciting!
Also, Congrats to Rudy! Long Beach
California!!!!!!!!! That is SO wonderful :) I am so happy for him. He
will be a wonderful missionary!
So, this
week...I told you about Maria Louisa last week right? We actually
haven´t been able to meet with her since that last time. She has not
been doing very well, we´ve talked with her twice now and both times she
has been very depressed and down. The first time we called her after,
she answered and was crying hysterically on the phone but then hung up
quickly afterwards. We´ve stopped by several times and called. One
time when we called her, her brother answered and had her phone. He
told us that she has gone into a deep depression and that he doesn´t
know what is wrong exactly. We have been praying that she will be ok. I
know that the Lord is helping her heal through alot, emotionally and
spiritually. I just hope that we can meet with her at least one more
time before I leave from here. We have been thinking about her alot.
We
still haven´t been able to meet with Antonia. Her husband is a sailor
and has just come home from being out for 6 months. So, he´s staying
home for another 6 months. He hasn´t been supportive from the beginning
and so it´s been difficult to meet with her. She has just been wanting
to be nice and has told us several times that she just doesn´t have
time anymore. She´s started working and is taking some classes, so she
has had a different schedule for the past 2 weeks. We were REALLY
hopeful for them, but I don´t think they are going to be progressing for
awhile, unfortunately.
But, we have
Isabel!!!!!!!! Isabel is from Gijón. Hermana Endicott and I met her.
She came to Nelly´s baptism in the beginning, and she also came to a
General Women´s Conference for women in Europe. And this last Sunday
SHE CAME TO CHURCH AND STAYED ALL THREE HOURS!!!!!!!!!!! It was a big
deal :) She is this super cute and funny lady who loves music, loves
her cats at home, and just loves keeping busy. She would often
volunteer at the Red Cross when she didn´t have music classes. When
Hermana Endicott and I had contacted her, she wasn´t interested ONE bit
in what we had to say, but we had invited her to come to the baptism to
listen to our musical number! And she came and she loved it! We had
been meeting with her off and on since then, but this last week, we
brought Eva with us (the recent convert from Paraguay that has been
helping us so much in lessons) and Isabel was really listening. I don´t
know exactly what happened, but I know that her heart was touched. We
testified of the reality of prophets, that God ALWAYS calls prophets to
guide us, that the Book of Mormon was written by prophets in the
Americas. We talked about how she could know all of this for herself.
That we weren´t going to try and convince her but that we have
personally felt the Spirit testify truth to our hearts, that we know
that this book WAS written by prophets called of God and that it was
brought forth and translated by Joseph Smith. After alot of talking and
listening, we asked her if she knew that what we were saying was true
for herself, if she would be baptized. It was really quiet for a while,
but she said yes! We read parts of Joseph Smith History with her to
read about Joseph´s experience in his words. That really helped her and
gave her a new perspective on Joseph Smith. She doesn´t want to commit
to a date to be baptized, but when she came to church on Sunday, she
was intently listening and had alot of questions. I know that she has
felt the Spirit. She doesn´t know that she has felt the Spirit, she
might not identify it as the Spirit, but I know that the Spirit has
spoken truth to her heart and she wants to feel it more. She is a very
thoughtful, kind and super cute old lady and I love her! I feel
privileged to be apart of this process of learning with her.
I´ve been thinking
ALOT about a talk that I heard a couple of weeks ago in a Zone
meeting. It was a talk given by President Uchtdorf at a Seminar for New
Mission Presidents in Europe given in June of this year. He talked
Christ, how because Christ was resurrected he overcome physical death
for us! He appeared to his apostles after being resurrected. I wish I
could just send you a copy of this talk. It has changed my life! I am
going to quote him here:
"Because of Christ´s
sinless life and through the profound miracle of the Atonement, He
created a way for us to be purified and glorious....a way for us to
return to our Heavenly Father and to receive eternal life. BUT, it is
also interesting what else happened as a result of His rising from the
tomb. This act of love transformed a band of frightened, worried
disciples into a dynamic group of fearless missionaries who changed the
world. The events of that day have the potential and power to do the
same for EVERY servant of the Lord, for every missionary, for every one
of you who is proclaiming and teaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ.....
the disciples huddled together afraid, perhaps in disbelief that their
Master was really dead. I can imagine them looking into each other´s
eyes and feeling confusion, anger, and - perhaps most of all - a
profound and consuming grief.....(can you imagine all of the feelings
that Christ´s apostles and disciples felt...I can´t)....That first East
Sunday morning, it seemed like the universe was heaping one sorrow after
another on that little band of disciples who had loved Jesus so
deeply."
Then, we know what happened....President Uchtdorf
continues to tell the story of how he appeared to Mary Magdalene and his
apostles after his resurrection. He continues to say,
"It
is remarkable to me how things changed after that day. Before His
death, Jesus´s disciples were mostly in the role of witnesses and
followers. They observed and learned and they witnessed the Savior´s
acts and teachings. BUT, everything changed for them after Christ rose
from the tomb. the great senior Apostle, Peter, is of particular
interest to me. Here was a man who was no stranger to adversity....he
was a man´s man. How often had he steadied the rudder of his small
fishing vessel during a threatening storm? How often had he bartered
with shrewd merchants for the price of his fish? And yet, WHAT do we
see in this "rock" of a man prior to the Resurrection? Among other
things, we see FEAR!"
Hearing President
Uchtdorf tell this story just made Peter and all of his disciples more
real to me. They were REAL people, with REAL fears like we all have!
And yet they SAW Christ and followed him and learned from the SAvior
himself....and they were STILL afraid! How many times have I feared in
life when I have felt something to be true.
Fear
even over took Peter as Christ was being judged by Pilate. "Fear
overtook him at that criticial moment....and Peter denied that he knew
Christ saying, I know not this man of whom ye speak. (Mark 14:71) Peter
later wept and agonized over that betrayal. With a broken heart, he
pleaded with God for forgiveness. How could he have been so weak? How
could he have allowed fear to make him deny the man whom he knew was
"the Christ, the Son of the living God? But from the moment that Peter
saw the risen Christ, he was transformed. He was a different man.
Along with James and John, he was a true leader. No longer was he
afraid. From that moment on he boldly testified that "this Jesus hath
God raided up, wherefor we all are witnesses." (Acts 2:32)
Peter fearlessly spoke in public places...even the temple itself. But
any TRACE of the old, fearful Peter had by now disappeared in the
magnificent refiner´s fire of that Easter morning. Peter bravely
confronted those who condemed him....the very men who had slaid His
Lord...with miracles performed in the named of the Lord.
Elder
Uchtdorft then said....Now I ask the question: What does this have to
do this your sacred callings to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ? It
has EVERYTHING to do with you. This is the core of your calling. Each
day you put on your nametag, your badge of honor, you declare to the
world that you are disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. Like Peter, you
have taken upon yourselves the name of the Lord and the great
responsibility to spread the happy and glorious news of the Gospel of
Jesus Christ. Consider the example of the Apostle Peter, who overcame
his fears and became a courageous missionary and leader of the Church.
As Christ inspired Peter, John and all disciples who followed Him, He
will lift up and inspire you. If you dedicate your work and will to Him
and put your worries and fears in His hands, He will make you a great
witness and disciple of Him, of His Gospel and of His church."
Wow!
I know this is alot, but I just HAD to share it all with you :) I
loved it and it gave me courage to learn from the example of Peter, how
he overcame all fear to serve the Lord.
I
love you all, I hope you have the best week ever! Devin I sure hope
this helps you too!!!!!!! I love you guys! I´m not really proofreading
this so forgive all the spelling errors :)
Hermana Carroll
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