I
can't believe how quickly time is flying by! It's already August which is hard
for me to really comprehend. Things are going great here...no baptism for 8
people this week, but still good :)
Last
Tuesday was Sister Walker's birthday so we had a little celebration for her. We
made rice krispie treats and had these pizza breadstick things and we got her a
card and I bought her a bag of cherries. Might seem like a lame/weird gift, but
it was thoughtful :) The past couple of weeks that we've gone to the grocery
store, she has debated back and forth whether or not to get them, so I figured
I would get them for her. She liked them :) Plus, I'm hoping our efforts to
make sure she has a good birthday will mean that my future companions and
roommates will make my birthday good here! I only have one in the field and
when it comes I'll be just one month shy of my year mark. Insane!
We
got to go to the Mesa Temple on Wednesday morning and do a session. It was so
good and made up for the fact that we had to wake up at 5:45 (6:30 is
early enough!!!) in order to go to the 7:30 session. Also, it was really cool
because it was the new video! I'm so glad that we got to see it so quickly
after it came out. Definitely a change, but a good one :) You and Dad should go
do a session, if you haven't already, to see it.
The
package you sent came on Thursday. Thank you so much!!!!!! The GPS has
seriously been a lifesaver and so so so helpful. Also, thank you for the new
shirt (I've already worn it) and the yummy mangos (I'm trying to ration those
out) and the plethora of LUNA bars (they should last me a while). Thank you for
sending the most of my favorite kind because you have to buy them bar by bar at
WalMart and that gets pretty expensive! Thank you also for the post card :)
Definitely a change of scenery and it looks beautiful. It made me miss the
ocean! We'll have to take a trip to Hawaii or something when I get home ;)
Our recent
converts (the family of 6) just bought a house and moved closer to the
church building. We went over to help them move stuff in, but there actually
wasn't very much to do. They found, bought, and moved into the house in about
2-3 days. Crazy! Our dinner had cancelled that day and luckily they
had ordered pizza and they fed us. The pepperoni ran out so I had
to eat the kind with Jalapenos all over it. It was actually
quite tasty. They were impressed that I liked it and that I was able to
handle the spice ... haha ... they called me Mexicana :) It's a good
thing I inherited Dad's tolerance for spicy food :)
We
had dinner with the Relief Society President and she told us about her
conversion story. It was so awesome! It happened when she was young and
still living in Mexico. Her mom had a dream where she was lost and
then she saw the Savior. He pointed to two young men holding a blue book and
told her to follow them. They read a scripture to her. She woke up
and wanted to find that scripture. She re-read the entire bible, but it
wasn't there! Three years later, her husband's friend sent the missionaries
over to their house. She asked them if they knew the scripture and they
did so they read it with her. It was 1 Nephi 3:7. The mom,dad, the lady in
our ward, and all 7 of her siblings were baptized. So cool!!!! Working with
families really is the best :) Speaking of....
So
our recent converts Erica and Adriana are sisters and they come from a family
of 10 kids. One of their other sisters was baptized a little over a year
ago and we are currently trying to work with them and the parents of
all of them. Their youngest brother is named Francisco and we are currently
teaching him. He is the best. His best friend in high school is a member
and just left on his mission not too long ago. From that friend, he has
talked to the missionaries before, but it didn't end up going anywhere. A week
or two ago, we were giving the last lesson to Erica and Gissel and he said he
wanted to join on the next lesson. That was their last one, but we told him we
could still come back and teach him (of course!). The first lesson went so
great. His girlfriend, who is also a member, was there and shared
her testimony. He talked about having goosebumps and a funny feeling
in his stomach and we talked about that being the Spirit testifying to him that
this is true! We had another with him last night and it went really well
too! He told us that he doesn't know if the last missionaries just
didn't explain things to him correctly, but things make sense to him know and
he is understanding. We extended the date of August 17th to be baptized.
He said yes and then asked to pray about it. We said of course. We closed with
a kneeling prayer and he offered it. It was so great! A really strong prayer
:) He has talked about wanting to go on a mission too which
would just be so cool! He is so prepared and ready and he asked us to pray that
he could receive and answer about the 17th, we told him that we could
definitely do that :) It will be a great day when he is baptized.
Also, his brother-in-law Jesus and his cousin Abraham (who just got baptized
on the 27th) were sustained in church yesterday to receive the Aaronic
Priesthood. Yay!!! I love this work :)
Things
are going great here and I am really enjoying it. Time just goes by faster
and faster each day and it is crazy. Thursday will be my 3
month mark, can you believe it? I know that isn't really a lot compared to
18, but it is a lot compared to 0! I'm so glad to be here serving the
Lord and His children. It's hard, but it is so much fun! Until next week!
Con
mi amor,
Hermana Baria
