March
3, 2014
This
week we had to tells Andres that we can’t come see anymore because he is not
progressing. He just can’t forgive others. I have been thinking about
forgiveness and how it is a commandment and it is essential. We cannot progress
in this life spiritually if we are carrying around hate inside of us. It will
destroy us. From what I have learned from forgiveness, it’s a process. I believe
God understands that and He will help us through our own forgiveness processes.
We are required to be humble and to let God shape us into the person He sees we
can be. We do this a little bit everyday by turning it Him, placing all the
hurt and pain, embarrassment, etc. on the altar of the Lord. When we do this
and then do everything we can to follow Gods commandments we will begin to feel
the healing power of the atonement enter our lives. When we learn to love even
our enemies we learn to love like the Savior and when we forgive others we will
receive the Lord’s mercy for our own short comings and sins and even more when
the person we forgave doesn’t repent and change the Lord will be even more
merciful to us. It’s so hard - even after
we have said all of that to Andres he still was arguing with us that he
was right. I think the time we have
given him will be good for him help him to really think about what are his
priorities and about how he needs to forgive. So we need to learn to love as
the Savior and if we do this we will be able to forgive and we will want to
repent every day.
Tuesday:
This week in district class we learned about how we need to be prepared, but
also need rely on the spirit. I am a planner that’s for sure but sometimes the
Lord has a different plan for us than what we plan out for ourselves. I believe
God wants us to plan out our lives, set goals and be prepared, but also live
with the faith and humility to drop all our plans when He has something else in
mind for us. But yes after district class we came home for lunch and then were
off to work. So some pretty random stuff happened today not going to lie but ya
picture this us walking down a street in the middle of nowhere aka Pirque and
we are standing out in front of a house, well the gate of a house, and there is
this giant tree above us and today we left the house with tights and coats
cause it was cold and looked like it was going to rain and as I was standing
there I heard a plopping sound of runny liquid plopping like literally 5 inches
of me. First observation, “That cant be rain, rain doesn’t sound like that.” 2nd observation I look up and a
giant bird (like a mix between a peacock and the bird from UP, yes it was
like the size or a little bigger than Oliver – our old dog)….= sitting in the
tree above me just pooping away. I was in shock cause it was so large and
random and it almost pooped all over me…. And then it just flew away…I didn’t
know a bird that big could fly… so random but I was definitely counted my
blessings that I didn’t get pooped on.
Yes
so that just happened and we took a bus and then just walked and walked and
walked like pioneer children and when we finally got to the next appointment
they canceled right so we sat down on a bus stop bench to study some language
right and so yet again we are in the middle of nowhere and we look over and
there is a stream and there is this guy in the stream hacking away at some
shrubs and he calls us over.
He then starts telling us about all the herbs he
is finding and then gives us some herbs they look like really long grass and he
tells us the name is the money herb…we said thanks and went on our way but I
was pretty sketched out by this herb he gave us to eat… ya we didn’t eat it but
it was so random now that I am typing this story it was just one of those
random stories you just had to be there but anywhoo moral of this story “don’t
accept herbs from strange men”…. But ya then we went out to visit some members
with Hermana Molina she is the best a real trooper and a woman who lives what
she teaches. We had some neat experiences but the one I want to share was when
we went to visit a less active family and when we were there we met the brother
of the hermano who was a member and he listened quietly to our message and then
when we were done he said “This is the third time in my life that when I am
going through really hard times the Lord sends missionaries to talk to me about
God.” We were all sitting in this living room in one of the most humble homes I
have ever been in but the spirit there was so strong it was like a little piece
of heaven on earth. Just a testimony to me that it’s so not important what we
have but more of who we are and if the spirit can dwell with us. It was neat
because he is going to let us come see him again, but the bummer is that he
leaves in 2 days but we are going to send the reference to the other
missionaries where he is going. I know that the Lord places things and people
in our lives for a reason and if something or someone keeps popping into your
life maybe you should stop and think about it and see what God has in store for
you. Today was a great day full of laughs and sharing the gospel.
Lets
see I think I just want to start off to say I really have come to love Pirque
living in the middle of nowhere is beautiful, adventuresome, and full surprises
and small town quirks. I love that every night we get to walk a mile home and
be under a starlit sky I never get tired of looking up at the milky way and
just aweing in wonder. Just the Chilean
culture, the Spanish, the weird salads that I have come to love - for example I
am eating a tomatoes onion salad with oil, salt, and lemon, my favorite. I love
the the simpleness here like no one cares what you look like or dress like they
care more about the stuff that is important smiles, laughs, God, and food. I
love that I get to be a part of their lives and help them come unto Christ.
