Hola Familia
Well, I am back here in Quillabamba. And it is HOT. Just when I was getting used to the cold again...:) Yeah so I will tell you all that I went to Urubamba for a week because one of the Hermanas in the mission. They are doing this big musical recital thing in the whole mission and so she is traveling from place to place putting it up and well it was her turn to come here and set it up and so I went to be with her companion in Urubamba. Needless to say it was a wonderful week. Took pictures with my converts, whom are still active in the church and that brings such joy to my heart. Participated in the baptism of Manuel, one of the children of a family we activated in the church when I was there. We baptized his sister , and I miraculously (it was a tender mercy I am sure) participated in the baptism this weekend that almost completed the family in the church. Now we are just waiting for the mom and the dad to get married and then this family will go to the temple!!! YEAH!!! So apart from the joy of being in my old area, seeing old faces again, finding old investigators that are now ready to listen, and taking part in baptisms, it was a week full of miracles. The last day I was there we went to visit a family that lives out in the country and they are building a new house and so right now they are living in a one room house next to a TON of chacra (land) where they are growing maize. We had to pass all their land to get to their house and as we got closer, the member who was accompanying us Hermano Carlos warned us to be ready because everyone that lives that far out in the country has huge dogs that are really aggressive...or to say that they are REALLY good at protecting their stuff. And just as he said that 3 HUGE dogs with HUGE teeth came running full speed for us. Oh freaky, I was so scared. But Carlos just kept walking normal and all the dogs did was bark at us...and if they tried anything he threw water on them. They are afraid of water. And then the old lady we came to visit came running down the hill with a wooden stick and began to beat the dogs away.... it was an interesting sight. Grandmas can be a little aggressive too :) but we made it and it was a really spiritual experience with her in the end. The family really needed the gospel.
Annnnnd now I am here. And suffering from the climate change. My first night back I spent throwing up with diahrreah and in the morning too. Hermana Calderon told me to buy this red drink stuff that is a lot like gatorade but tastes HORRIBLE and it is a huge bottle of it. But I had to drink it all that day. But it helped a lot I think it has vitamins and minerals that you lose when you have problems like that. I am feeling better now...at least I am not throwing up but I am really tired. But in the next few days I will be just fine I am sure. And it is a good thing too because I am almost 100% sure I have a change next week. Where I will be going I have no idea but it will be somewhere cold. Because I have been in all the hot areas of the mission possible :) Woohhoo!
Sounds like the family is doing good. Mom "be not weary in well doing" and I know the Lord will bless you with the strength necessary to move forward. Thank you Hampels for my package I abosolutely LOVE the clothes :) Thanks for thinking of me!!!!
Wish you all a great week!!!
Hermana Lindsey
Monday, August 27, 2012
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Welcome Back to the Land of the Spiders!!!!!!
Family my time is up here but I will tell you that yes I am in Urubamba and yes I am really happy to be here...but I will only be here for one week and I will go back to Quilla but It will be the best week EVER.
Love
Hermana Lindsey
Love
Hermana Lindsey
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Seems Like a Day!
Yes yes yes yes yes yes everyone...and when I say everyone that means
EVERYONE down to my converts like to remind me that I only have 6
months left. They want me to leave?? No, but everyone likes to
know how much time I have in the mission and when I say a year they
all start to ask what I will do when I go home..they all want me to
come and visit after I have my family...BUT--I say I am not going home.
I will buy my land here in Quillabamba and harvest my bananas :) Really I think I have decided that if people ask me how much time I
have I will respond and say I don´t remember. The thought of home is
happy...but very sad at the same time. And so I prefer not to think
about it until the very very last moment..
This Sunday we didn´t have very many people in church but I was so
happy because my most recent convert Yulisa gave her testimony in
sacrament meeting...all she said was that she knows the church is true
in the name of Jesus cChrist Amen, but it was so sweet!!! Things with
my companion are the same. I hope to help her out. Thursday I went
for training in Cusco and the climate there practically killed me. My
stomach hurt so bad...I don't know where I am going next but I have got occustumed so much to the heat that a liiiiitttlle tiny bit of cold is
REALLY cold. Well-- I still have Puno as one of my options....the
coldest place in PERU. Well, I know wherever I go next I will
adapt...no matter how hard it is. But I better be prepared for cold
because there are no more hot places for me to go in the mission.
WAHOO!!!
