Hola Todos!
I can’t believe it’s already May 1st! What a wonderful
time it is to be able to be serving in Carrizo Springs. I love the
people here so much (like I do in every area I serve). Pearl and Anna and
the kids are all doing so well. Pearl, and one of her daughters
Precious, have decided they want to be baptized on May 27th!
We are so excited for them. Anna is taking a little bit more time to
quit smoking and really wants to make sure she is ready. They are
all so willing to learn and grow. Somehow in one of our lessons with
them this week tattoos and piercings got brought up and Pearl has a couple
extra piercings. As soon as we talked about not having more than
one piercing Pearl looked at Anna and said "Ok" and took them
out. They have really been doing awesome!
We had a miracle happen this
week! Pearl’s oldest son J3 (Juan) was outside playing basketball in
front of their apartment. We haven't been able to talk to him much
because he's rarely ever home when we go by. I told my companion that we should go over and
talk to him. As we approached him I said, "J3 I would like to
challenge you to a game of HORSE and If I win we get to share a message with
you (he is a really good basketball player). Well, I won, and we got to share a message
about prayer (miracle). He told us that
his family is the most important thing to him in his life and he really wants
to be there for them and do everything he can to make them happy! It
was a spiritual moment as he opened up to us about that. I’m excited
that now we have a good relationship with him and that he was able to feel the
spirit. We invited him to start having daily prayer and he agreed!
Thank you Lord for helping me win that game of basketball (miracle)!
We got to have a lesson with Kris Poff
and as we were answering her questions we were able to review every point of
the restoration with her more in depth and she really wants her husband Jim to
be open to hearing our message. We gave her a copy of the
restoration video so they could watch it together and she was so
excited. She has also been doing so well and loving family history!
Last week we met some new families
that we are excited about. We were able
to have a lesson with our new investigators The Longoria family ( Nufo and
Jeanette Longoria and their 3 kids). We met them street contacting
and when we went by again for our return appointment they let us right in and
we were able to teach them the restoration and they were so into it! We
are so excited for them to start reading in the Book of Mormon. We have
also been trying to use our members of the branch more so we can get immediate
fellowship for them in the Branch when they come to church! We love member
missionary work!
I had a wonderful exchange with Sister
Ferrell this week. I learned a lot from her new ideas that I want to
apply in my area. She really is a wonderful missionary! We
had district meeting this week and I got to see one of my wonderful past
companions, Hermana Newman! Man I miss
her. It’s the best feeling when you get to reunite with a past
companion. She is now my Sister Training Leader! I always love learning from my leaders and I
can’t wait to go on exchanges with her! They are so inspired. We had some wonderful trainings given on how
to work better with members and also on Faith, Hope, and Charity. I
hope to continue learning more about those things in my own studies
Church was awesome! We got asked
last minute to teach sharing time in Primary! It was the best and brought back so many
wonderful memories of teaching primary back home! I sure do miss my
primary kids! It was a lot of fun. We taught the song "If The
Savior stood beside me" and the kids loved it! It was the best!
I have been studying more about how
the Gospel of Jesus Christ ties in with the Plan of Salvation. The Plan of
Salvation is the Fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The plan has always
been to gain eternal life with Heavenly Father and the Gospel is how we
accomplish that. We are physically separated from God during life on
earth, but He wants every one of His children to find peace in this
life and a fullness of JOY in His presence after this life. He wants
us to become like unto Him.
One important way God shows his love
for us is by calling Prophets, who are given the Priesthood - the power and
authority given to man to act in God’s name for the salvation of His
children. Prophets learn the gospel of Jesus Christ by
revelation. They in turn teach the gospel to others and
testify of Jesus Christ our Savior and the Plan that God has for
us.
Our Father’s Plan for us to
be successful in this life and to return to live with Him is called The
Gospel of Jesus Christ, with Jesus' Atonement at the center of that plan. Through
the Atonement of Jesus Christ, we can receive eternal life if we
exercise faith in him, repent, are baptized by immersion for the remission
of sins, receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, and endure to the
end. How great the plan of our God is! 2 Nephi 31:19-20
Elder Bednar taught that the Coming
unto Christ (living the gospel) requires a lifetime of pressing forward in
consistent obedience: "Coming unto Christ isn't a single event with a
fixed point of beginning or ending; rather, it is a process that develops and
deepens during a lifetime. As an initial step in the process, we
certainly must obtain knowledge and learn about Jesus Christ and His life,
teachings, and ministry. But truly coming unto Him also requires
consistent obedience and striving to become like Him in our thoughts, motives,
communications, and actions. As we press forward on the pathway of discipleship,
we can draw near unto the Savior with the expectation that He will draw near
unto us; we can seek Him diligently. With the Hope that we shall find Him; we
can ask with confidence that we shall receive; and we can knock anticipating
that the door shall be opened unto us. FOLLOW THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRSIT,
PRESS FORWARD, AND TRUST HIM!” Alma
41:10
Many people try to find happiness and
fulfillment in activities that are contrary to the Lord’s
commandments. Ignoring God’s plan for them, they
reject the ONLY source of real happiness. They give into the devil,
who seek that all men might be miserable like unto himself. As you
seek to be happy, REMEMBER that the only way to real happiness is to
live the Gospel of Jesus Christ. You will find peaceful,
eternal happiness as you strive to do so. The Lord’s plan is for you
and I to find peace in this life and a fullness of Joy forever! Start by having faith. I hope y’all have a
wonderful week! I love you!
Con Amor,
Hermana Mann
Con Amor,
No comments:
Post a Comment