So
I had a neat study this week about my patriarchal blessing. I wrote the whole
thing by hand and I wrote in different colors depending on what I was writing I
broke my blessing down into 5 sections. 1.
Traits of me 2. Gifts that I have 3.
Counsel from the Lord 4. Promises from God 5. Blessings. It was a neat experience because there is
something different about writing your blessing by hand and picking it apart
and organizing it. It helps you learn new things as new things stick out to you
so challenge go and study your blessing this week and write it out and organize
it you don’t have to use my categories but as you do you will learn more about
yourself and what God sees in you.
Wednesday:
So today we had a neat lesson after walking like 3 miles to get there we ended
up in this giant field of grass and had our lesson under the shade of a tree.
It was the brother of a less active. He is looking for direction in his life
and he wants to take the things of God serious. We had a neat lesson with him
and he is reading the book of Mormon but he is moving tomorrow so I hope the
missionaries will teach him there because we sent them the reference. So
something I am learning is that 1. no one is perfect 2. everyone likes to blame people and heck they
all might be blaming the same people but that doesn’t mean it’s right. Charity
is key and that is a lifelong pursuit.
Thursday:
So remember how earlier this week we had to tell Andres that we are not going
to visit him anymore because he is not progressing. We went by there today
because we had to return the blender and coats we borrowed from his wife Paula
and he was like I have been thinking about what ya’ll said and I just might
surprise you in the capilla! We are in the process of a miracle people so keep
sending your prayers his way!
Saturday: We had the NEATEST opportunity to meet with
all 4 missions in Santiago all 1000 of us to listen to Elder David F. Evans of
the 70. We are just blessed here in Santiago since we just listened to Elder
Holland in November. But this Saturday was AMAZING. So here is what I learned:
He
told us missionaries that we need to look for more families because we are here
to help other come unto Christ and endure to the end. And the family is so
important we just don’t want to baptize people we want them to come unto Christ
with their family and become a family forever. We are in the work of salvation
and its serious being a missionary. It
is not how many people you baptize it’s about helping people live the gospel of
Jesus Christ so they can receive all the blessings. We must help build the
kingdom where we are. Your work is your life’s work. God’s purpose is your
purpose. We must live the gospel of Jesus Christ. He told us he had a reunion
with all of the general authorities and him and Elder Holland had to teach the
Doctrine of Jesus Christ. He said the first part of the Gospel of Jesus Christ
is that we need to have the humility and the desire to follow Jesus Christ in
all things We need faith, we need to repent daily, need to be baptized, to
receive the holy ghost, and endure to the end with all of these things
especially following Jesus for the rest of our lives. He then spent some time
on what it means to receive the Holy Ghost.
Our confirmation allowed us to have
the gift of the Holy Ghost but how we live our lives depends on if we receive
the Holy Ghost. So in other words if we are living the gospel of Jesus Christ
then we are worthy to receive the Holy Ghost, but if not we don’t receive it.
