Meeting Milagro and Other Miracles

Hola! Como Estan!

 

Every time I say that to people in the street I think of one of my teachers in the CCM. I try to be happy all the time like he always was. To begin, mom I finally got your package! It took almost exactly four weeks to get to me. Oh man did I love your letter though! I cried when I read it. I needed it so badly. Let everyone know that they can send me dear elders. Letters take about three weeks to get here. Anyway, on to what happen this week.

This week was hard for us. We droppped two baptisimal dates and one of our investigators passed away. I did not know her that well but she was an older woman who suffered from diabetes. We got her name and stuff so her temple work can be done within a years time.

 

Things are still difficult with my companion but I have the made the choice to do my best to make her my best friend. If we can part ways feeling like we are good friends then I will consider it a successful companionship. Yet we both know that the blessings we experience in this life are conditioned upon our obedience. If we want miracles the Lord requires exact obedience. I have faith that God can do any thing, even give Hermana Morales and I a baptism. But I also know that if, as a companionship we are not doing every thing to be obeient and to work hard then we are going to reap what we sow. Like I said before, this past week alone we dropped two baptismal dates and the third that we are working with is very uncertain. I try to see the miracles every day but too often I go to bed feeling like I have not done anything here. I find solace in Hermana Bonilla who slips me scriptures during Sunday School and in the Spirit who is my constant companion.  I hope that regardless of how unsuccesful I feel sometimes you are all still proud of me and know that I am trying so hard to be the missionary God needs me to be. Now for the miracles of the week.

 

I have never felt the Spirit quiet like I do when I begin my testimony with the words As a representative of Jesus Christ I testify... when done at the right moment it is so powerful... I had such an experience this week. We were teaching the Ovalle Family. We were talking wtih them about baptism and we extended the commitment or them to be baptized. They excepted and we tried to commit them to the 21st of June. They said it was too soon and so we suggested the 29th. Still they were hesistant. As Hermana Morales began to talk to them aout praying about what we had taught them I had that all to familiar, some times dreaded prompting, that God wanted me to say something. When Hermana Morales stopped talking the words, I want to share a scripture with you, spilled out of my mouth and I had not even thought of a scripture. As quickly as I realized what I had said Ether 12,6 popped into my mind and we turned to it. We read it together and then I said some thing to the effect of... we know that this decision is important and sacred to you.... that you want to be sure and not rush into... but just like this scipture says some times we have to take a few steps into the dark before God will light our way.. I can testify... as a representative of Jesus Christ that if you will commit to a date you will recieve your answer and feel ready by that date...

 

When I stopped talking I just let the silence fall for a minute.. I could feel that if we just sat there for a minute and gave the Spirit a chance to work we would get them to commit to a date. Suddenly Hermana Morales started talking... she testified of faith and then she commited them to... pray about what we had taught them. My heart broke as I felt in my heart that an opportunity had been lost... if we had been persistent I am confident that we would have commited them to a date... it was hard for me but I swallowed my pride... prayed for my companion as she spoke and testified of what she said after. God gives us these experiences that we might learn to love... I am trying my best to love my companion.

On Thursday we went up to Maria Chiquita with Hermana Bonilla and Hermana Torres. Hermana MOrales and hermana Torres left us to work and so we went and visited the same recent convert we had visited last week. Hermano Chifundo. This time his 20 year old son was there. He suffered a stroke or some thing and is bound to a wheel and can really only move his arms enough to function his wheelchair. He talks in a way that his words are slurred and some times hard to understand. We shared a hymn and a scripture with them, talked about how God understands all our situations. When I wheel Ricardo in for the lesson all I wanted to do was testify to him how much God loves him and is aware of him. I made a point to do that at the end of the lessons. You guys, I just love the people here so much... with all my heart. I wish that I could help them all come to the knowledge of the truth...

