January 18, 2010 I have googly eyes
Hola!
Wow- today has been crazy! I woke up crying, thinking my favorite investigator, Amanda, was going to get deported to Guatamala...she got pulled over last night and was in jail over the night. Luckily she got released and just has to pay a fine and cant drive anymore. They didnt say anything about her being an illegal immigrant...thank goodness...so her wedding and baptism are on for this Saturday! We are planning it all and itll be great! We have been teaching Amanda’s fiance, Carlos, as well...he really likes the teachings- just needs more time. Ariana and Andrew have been loving their lessons and are way excited for their baptism Saturday.
We had a baptism Saturday night, Ruben was baptized. He is a great guy! He is thirteen and we have been teaching his mom and him. His mom didnt feel ready to get baptized...but he was really excited and felt prepared. After he was baptized, we asked him, “how do you feel?” and he said, “ the best I have ever felt!” That was so cool! His brother was recently baptized in California as well and they are really close. Like Jilly and me! We are working with a lot of investigators and are so blessed! Celia and her family are really loving church. I am so proud of our ward and how welcoming everyone has been to our investigators. The Spanish women have really united together and supported eachother along this journey! They tend to fight over us Hermanas, all wanting their individual time with us. It’s really funny. Hermana Florez, Baraza and the Briseno family have been great member presents. Hermana Baraza actually started teaching our Wednesday night classes and she is doing a great job! Her and her family have been less-active but we are trying to pave a way for them to make their way back! We are going to eat at their house this week, Im excited about that! We have been getting so many meals lately! The Florez family have us over twice a week, the Brisenos and ofcourse Amanda. Amanda had all the missionaries over and she taught me how to make Gorditos It was funny because she burnt the chili, and we are started coughing. Im going to me a great mexican cook when I come home! Bompy is excited for me to help with family dinners. :) Thatll be great!
Other news...Omar is doing pretty good. He is having some trouble accepting the Atonement in his life and forgiving himself of past things. We are trying to help him keep the Word of Wisdom. We cant believe how much he has changed already! Without us telling himhe cut his hair, took off his black nail polish and he took out his ear piercing...totally the Spirit directing him! Way cool. We are going to keep being there for him and supporting him. We might have the Elders give him a blessing to help him with his temptations of drugs and alcohol.
Last pday we totally went sledding! It was so much fun! I am growing a love for the snow. I will definately be hitting up tahoe! The weather here has totally warmed up. This week has been good. I know the Lord is involved in this work! I love when neat things happen that show me over and over that He is with us every step of the way. For example, we found a new investigator at Walmart so we go to her house to teach her, we wrote down the wrong apartment number but Esperanza and her family were ready to learn. Also last night we were tracting and knocked a door where a family really needed our message of the Plan of Salvation. It was the third anniversary of a mother’s son’s death. Our message that she can be sealed to him in the Temple for all Eternity really brought hope and love into her heart. I had a neat experiance sharing a scripture with Sister Brown. I shared with her, Matthew 10: 39 “ He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.” This scripture meant a lot to me when I read it during my scripture study because it describes my conversion. Before I found my relationship with Christ, my life was all about school, volleyball and my family, which are all very important things..But I was missing my purpose and what should be first in my life: God. I felt like something was missing and I wasnt completely happy. Once I discovered my purpose and my relationship with God through prayer that missing puzzle piece in my heart was filled and I was baptized. Since my baptism, my life has been about fulfilling the things Heavenly Father wants me to fulfill. He has a plan for each and everyone of us and we can know our purpose and receive direction in every choice we make through prayer. My discovery of prayer changed my life and grew me close to my Savior. I am so thankful for my conversion and for the restoration of the Church of Christ. I am thankful that as a child of God, I can receive his direction and follow it! Anyways, that scripture touched me and I wanted to share it with all of you! :) I love you all and hope to hear from you soon! Sioux City is great and Hermana McGuire is too! Funny story: I talked to the other Hermanas, Jordan and Reese in Des Moines who were with me in Sioux City before Hermana Mcguire came...they said that they are more lovey dovey with eachother now! Thats because they received a lot of hugs and love from me! Yeah! Spread the love. I broke Hermana Madsen out of her bubble and Im working on Hermana Mcguire. Hehe I love you Hermana Madsen if you are reading this! Adios!
Oh before I forget...we had a great time doing service this week. We go to the Floyd House, a place for old people...we have made close friends there...and we have tried to connect with themby playing cards and talking. Well, we found out this week that the way to connect with them is by playing Wii sports! I have never played Wii and I cant believe that they know how to play video games! We got it approved by President, so dont worry..but Im excited! Wahoo!
-Hermana Murphy
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