Happy week family!!!
This week, oooo this week! It is STILL difficult to sit down
and try and put into words all that has happened. I will share a few
experiences with you of the many that touched me.
This last transfer has been one of a lot of searching, we
felt like we have been opening the area and basically starting from zero, but
planting seeds is always good. It can just be hard not to see the fruits right
away. But I do know for sure that God truly prepares us to see miracles. It was
another one of those weeks. But Friday, Saturday, and Sunday especially, we
couldn't help but just feeling like crying in gratitude for the blessings we
have received. I love a talk that dad sent me, called "But If Not..." I love what it says:
Centuries ago, Daniel and his young associates were suddenly
thrust from security into the world—a world foreign and intimidating. When
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to bow down and worship a golden image
set up by the king, a furious Nebuchadnezzar told them that if they would not
worship as commanded, they would immediately be cast into aborning fiery
furnace. “And who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?”
The three young men quickly and confidently responded, “If
it be so [iffy cast us into the furnace], our God whom we serve is able to
deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand.
“That sounds like my eighth-grade kind of faith. But then they demonstrated
that they fully understood what faith is. They continued, “But if not, … we
will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.”
That is a statement of true faith.
They knew that they could trust God—even if things didn't
turn out the way they hoped. They knew
that faith is more than mental assent, more than an acknowledgment that God
lives. Faith is total trust in Him.
Faith is believing that although we do not understand all
things, He does. Faith is knowing that although our power is limited, His is
not. Faith in Jesus Christ consists of complete reliance on Him.
“By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac.” Abraham, because of his great faith, was
promised posterity greater in number than the stars in the heavens, and that
that posterity would come through Isaac. But Abraham immediately complied with
the Lord’s command. God would keep His promise, but if not in the manner
Abraham expected, he still trusted Him completely.
What does the Lord expect of us with respect to our challenges?
He expects us to do all we can do. He does the rest. Nephi said, “For we know
that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do.”
We must have the same faith as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
Our God will deliver us from ridicule and persecution, but
if not. … Our God will deliver us from sickness and disease, but if not … . He will
deliver us from loneliness, depression, or fear, but if not. … Our God will
deliver us from threats, accusations, and insecurity, but if not. … He will
deliver us from death or impairment of loved ones, but if not, … we will trust
in the Lord.
Our God will see that we receive justice and fairness, but
if not. … He will make sure that we are loved and recognized, but if not. … We
will receive a perfect companion and righteous and obedient children, but if
not, … we will have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, knowing that if we do all
we can do, we will, in His time and in His way, be delivered and receive all
that He has. I so testify in the name of
Jesus Christ, amen.
These words are so comforting to me!!! The truth is that we
can see these miracles when we have faith that the Lord truly has all power,
but we are willing to go and do His will, no matter what, even when we do not
understand all that is happening around us. Then, those steps we took in the
dark become light, and our eyes are opened to miracles.
There was an activity
in the church for all of the young single adults that we usually attend when we
have young adults that we are teaching. We didn't have any that attended on Friday,
but we had to stop at the church to get something, everyone was begging us to
come join, but we didn't feel like it was the best use of time.. it was HARD to
leave, we really wanted to have a good time with them. But these are the times
when God tests our faith, and it proved true.. we hit the streets and got to
work.. and we ran into a man that gave us his number a while back! we have been
trying to get into contact with him, what a miracle! We taught him the first
lesson on the street that night and wanted us to pass by the next week. Two
really strong lessons with a very interested and prepared man, it was as if the
Lord was just telling us, "Thank you for following my promptings. Well
done, my little daughters". It was incredible. His name is Fidel, from
Bolivia.
We also found another man on the street, named Jorge, from
Columbia who met with the Sister missionaries 8 years ago, and loved it! He
remembers their names and everything! We aren't really sure what all happened,
but he showed up to church the next day and wanted to know when we could meet
again. He is also very prepared.. His mother died about a year ago, and his
father 6 years ago, and just hearing him talk about God´s will in his life on
the street gave me chills. It was not coincidence that we crossed paths :)
Do you remember me
telling you about Ulises? He is a less active man we have been working on
reactivating him and his family. It has been an incredible adventure and he has
become a dear friend. He LOVES the Book of Mormon and has an incredible ability
to look deep into the feelings of the prophets as they wrote the words of the
Book of Mormon and express how they felt in this moment. It truly amazes me! He
writes very deep poems expressing their feelings. This was a project that he
started about 14 years ago in Argentina and it was approved by a general
authority, Elder Civic, but never did anything with it. BUT he has started
helping us with noche de hogar [(Family) Home Evening] here. We read the passages of the Book of
Mormon, and then he reads the incredible interpretations as his son (Aldis,
also less-active, we have been working with him too) plays piano pieces he has
written. We were amazed. What a spirit we felt from this man, regaining the
fire of his testimony. Last night was incredible. On top of all of that, Aldis brought
a friend to meet with us. Her name is Ana, and she is 20 years old like me. She reminds me a bunch of Amber. She is also
very prepared!! She loved the warmth of all of the members and was thrilled to
receive the Book of Mormon as a gift and know that we teach English classes for
free. What miracles we are seeing with
this family. I feel emotional thinking about how God has touched their lives
after all of the difficult things they have been through.
One more, we met another man, who has studied with different
religions for years. His name is Luis, from Cuba. He was just about ready to
give up on love and God and understanding, but the Restoration of the Gospel of
Jesus Christ and The Plan of Salvation have touched him. He is so sincere and
he gets an incredible look in his eyes as we teach him these truths.
That is about a highlight of our week. There are so many
things like this that happen all the time, and it continues to amaze me how quick
we are to forget the miracles God works in our lives, but He is so merciful. I
am grateful for the strength he gives us to say "I know that God has all
power, I know that he can work miracles here, BUT IF NOT we will continue
faithful and firm until the end" and the miracles always come. We can
always somehow end the night knowing we did what he wanted us to do, not matter
how exhausted or unsure of ourselves we were. I love two more scriptures:
We are constantly learning to have faith and accept the
Lords will and wait for the comprehension to come! His tender mercies will be evident when we do
this, and we can feel joy EVERY DAY knowing that we did His will. These scriptures
where answers to my prayers!
I hope you all have a great week!
BUT IF NOT...
haha,
Love, Hermana Mather
PS. Please read the talk: "Realize Your Full Potential" by Richard G. Scott. Let me know what you think! It’s incredible!
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