 

After Hermano Chifundo we went and looked for Hermano Javier, the investigator we spontantenously taught the week before. We found him sitting in his car and we asked him if we could share more of our message with him. We asked him if he had read the pamphlet we left him and said a little. We were kind of disappointed until he told us that he had read three chapters in the book we left him. We asked him what he thought and he said that it reminded him of the Bible. We decided to change our lesson to talk more about the Book of Mormon. We asked him if he believed it was the word of God. He said that just before we showed up he had been sitting in his car praying about it and when we walked up he felt like that was his answer... so yes... he believed it was the word of God. Hermana Bonilla and I were elated! We took the opportunity to talk about baptism. We told about the importance of baptism and read him a scripture from the Book of Mormon about it. We asked him if he thought it was important and if he wanted to folllow the example of Jesus Christ. He said he did and so I extended the commitment. He said yes. We tried to commit him to June 29th but I could not understand his reason why. Apparently it was some thing Hermana Bonilla did not want to push but we encouraged him to continue to read and set an appoitment up for this next Thursday. After the lesson Hermana Bonilla and I hugged each other. We had our own investigator and he was reading and progressing. It was th best feeling ever!

 

On Saturday eight year old Benjamin was baptism. Though it was not a baptism for my companionship I had taught him four times with Hermana Bonilla and to see him immersed in the water, knowing that one day he would go out and serve his own mission and change so many lives brought me so much joy. Hermana Bonilla hugged me and told me what a miracle she fet it was to have a baptism. We were both so happy that we cried. How great shall be your joy if ye shall bring but one soul unto me...

 

The same Saturday we visited a guy by the name of Adan Ortega. He had been caught in a shoot out was bed ridden with both legs in a cast. I felt bed as he made an effort to sit up and shake our hands. We sang, Nearer My God to Thee with him and each shared our testimonies about Gods love for us. Tears stung my eyes as I testified to him about how much God loved him. I just wanted him to know it. I wanted it to comfort him. I could see in his eyes that he felt it and as we left the house after the meeting I just prayed with all my heart that God touch Hermano Adan. I do not know when we will visit him again but I just pray that he knows how aware of him our Father in Heaven is.

 

Okay so Monday was probably the best day of this week. I was frustrated and discouraged in the morning because we had our district meeting and talked about how we needed to try and get two baptisms per companionship this month. I tried my best to push back my doubts as we returned to the house. We spent the morning cleaning and then left the house by 3. As we enteered the home of a member I was so frustrated because we were already 30 minutes late for our first planned appointment. We visited with Hermana Ochoa for a while, an elderly widowed member. We then asked her to pray .In her prayer she thanked God for inspiring the issionaries to visit her that day. She told Him how much she loved it when we visited her and she asked God to bless us. Man was that a humbling experience for me. I mentally said a prayer or forgiveness as we left her home to go to our appointment that we were now an hour late for and a prayer of gratitude that God had inspiried Hermana Morales to stop and visit her.

 

We then started to contact. It is my favorite thing and I am not sure why. I just love being out among the people in my area talking to them and finding more and more people to teach and share the gospel with. We went to look for a previous contact, Hermana Diosa. To our dismay she was not home but two houses down we found an Hermana Jarabi with her four kids and were able to set up an appointment for tomorrow with her.

 

We continued to walk down the same sidewalk and three houses down found a woman sitting on her porch with her three year old daughter. We introduced ourselves and the little girl, named Milagro, kept reaching out to touch my name tags and the buttons on my shirt. She had the sweetest smile on her face and kept making her laugh whenever I looked at her. Her mother told us that she was almost completely deaf and that she needed hearing aids to hear. My heart swelled with love for this little girl and as I looked into her sweet innocent face I saw a glimpse of the love our Father in Heaven has for each of us. For some reason it was one of the most intimate moments with the Spirit I have had since coming out on my mission. I will remeber for the rest of my life looking into the face of the little girl and seeing my Savior... His love, His compassion, and His mercy... meeting Milagro (spanish for Miracle) truly was a miracle for me.