Ya, so we went for training in Cusco and Pres talked to me about my
companion and said that she needs lots of love and spiritual experiences
and he was confident that I could help her out. Sometimes my head
hurts at the end of the day-- but I liked what Dad said that if I
become like the Savior in the process..His love can be transmitted
though me to her and she can learn.
I learned that being Relief Society Pres in Idaho..but I had
forgotten. As we come
closer to the Savior, we can transmit the love that He has for
everyone under our stewardship and we can help them gain their own
personal relationship with the Savior...which is the greatest gift we
could give anyone. Its hard work too :) :) There is a quote that i love that Hna Cuenca gave me that is
something along the lines of "The greatest satisfaction we can gain in
this life is when we consecrate all of our time and efforts to the
purposes and will of God. D Todd Christofferson. That is when we are
truly happy..
Oh and thanks mom for the quote about a positive attitude. Haha I like
it a lot!!!!!!!!!
Hope everything is going well at home...everything is great here in
Quillabamba. I am lovin' every minute!
Love always
Hermana Lindsey
EVERYONE down to my converts like to remind me that I only have 6
months left. They want me to leave?? No, but everyone likes to
know how much time I have in the mission and when I say a year they
all start to ask what I will do when I go home..they all want me to
come and visit after I have my family...BUT--I say I am not going home.
I will buy my land here in Quillabamba and harvest my bananas :) Really I think I have decided that if people ask me how much time I
have I will respond and say I don´t remember. The thought of home is
happy...but very sad at the same time. And so I prefer not to think
about it until the very very last moment..
This Sunday we didn´t have very many people in church but I was so
happy because my most recent convert Yulisa gave her testimony in
sacrament meeting...all she said was that she knows the church is true
in the name of Jesus cChrist Amen, but it was so sweet!!! Things with
my companion are the same. I hope to help her out. Thursday I went
for training in Cusco and the climate there practically killed me. My
stomach hurt so bad...I don't know where I am going next but I have got occustumed so much to the heat that a liiiiitttlle tiny bit of cold is
REALLY cold. Well-- I still have Puno as one of my options....the
coldest place in PERU. Well, I know wherever I go next I will
adapt...no matter how hard it is. But I better be prepared for cold
because there are no more hot places for me to go in the mission.
WAHOO!!!
Ya, so we went for training in Cusco and Pres talked to me about my
companion and said that she needs lots of love and spiritual experiences
and he was confident that I could help her out. Sometimes my head
hurts at the end of the day-- but I liked what Dad said that if I
become like the Savior in the process..His love can be transmitted
though me to her and she can learn.
I learned that being Relief Society Pres in Idaho..but I had
forgotten. As we come
closer to the Savior, we can transmit the love that He has for
everyone under our stewardship and we can help them gain their own
personal relationship with the Savior...which is the greatest gift we
could give anyone. Its hard work too :) :) There is a quote that i love that Hna Cuenca gave me that is
something along the lines of "The greatest satisfaction we can gain in
this life is when we consecrate all of our time and efforts to the
purposes and will of God. D Todd Christofferson. That is when we are
truly happy..
Oh and thanks mom for the quote about a positive attitude. Haha I like
it a lot!!!!!!!!!
Hope everything is going well at home...everything is great here in
Quillabamba. I am lovin' every minute!
Love always
Hermana Lindsey
Monday, July 30, 2012
Feliz Cumpleanos a Mi!!!!!!
Hola Familia!
Wow. I have A LOT to tell you all. First things first, thank you Clark for your email. I will tell you I have just been asked to lead a
choir for a musical recital they will have here in Quillabamba for the
end of August...I am going to lead a freaking choir and I have no idea
what I am doing. But we are preparing 3 songs and I just hope it all
sounds great in the end!!!!!!! wahhh!!!!!!! And no one can play the
piano either and so I will be practicing the songs so I can play the on the piano. WHAT? haha
Second my birthday was one of the best days EVER. I have a few
pictures but I can´t send them but maybe I will put them in an
envelope and mail them. It started out
normal...preaching..teaching..and then we went to lunch and all the
elders sang "happy birthday" to me and one of them pretended to give me
a gift but it was really the baptismal clothes for the baptism I was
to have that night. Haha it was funny. I will speak more about the
baptism later. But I went to give a couple of things to my ¨mama¨ in
the mission, Hermana Roxana. She is our old pensionista and she said she
would cook anything I wanted and that we could come to her house in
the night and eat. So of course..I asked for pizza. It was SO good.
I have been having problems with my stomach again lately I went to the
doctor and I have an infection but I am getting better and I am so
happy because now I can eat. And it was good.