When we receive the Holy Ghost in our lives we are living according to the will
of God. After he said that I was sitting there and some questions entered my
mind and I was bothered because I didn’t know and was having a war with myself
in my head. That’s when Elder Evans asked us to share something we were
personally going to change about ourselves to build up the kingdom where we
are. One of the things that popped into my head was “You need to help unify
your branch Pirque” because we struggle
with that here. And I just got the strongest impression in me to raise my hand
and share that. WHAT!!!_ ya right am I going to stand up in front of 1000
missionaries and share what I am PERSONALLLY going to change about me… but
against all logic I raised my hand and when he called on the sister in the
green and blue… yep that’s me - to stand
I was freaking out - Lauren what the
heck did you get yourself into. I stood up and some Elder passed me a
microphone. My legs were shaking the whole time I am not sure if anyone noticed
it my comp did so the probably everyone else did too. I was like, “So you want
me to share what we can do better in our branch” He was like “No what can you do better” I’m thinking duh Lauren the question is “you”
not “we” but ya I answered that I want to help the ward be more unified by
loving others because that is something we lack and it’s hard to bring
investigators to the church when even they can feel the tension. I was
expecting him to comment on that but instead he said, “And who told you that”, that
threw me off guard… “I said the spirit” and he said, “See you have received the
Holy Ghost” he said some other things that were exact direct answers to the
questions that I was asking myself in my head. I almost started crying because
I just felt God’s love for me so very strongly. And after I received these
answers the spirit was right behind testifying to me that it was true. I
testify that the Lord is aware of us. Even if we are in a sea of 1,000
missionaries He will send us help when we need it. I know that the Lord used
Elder Evans to get a message to me and I am so thankful that I stood up even
though it was the scariest thing ever! But after this experience I truly
testify that God knows the thoughts of our minds and He is our loving Father
that is involved in our lives to help us return to Him. He is not in some far
corner of space doing paperwork or “important stuff” no He is here with you. His
important stuff is the worries that you have, so he can comfort you, having joy
in your joys. You are his everything and that I testify to be true because I
felt that this Saturday. It was a neat experience to have a conversation with a
seventy of the church which to me was very personal and I bet he didn’t even know
it but it was like just me and him talking with 999 onlookers. It will be
something I will remember to help me remember that God loves me and is aware of
me during hard times. All and all it was a great experience to go to the North
mission to listen to Elder Evans and I got to see a bunch of old friends from
freshman year at BYU who are serving the Lord along with me. And I saw Hermana
Leishman!!!! Like we almost cried of happiness but you bet we shouted for joy!
Sure miss that girl but don’t worry we pinky promised to be friends for life!
After
the reunion we went out to work and had this amazing lesson with Jessica and
Maria Elena. We pretty much focused on the Book of Mormon because Elder Evans
told us something that really hit us as a companionship. He said was there a
time in your lives when you had to know if this church was true_ and we all
were thinking yes and then he was like so what did you do to know if this
church was true_ Did you read the book of Mormon_ and we were all like yes. So
what should we do with our investigators if we want to help them know for
themselves if the church is true… read the Book of Mormon! So in this lesson we
just focused on that and they committed to read it like with enthusiasm too! We
just testified how this book is everything it’s the key to see if it’s true. I
am so pumped to be a missionary and I am determined as so should ya’ll to
strengthen where you are to help build up the kingdom of God no importa if you
are a missionary or a member we have a proposito to build up the kingdom where
we are! So we can do this. We are all in this together.
Sunday: We went to church and there was a change. It was a miracle because the wife of Elder
Evans spoke to me responding to my question of how I can help the branch be
more unified and she gave me some suggestions and the in end said things will
change. And today we saw a change and we really went out of our way to bring a
cheerful loving feeling into the church. We made sure no one ever sat alone and
all I think felt our love. She was right things are going to change they did
and they will continue to change. I believe and have seen miracles. I guess you
could say I am learning a lot here in Pirque and I love it. I am not the same
person I was before the mission - thank goodness I am different and I want to
keep changing.
Love,
Hermana Jennings
Tuesday: During my personal study I have been really trying to study the scriptures and really get the meaning out of them. I am taking my time and really trying to internalize the truths in the scriptures. Our president of our mission told us that if we study like that and study for ourselves or for questions we have then something we study will be exactly what someone needs that day. I thought that was so neat so I gave it a try. I am reading this talk about who were before this life and how that can help me understand my purpose in this life. I feel if I don’t understand who I was and the choices I made then I can never understand my potential here. It lead to an intense study that was great. Then I read the scripture Abraham 3:22-23 about how we were noble and great before this life and how here we must remember that. This is where our true colors shine. We may have been noble and great, living with God but the veil takes off our masks and reveals who we really are when we don’t live in the presence of God. I was just thinking how important it is to know and remember who we are and that nothing is more important than God, praying, scripture study, and going to church. This day we had the opportunity to go visit a family who is not inactive but has not been coming regularly to church like they should. I shared this scripture with them and it was amazing because I asked them for any comments. The father said, “Thanks for that; we had been distancing ourselves from the church lately and I could feel the spirit testifying to me that these things are true and that we need to make some changes in our lives”. It was amazing that by just reminding people who they really are we can help them better fulfill their purpose here in this life. I am so grateful that the Lord led us to their house yesterday because they needed that reminder. I know that the Lord guides us in this work and that happenstance doesn’t exist. God’s hand is in everything.