 

Do you guys remember two weeks ago when I talked about Hermana Nishka who Hermana Bonilla and I had contacted at the grocery store during our first split together. Wel we finally found her at home! It felt like a miracle! We talked with her for a minute and she said she was too tired to listen to us right then but we set up an appointment for tomorrow and we are praying she is there. We also finally connected with Migel again. We had met him two weeks ago also one Sunday afternnoon. The second time we had visit his wife had been almost hostile. This time it was just Migel and we asked if we could come back this Sunday and teach both him and his wife together... it should prove to be an interesting experience... I will let you all know how it goes.

 

At that point we decided to try and find Hermana Diosa again. Instead we found her father with her son. We sat on the porch and shared a hymn and a prayer with him. We also bore testimony that through the gospel of Jesus Christ we can be together with our families forever. He seemed enthusiastic as we left and asked him to tell Hermana Diosa that we stopped by. I am not sure when we will visit her again but I will keep you all updated on that also.

 

To end I wanted to share a poem with you all that I wrote A few weeks before I left the MTC.... often times I feel it is a way that the Spirit answers my prayers and I hope you guys like it.

 

I study Spanish every day

And try to do my best

To live up to the name

I wear across my chest

 

I try to always smile

If only to pretend

That reallly I cant wait

Until this day does end

 

Some times I wonder why

Im doing this at all

Does God really think

I can answer His great call

 

Another door is slammed

Into a dusty face

And I try to hide it

As tears they stain my face

 

And as I kneel to pray

I ask Him how Ive done

When I think my lessons taught

Number only one

 

I wonder if Ill ever

Feel my heart is here

And cease to miss my famiy

Whom I hold so dear

 

I wonder what Im doing

And if Gods proud of me

I had dreamt of coming here

And successful I would be

 

But I feel Ive failed

As I climb in bed

And I think of His sheep

That I have left unfed

 

Then I dream a dream

I am standing in the street

Feeling like theres someone

Im supposed to meet

 

Ahead I see a man

Walking up the road

I can see that in his arms

He carries a big load

 

I wonder should I help

This stranger dressed in rags

But I turn my head

AS my conscious nags

 

Many people pass

And time wears slowly on

My patience has long since

Quickly come and gone

 

Then a voice does come

From underneath a tree

And I recognize the man

I earliar did see

 

Slowly I approach him

And he calls on me to come

He eats a piece of bread

And beckons me to some

 

Then asks me a question

That stops me in my tracks

It calls to mind my weakness

And all that I do lack

 

The face of God he says

Would you like to see it

I found myself annoyed

Of this I must admit

 

I scoffed and said of course

I want to see HIs face

It was why Id come

To this distant place

 

Would you recognize him then

If he stood before you

And in that moment

Without a doubt I knew

 

The people on the street

And those who slammed the door

If I looked into their eyes

I would see my Lord

 

The man then held his hands

Up for me to see

And with a soft gasp

I dropped down to one knee

 

I touched the prints of nails

And bathed them wth my tears

For staring back at me

WAs the One that I hold dear

 

I know that this is hard He said

And may often make you cry

But know that I will help you

If all you do is try

 

My angels will be with you

And I will go before

As you tract down every street

And knock on every door

 

And if your mouth youll open

I promise you will speak

My words with mighty power

For I always use the weak

 

So when you think you dont

Have the strength to do

Remember that I suffered, bled

And was crucified for you

 

And remember when you teach

To always find my face

And love my precious children

For here is your holy place...

 

You guys... I want you all to know that I know that my Savior lives. I see Him every day as I find, teach and serve the people in this area. My mission is already sacred ground to me for every day I feel Him walking beside me as I try my best to bring souls to Him. It is the hardest thing I have every done but is the most worthwhile thing in the world. I love it so much.... with all my heart and soul I want to help these people and make a difference... I know that God is with me and I thank you all for your support and love... until next week, pray for me and write me letters!

All My Love

Hermana Wilson

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