Yeah, well we ate pizza with all the Elders and they sang Feliz Cumpleaños and it's a tradition after you blow the candle out that you
eat a portion of the cake--or in other words you put your face close
to the cake and someone else smashes your face into it. Yummy. I ate
so much frosting in that moment I was afraid I would throw up. Then we all ate cake and the Elders gave me presents. The other Hermanas--oh thats right with the changes there are now 4 Hermanas
here in the zone...and not just us two. It is pretty fun we all live
together. I am liking it. So the other Hermanas gave me a really cool looking bracelet and
the Elders.. (it was so funny) bought me a little figurine
doll and they told me that they bought it because it looks like what I
looked like when i was young...gringa :) It actually looks like
me too. And they bought me a picture frame so I can put a picture of
the whole zone in there. It was so sweet. They threatened to put an
egg on my head (it's a tradition) but in the end they did not. Thank
goodness.
Thank you family for all the birthday wishes although it wasn't at
home with my family...I felt your love through the letters and I
really felt the love of the members here and I feel like I have a
family here. I think it will be reallllllllllly hard to leave. But
that's a good thing. :)
I am sure you are all wondering what happened with my companion and my
new companion. Well, mi hija was sent to Puno...the poor thing that
is the coldest area in the mission!!! But I received a call from her
on my birthday and she seems to be doing quite well. My new companion
is from Argentina (Mendoza)...is from the same group as mi hija and so
I am finishing her training with her here. Her name is Hna Lepez and
she is 33 years old. I can`t say much here but she is having some
difficulties in the mission...I received a call from the assistants
and they assured me that the change had nothing to do with my capacity
to train, just they felt the change was necessary for the progress of
both of them. I have to be firm and loving with her...a new thing for
me. I think I will learn a lot. My goal this week is to teach her
how to be happy.
The baptism we had this weekend was one of the most touching
experiences for me. We have been working with a young girl 15 years
old for a while and she wants to be baptized but her dad told her no
and her mom told her yes. Her parents are separated but her dad was
really strong in telling her not to do it but she told him it didn´t
matter what he said and she made the decision from that point to
prepare for a baptism. She attends seminary every morning and has
really gained a testimony of the church. She was baptized thisSaturday.
And a miracle happened in her family. Her father came to the
baptism. Her mom, her sister, to see her in white ready to be
baptized began to cry. They said they felt something really special
and they told us they would support her and they wanted to come to
church with her. And with tears in his eyes, after the baptism, the
father looked at us and told us that he wants to learn more, that he
noticed something different in his daughter and he knows that what she
has chosen to do is good and he wants to learn more. The next day he
came to church and we challenged him to be baptized at the end of the
month..and he accepeted. Even though the parents are separated...the
mom asked the dad to sit with her in church...and I don´t know maybe
after time marriage will be possible for them too. What a blessing it
would be for the whole family. It truly was a miracle...and just for
my birthday too!!!!!!!!!!! The young girl that was baptized she has a
younger brother (10 years old) and after she left the baptismal font
he came RUNNING back to the font and asked the elder "can I be
baptized with my sister too????" It was the CUTEST thing ever. Of
course the Elder said yes...but he will be baptized with his dad.
So everything is great. Working with my new companion will be a new
challenge, but I am excited to work with her. And we have received
blessings and blessings from the Lord. The truth is I have a love that
runs deep for every single member, for everyone here in Peru.
Alma 29:1-3 pretty much sums up how I feel.
Feliz anniversario papas!!!! Happy Anniversary mom and dad :) It is
SUCH a blessing to have a mom and a dad who are sealed in the temple,
active in the church, who have taught their children to obey and
serve. What more can I ask for?
With all my love
Hermana Lindsey
Wow. I have A LOT to tell you all. First things first, thank you Clark for your email. I will tell you I have just been asked to lead a
choir for a musical recital they will have here in Quillabamba for the
end of August...I am going to lead a freaking choir and I have no idea
what I am doing. But we are preparing 3 songs and I just hope it all
sounds great in the end!!!!!!! wahhh!!!!!!! And no one can play the
piano either and so I will be practicing the songs so I can play the on the piano. WHAT? haha
Second my birthday was one of the best days EVER. I have a few
pictures but I can´t send them but maybe I will put them in an
envelope and mail them. It started out
normal...preaching..teaching..and then we went to lunch and all the
elders sang "happy birthday" to me and one of them pretended to give me
a gift but it was really the baptismal clothes for the baptism I was
to have that night. Haha it was funny. I will speak more about the
baptism later. But I went to give a couple of things to my ¨mama¨ in
the mission, Hermana Roxana. She is our old pensionista and she said she
would cook anything I wanted and that we could come to her house in
the night and eat. So of course..I asked for pizza. It was SO good.
