FAMILY!!!
Okay, well, Mother
Nature has been a little bi-polar this week!
It got so COLD - out of nowhere!!
Last week it got up over 100 and this week it got down to 50... easy! It
was so cold and wet and super rainy.
Like cold to the bone status... but, have no fear because moms hand
warmers are here! Yes, we blew through those guys! They were a little tender mercy! Haha! Between the hand warmers and the Holy Spirit
– we stayed warm enough!! :) The sun came back out today though... and I know
summer and those hot 120 degree days are just around the corner... WAHOOO!! :P
(Invites to the Church Open House from this week)
Hna Ashby and I
made the goal to talk to every house and every person in our area. So we organized a way to go about it and we
went to work with our goal in mind, and I really believe that we are seeing
fruits of that labor!! One morning in
particular, we went out and hit the pavement and NOBODY was receiving us -- we
would talk, look for ways to serve, and invite them to church or to learn more
and we just got rejected. yeah, like seriously R-E-J-E-C-T-E-D. But, we still had half an hour before lunch,
so we kept working that street and the very last house we knocked was a young
17 year old girl named Cintia. Before we
even had a chance to say Hi she invited us right in!! :) And as we began to
talk with her, sure enough, like 4 years ago the missionaries visited her and
she loved the lessons!! She was
attending church, she had even gone to many baptisms and has many member
friends. She wanted to continue
learning, but when the Elders were transferred out, somehow the new ones missed
her and no one ever went back to find her.
So we get to follow up there!! :D
One day this
week, when it was just POURING down rain, we visited Hna Fernandez, she was a
less active member 4 months ago... but now she burns with a firery
testimony even when her family situation is NOT ideal. This was one of those
visits where we set out to teach, but learned so much!! Her house is humble, so very humble... her
sons are destroyed by drugs and bad influences, she slaves away everyday
looking for ways to make enough money to keep up the medical treatment her
little granddaughter who is in Asuncion fighting cancer... nevertheless.... she
walks forward with a perfect faith in Christ, and such a strong love for
Him. When we went to visit her, the rain
was coming down hard, and it was just pouring in through her roof -- our chairs
sat in pools of water and a constant drizzle of rain was falling everywhere and
getting us all wet. I just don’t even
have words to describe HOW very humble her circumstances are. We felt impressed
that day to talk about the Holy Ghost, his purpose and how we can better
recognize his influence in our day-to-day lives... and as we taught the Spirit
became so very strong and Hna Fernandez
began recounting experiences she has had, both big and small, where she felt
the influence of the Holy Ghost. The Spirit came into that room so quickly -
the next thing you know, that cold wet house, puddle soaked chairs, dripping
wet clothes... all of that just went away. It didn’t matter that her
circumstances were humble, in regards to temporal things... because she knew
that she had an abundance of spiritual blessings and that was enough. She does not complain. I don’t even know how to express with words
all that she taught me in that 30 minute visit.
But I know we learned a lot about the importance of gratitude, real
blessings, and recognizing the Lords hand in all things as we visited Hna
Fernandez. She’s such a gift.
I know, with all
certainty, that the Holy Ghost is such a blessing and that his companionship is
all we could ever want for. He is a gift
from the Father to comfort, teach and testify to all of the His children, o
sea, to us!! :) I know that as we are baptized into the Lords church we receive
his constant companionship and that as we continue living worthy of his
companionship, we can feel more and more of that special influence in our
lives. I know that the Spirit touches
all of us in special, personal ways. :) It’s my prayer that we may always try
and recognize those prompting for what they really are, in the moment they come. :)
I love you all
so much and my time is just about up... so, I have to wrap up. But I hope that this week is the best week and
I hope that you all have many opportunities to make someone smile!! :)
XOXOXOXOX
Hermana Fardos
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