Dear Family and Friends,
I love all of you so much. This week has been great. This week I remembered to make a list of all of the things that I needed to tell you. All of us are getting so excited to go to Dever/Argentina. We are ready to bust out of this place, and at the same time I am so grateful for the time here.
So I have had amazing study times this week. I hope you do not mind hearing about them because I am going to tell you :) I have been feeling the need to be more humble....which as all of you know is really difficult. I learned a couple of things that have really helped me with this. One of them is always remembering Jesus Christ and what He did for me and the rest of the world. I love the gospel. So I am trying to remember Him more (you would think that would be easy being a missionary). Another day I was studying in the Book of Mormon in Alma 5! Seriously it is so amazing. While I was reading I realized that it was perfect for our investigator Flor. In this chapter, it talks about a Shepard...Christ. What name will He call His sheep by? His name. We really want to commit her to being baptized but she won't keep our commitments. Luckily the Lord helps us alot when we speak Spanish. We invited her to read the Book of Mormon again. I hope tomorrow that we can invite her to be baptized! Just in case you forgot, Flor is our teacher. I dearly love her, but she is so hard to teach :) I was able to bear a powerful testimony to her. I can't wait to see how she responds tomorrow!
This week our teacher was talking to us about our purpose as missionaries. We were talking about how hard this time is. She told me something that I don't think I will easily forget. We are like a house. Sometimes in our life we see the need for renovations. We decide we need to change one part of our life ( we invite the Savior to help us change them.) We begin wanting to renovate our bathroom and quickly realize that more than just those walls have been torn down. We have to become a home....and eventually a temple. We need to change. I know that I have felt alot of remodeling going on inside of me. Some days are so hard. BUT...I know that this is to make me more of who Christ wants me to be.
Last week...out of the blue....our Elders had us all get together at the end of the day and told us how grateful they were for us. It was great. I really do love them and their example! Also our teacher got a bunch of people from her ward to come to the TRC (its where volunteers come and let us practice on them :)). We were able to teach Carrol and Dillian. She is from Ecuador....and GUESS WHAT!!!!!!!! I understood her! I loved teaching her and her cute one year old! She is going to come back this week and we are so excited!
Also on Saturday we had our first baptism.....well mock baptism! The baptism of Alejandro Fernando Ramirez Jr. III LOL....IT was so great. The spirit was there and I really loved it. Hermana Thomas and I were the Missionaries and it was just so wonderful.
So some miracles occurred this week. On Sunday I was called upon to speak in Sacrament meeting! ! ! Yeah ...in Spanish!!!!!! Luckily I wrote a long talk. It was so wonderful. I was just sitting there not thinking I was going to speak, but I was called on. My talk went so well. I was able to talk for a whole 7 minutes!!!! I didn't even just read off of my paper...I was able to add in my thoughts! It was so great. And I felt totally confident up there. The Lord really helps when I speak Spanish! And everyone said I sounded great and they could understand what I was saying. ..... and I don't think they were lying to me!
Fantastic right?
Also on Monday, I had the goal to not speak one word in English. I was so nervous about Monday that I even had dreams about being so sad because I spoke in English lol. Well Monday came and honestly it was fine. I was able to speak in Spanish! I spoke English very little....usually in class or at an important workshop. So I probably spent a total of 10 minutes in English! It was amazing. I am planning on making that a regular goal.
So I really love it here. I am learning so much. Some of our lessons have been so great. Yesterday we were teaching about the Plan of Salvation to some elders. I just felt the Love of God in that lesson. I know that He loves us and that is why we have this plan. "O how great the goodness of our God!"
I love my life right now. It is so hard at times. . . like really hard. Sometimes I don't see eye to eye with my companion. Sometimes I don't feel like I am becoming anything more than a girl from Lubbock, Texas. BUT every once in a while, the Lord tells me that He loves me and shows me how many people love me. I am so grateful for these moments. I see why we have been given the Book of Mormon. Why we need a prophet. Why God gave us a plan. Its all because He loves us and He wants us back. I am so excited to share that love with others. I don't know where I would be with out it.
I can't think of anything funny to say.....except that Erick (our investigator) 's family is still alive....but I still cannot understand his Spanish....This week I think he was talking about him being in a gang.....lol
I love you all and all of the letters. They brighten my day more than you know. Please continue to write...even if it is a small letter.
We should get out travel plans this week!
Love,
Hermana Spencer
Shot out - Stephanie Haygood ! Gracias!
Alice and Cathy - I hope you are doing better!
Sallie - LOL...I saw your sis again!
Katie- Love you
Hannah - I loved the letter! You are an angel!
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