I have been having problems with my stomach again lately I went to the
doctor and I have an infection but I am getting better and I am so
happy because now I can eat. And it was good.
Yeah, well we ate pizza with all the Elders and they sang Feliz Cumpleaños and it's a tradition after you blow the candle out that you
eat a portion of the cake--or in other words you put your face close
to the cake and someone else smashes your face into it. Yummy. I ate
so much frosting in that moment I was afraid I would throw up. Then we all ate cake and the Elders gave me presents. The other Hermanas--oh thats right with the changes there are now 4 Hermanas
here in the zone...and not just us two. It is pretty fun we all live
together. I am liking it. So the other Hermanas gave me a really cool looking bracelet and
the Elders.. (it was so funny) bought me a little figurine
doll and they told me that they bought it because it looks like what I
looked like when i was young...gringa :) It actually looks like
me too. And they bought me a picture frame so I can put a picture of
the whole zone in there. It was so sweet. They threatened to put an
egg on my head (it's a tradition) but in the end they did not. Thank
goodness.
Thank you family for all the birthday wishes although it wasn't at
home with my family...I felt your love through the letters and I
really felt the love of the members here and I feel like I have a
family here. I think it will be reallllllllllly hard to leave. But
that's a good thing. :)
I am sure you are all wondering what happened with my companion and my
new companion. Well, mi hija was sent to Puno...the poor thing that
is the coldest area in the mission!!! But I received a call from her
on my birthday and she seems to be doing quite well. My new companion
is from Argentina (Mendoza)...is from the same group as mi hija and so
I am finishing her training with her here. Her name is Hna Lepez and
she is 33 years old. I can`t say much here but she is having some
difficulties in the mission...I received a call from the assistants
and they assured me that the change had nothing to do with my capacity
to train, just they felt the change was necessary for the progress of
both of them. I have to be firm and loving with her...a new thing for
me. I think I will learn a lot. My goal this week is to teach her
how to be happy.
The baptism we had this weekend was one of the most touching
experiences for me. We have been working with a young girl 15 years
old for a while and she wants to be baptized but her dad told her no
and her mom told her yes. Her parents are separated but her dad was
really strong in telling her not to do it but she told him it didn´t
matter what he said and she made the decision from that point to
prepare for a baptism. She attends seminary every morning and has
really gained a testimony of the church. She was baptized thisSaturday.
And a miracle happened in her family. Her father came to the
baptism. Her mom, her sister, to see her in white ready to be
baptized began to cry. They said they felt something really special
and they told us they would support her and they wanted to come to
church with her. And with tears in his eyes, after the baptism, the
father looked at us and told us that he wants to learn more, that he
noticed something different in his daughter and he knows that what she
has chosen to do is good and he wants to learn more. The next day he
came to church and we challenged him to be baptized at the end of the
month..and he accepeted. Even though the parents are separated...the
mom asked the dad to sit with her in church...and I don´t know maybe
after time marriage will be possible for them too. What a blessing it
would be for the whole family. It truly was a miracle...and just for
my birthday too!!!!!!!!!!! The young girl that was baptized she has a
younger brother (10 years old) and after she left the baptismal font
he came RUNNING back to the font and asked the elder "can I be
baptized with my sister too????" It was the CUTEST thing ever. Of
course the Elder said yes...but he will be baptized with his dad.
So everything is great. Working with my new companion will be a new
challenge, but I am excited to work with her. And we have received
blessings and blessings from the Lord. The truth is I have a love that
runs deep for every single member, for everyone here in Peru.
Alma 29:1-3 pretty much sums up how I feel.
Feliz anniversario papas!!!! Happy Anniversary mom and dad :) It is
SUCH a blessing to have a mom and a dad who are sealed in the temple,
active in the church, who have taught their children to obey and
serve. What more can I ask for?
With all my love
Hermana Lindsey
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Just Keep Swimming!
Wow its already Monday. I am excited to hear that the Flemings are
coming in Wednesday!!!!!!!!! Bienvenidos a mi HOGAR!!!!!!!! jaja
Welcome to my home. It sounds like it will be a great summer. And
David goes to EFY and then to Scout camp...where is he going next?? It sounds like it will be a blast for him. And Dad you said
that Clark is emailing me...but no. I hope to receive an email from
him before I end my mission :) I hope everything is well with him.
