Hi Everyone!!
I'M SORRY! I’m really dying to get some photos your way. Maybe I'll save them all onto a USB drive and just mail that or
something, because I am not having any luck sending them in the Ciber... but
Mom, I LOVE YOUUUU!! :) (Lauren's camera cable was stolen a couple of months ago and the replacement cable we shipped almost 2 months ago hasn't arrived yet...)
Happy Birthday
Abu!!!! I asked my Dad to give you a 30
second hug... not 28 and not 29 seconds – 30 full seconds!! I love that grandmother of mine!
The sun is
coming out and my watch tan line is about to become forever embedded on my
wrist, impossible to correct after the mission! :) Ha!! Our investigators are
progressing! They all came to church on
Sunday and Hna Ashby and I are enjoying the blessings that are coming through
obedience and hard work! :) This week the Lord showed me many areas where I can
and need to improve -- and I went to do divisions in Loma Pyta, San Jorge and
Santani. I spent time with Hna Mera, Hna May, and Hna Douglas :)
YESSSS, I got to
work with Hna Mera again, and it was so lovely. And we had a very special
moment with one of her investigators and it really taught me the importance of
testifying and sharing the gospel without fear, just trusting 100 percent in
the Lords promise that whom he calls, he qualifies. We taught her investigator,
R (a thirty-five-ish guy, who suffers a delay in speech due to a bad motorcycle
accident a few years back). R, lives
with his Mom and when we arrived, we saw his mother and of course we immediately
invited her to pull up a seat and join with us. She hadn’t been part of their
previous discussions, but she accepted. We started with a prayer, I prayed that
the Lord would help prepare R for his baptism on the first Saturday of November
and when we finished... his Mother came unglued... "OH. So you want to
baptize my son?" well, yes... was our response and all she said was
"NO. He is Catholic and I am Catholic, we have always been and always
will. We will never consider changing it. You can leave if that is your
goal".... Woah. It was a pretty hard and bold response and we could have
just said okay and left. But the Spirit
was telling us to stay... I wasn’t sure what we were supposed to say... but I
knew we had to stay... so we did. And as
soon as we went to open our mouth -- the words that we were supposed to say
came out. The Lord opened our mouths and understanding and we were able to
share a very special message, testifying of the truthfulness of the gospel and
testifying of the way of the Lord. At
the end, she was quiet. She was thinking
and she decided that we could indeed come back the following day to teach her
about the restored gospel and the authority of God. She gave permission for her son to be baptized
and told us she would pray to know what the Lord desires for her. Hna Mera and I left just so grateful and amazed
at what had just happened. The Lord loosened our tongues and helped us convey His
message through the power of the Spirit. If we had focused more on the
intimidation we felt initially, we would have lost one amazing investigator.
But by following the promptings of the Spirit, we were able to keep one and maybe
even find another in the process! :) The Lord is perfect!! :)
Hna May and Hna
Douglas are fabulous hermanas! Hna May
taught me a lot about the importance of always having a smile on our faces and
looking for the blessings in our trials. :) Hna Douglas taught me a lot about the
importance of hard work and never complaining. These two hermanas are so lovely
and have so much to offer to this work. I am so glad they came to Paraguay!! :)
I love this work
and it continues to amaze me just how wonderful all these missionaries are. It
continues to amaze me how the Lord is preparing the hearts of his children. It
continues to amaze me the strength that comes through personal prayer. It
continues to amaze me just how imperfect I am, but even more I am amazed with
just how perfect our Heavenly Fathers plan is!! :)
I love you guys!
:) More than you know! Have a fantastic week, keep on keeping on! And don’t
forget to make someone smile today!! :)
Until next Monday!
Hermana Fardos
Photo credits to our treasured friend, Andreia Ferreira!
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