Hello Family & Friends!
This week, Lima from Parnaiba came to visit Teresina with her family, and I was able to visit them. We taught her again and ugh, I love her so much, but whenever you leave an area there is always one or two people that you just want to stay there and teach until they get baptized. I have faith and pray every day that I will be able to see her and her family fully enjoy the blessings of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
This transfer has come to an end, but we don’t know who will stay or leave yet because we have a mission tour this Friday with the whole mission, and after that there will be transfers. It will be so fun! But all the sisters in the mission will stay in our house in Teresina, which means we have been deep cleaning and men have been doing repairs on our ratchet house here. My favorite part was when they fumigated to kill all the bugs! We got back to our house and found dead cockroaches all over the place! The men who do this for a living all the time were shocked! But they left it to us to clean them up … how lovely. The picture below was just of one room. When I was trying to take that picture some of the cockroaches resurrected and I freaked out and rammed my back into the iron fence behind me. I have two huge scratches from the top of my back all the way to my butt, which is why I can’t attach a picture, haha. And I thought I hated the bugs before … haha.
I am so grateful for my companions. Sister Fagundes has been such an example to me. She was a less active member until age 18, and then decided to go on a mission out of the blue. Her growth has been remarkable and she bears such a strong testimony during lessons. It has been funny because sometimes the other two sisters argue and decide not to talk, and I just sit there in the middle. I have to go get the other one from one room and sit them down in the middle and say "we aren't leaving this house until you guys talk, resolve and hug it out", haha. They usually hate me during this. It’s been funny because I asked them what the miracle of the transfer was and they joked and said to each other "the miracle is that we are both still living and that we didn’t kill each other". My patience and many other things have been tested during this transfer, but if I am asking Heavenly Father to help me develop Christ-like attributes, I can't be mad when He throws me an opportunity to put that quality into practice.
This transfer I have really tried to focus on being a consecrated missionary. Here in the mission field, I have gained such respect for missionaries, but have also seen all different types of missionaries. The difference tends to always be in their mindset, and their willingness to give their will up to the will of the Lord. I love this quote that is above my desk:
“The greatest battles that we will ever fight will be within the silent chambers of our heart. That is the battleground between what you want and what the Lords wants for you. If you surrender, the only way to win is to lose. Lose yourself in the Lord’s work and you will win beyond your wildest imaginations."
While I have been here, I have learned to do things that I don't want to do. The minute I am asked to do, or feel prompted to do, something that I don’t want to do, I always make myself do it. One famous swimmer was asked how he was successful and he said, "I kick when I don’t want to kick and stroke when I don't want to stroke." Recently, we said a prayer and left our house. We had to stop by the house later to pick something up and when we were leaving the house again, the Spirit told me to say a prayer again before we left. It’s a rule, but I didn’t want to and we were in a rush. Then I remembered that I need to do things that I don’t want to do. We said a prayer and walked out. We were met by a member, and he said "did you guys see the robber that just ran passed”? If we hadn’t stopped to say a prayer, we would have ran right into him.
I love the story of Job and was studying it this week. He was a very righteous and blessed man, but then everything was taken from him. My favorite part was when Heavenly Father placed a bet on him with the devil, and had total confidence in Job that whatever was thrown at him he would continue to do the will of the Lord and not lose faith. How cool is that. I want to have the Lord’s confidence in that way. I know that He has placed confidence in me here in Teresina and I won't disappoint. It’s a huge responsibility to help others, but I can’t convert others above my own conversion.
I know that my life’s greatest work is me. I am wholly responsible for what I do and more importantly who I become. Our lives are yet ahead of us. What will we do with it? What will we create and who will we become. The Lord doesn’t expect immediate perfection today, but he expects immediate progress today. I will strive to be more than just a faithful laborer in Christ’s work; I want to be a disciple of Jesus Christ.
Love you,
Sister Vance
No comments:
Post a Comment