He seems to be enjoying his time in Argentina.
This week was pretty good---I worked really hard to get my convert to
come on Sunday to receive the Holy Ghost and he finally came!!!! But
I was disappointed because they told him he needed to wait to the
other Sunday because he came late. But what can I do but support the
members? The branch is really great here, just I was a little
frustrated. We are starting a new mission plan with the branch. I think
I have mentioned it before but we are working with one family to help
them get excited about sharing the gospel and they have to read their
scriptures as a family every night for three weeks and contact and
give out a Book of Mormon. Its pretty cool. And the family that I am
working with, their 14 year old son reminds me so much of David. He
helps out his mom so much, he is very thoughtful, an extremely hard
worker, and he attends seminary every day and studies the scriptures
every night. He will be a great leader.
This week I will just move forward and try and help as many people as
I can. Dad said that the real success is not measured by numbers or
baptisms, but it is really if you have the Spirit with you or not. Its
true. I hope to have more of the Spirit with me this week.
Well, changes are this week but we will be staying :) yo y mi hija.
And I am happy. There is a lot of work to be done.
Love
Hermana Lindsey
coming in Wednesday!!!!!!!!! Bienvenidos a mi HOGAR!!!!!!!! jaja
Welcome to my home. It sounds like it will be a great summer. And
David goes to EFY and then to Scout camp...where is he going next?? It sounds like it will be a blast for him. And Dad you said
that Clark is emailing me...but no. I hope to receive an email from
him before I end my mission :) I hope everything is well with him.
He seems to be enjoying his time in Argentina.
This week was pretty good---I worked really hard to get my convert to
come on Sunday to receive the Holy Ghost and he finally came!!!! But
I was disappointed because they told him he needed to wait to the
other Sunday because he came late. But what can I do but support the
members? The branch is really great here, just I was a little
frustrated. We are starting a new mission plan with the branch. I think
I have mentioned it before but we are working with one family to help
them get excited about sharing the gospel and they have to read their
scriptures as a family every night for three weeks and contact and
give out a Book of Mormon. Its pretty cool. And the family that I am
working with, their 14 year old son reminds me so much of David. He
helps out his mom so much, he is very thoughtful, an extremely hard
worker, and he attends seminary every day and studies the scriptures
every night. He will be a great leader.
This week I will just move forward and try and help as many people as
I can. Dad said that the real success is not measured by numbers or
baptisms, but it is really if you have the Spirit with you or not. Its
true. I hope to have more of the Spirit with me this week.
Well, changes are this week but we will be staying :) yo y mi hija.
And I am happy. There is a lot of work to be done.
Love
Hermana Lindsey
Monday, July 9, 2012
Love the Jungle
Bueno familia
Yesterday the Elders were comparing star wars and the Joseph Smith story….something I have never done before. But as they were talking and laughing, one of the elders said "and I saw a sword of light, directly over my head, and it gradually decended until it fell upon me…..” It was the most hilarious moment EVER. That’s the elders for ya! Well, this week we had about the same amount of success. Looking for new people, trying our best to help them understand, and we fasted and we prayed so that people could attend church especially the baptism we had two weeks ago so he can receive the Holy Ghost…..but nothing.
Maybe we are doing something wrong….
But…as it says in the scriptures…the prophets fasted and prayed for many days before they had success….but how many days???????????????
Mom thanks for your email. I think I am learning patience. We were super stressed last night thinking about the people we wanted to baptize this month and how we can help them…we prayed and we will keep praying. Good news number one, that amongst all the stress last night we managed to have a really great time laughing. Like Mom said, when it is hard, it is so important to have a sense of humor. Good news number two, the less active families we visited this week came to church.
Sounds like David had a really really great time at EFY. I am so happy for you!!!!!!!!!! BUT they CHANGED THE SONG? Porqùe???????????????
Oye no es justo!!!!!!! Not fair. But I can tell that he really
learned a lot and felt the spirit…and had a COW or two. That
sounds so funny.
We also had fires on the mountain this week…but they just let it run its course and all the mosquitos come down from the mountain and eat ME out of all the other BILLION people they could choose from. Its because I'm white.
Today we went to Mandor (the waterfalls) again and I took some more pictures… it's so cool to be in the jungle. I LOOOOVE it.
It sounds like everything is going really really well at home. Continue to enjoy your time in the summer heat and I will try this week to notice more of the little daily blessings the Lord gives me amongst the more bigger challenges we are facing. I still trust in the Lord.
I don’t have much more to say except 19 days until I am 22!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Love
Hermana Lindsey
Yesterday the Elders were comparing star wars and the Joseph Smith story….something I have never done before. But as they were talking and laughing, one of the elders said "and I saw a sword of light, directly over my head, and it gradually decended until it fell upon me…..” It was the most hilarious moment EVER. That’s the elders for ya! Well, this week we had about the same amount of success. Looking for new people, trying our best to help them understand, and we fasted and we prayed so that people could attend church especially the baptism we had two weeks ago so he can receive the Holy Ghost…..but nothing.
Maybe we are doing something wrong….
But…as it says in the scriptures…the prophets fasted and prayed for many days before they had success….but how many days???????????????
Mom thanks for your email. I think I am learning patience. We were super stressed last night thinking about the people we wanted to baptize this month and how we can help them…we prayed and we will keep praying. Good news number one, that amongst all the stress last night we managed to have a really great time laughing. Like Mom said, when it is hard, it is so important to have a sense of humor. Good news number two, the less active families we visited this week came to church.
Sounds like David had a really really great time at EFY. I am so happy for you!!!!!!!!!! BUT they CHANGED THE SONG? Porqùe???????????????
Oye no es justo!!!!!!! Not fair. But I can tell that he really
learned a lot and felt the spirit…and had a COW or two. That
sounds so funny.
We also had fires on the mountain this week…but they just let it run its course and all the mosquitos come down from the mountain and eat ME out of all the other BILLION people they could choose from. Its because I'm white.
Today we went to Mandor (the waterfalls) again and I took some more pictures… it's so cool to be in the jungle. I LOOOOVE it.
It sounds like everything is going really really well at home. Continue to enjoy your time in the summer heat and I will try this week to notice more of the little daily blessings the Lord gives me amongst the more bigger challenges we are facing. I still trust in the Lord.
I don’t have much more to say except 19 days until I am 22!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Love
Hermana Lindsey
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Atonement of Jesus Christ
Hola Familia
President came this week. It was a great learning experience for all.
We had a training for the leaders of all the branches and practically
President "burned" all of them for not working 100%. He used the
scriptures in Alma 4:18-20 to tell the presidents to leave their
¨judicial seat¨and get out and work with the people. Attendance is
low here, and we are trying to break the barrier between ¨church¨ and
¨missionary work¨so that the work can move forward with more speed
and efficiency. Church and missionary work go hand in hand and now I
think the members understand a little more of how to work together
with us. We had our FIRST branch council this Sunday. You gotta
start somewhere! My companion and I made a really great missionary
plan that we shared with them and I think if we work hard to get it
started and keep it moving it can really help us and the branch be
much stronger.
But President also "burned" all of us missionaries for not working 100%
because right now we are all being mediocre missionaries and we have a
lot more to give. Its true. Guess it must be the heat. I don``t
know, but the area is wonderful and the members are so great and we
are finding people, just that there is a better way to do all of this
and it is to work together with the members. He taught us that the
way to work efficiently may not bring immediate results, but if done
correctly will bring continuous results later. Then he listened to
all of our ëxcuses¨for why we didn´t have great results this month and
he taught us one of the greatest lessons I have had about the
Atonement of Jesus Christ. In PMG it says that äs your understanding
of the Atonement increases, your desire to share the gospèl will grow¨
I have always pondered on that statement. I always understood and
knew that Jesus Christ suffered and died for each one of us, but my
understanding deepened incredibly after this experience.
Hna Calderon brought in a giant delicious looking cake for us to eat
after the conference but one of the assistants, Elder Bush, wrote on the
board "only those who have had perfect numbers of excellence in their
entire mission can eat the cake" Well, none of us. Then he wrote on
the board "Elder Parra (the other assistant) will do 15 push ups for
every missionary so they can eat the cake." Already I guessed what the
lesson was, but I didn`t expect to learn as much as I did-
Elder Bush said " Hermana Lindsey, do you want to eat the cake?"
"Yes" I said. Then he turned to Elder Parra "Elder, are you willing
to do 15 push ups for Hermana Lindsey?" Emphathetically he said YES.
So I got cake.
One by one he followed the same process. At first the elders were all
laughing and cheering..but after about 4 missionaries got cake we
started to notice that Elder Parra was in pain. So one of the Elders
proudly responded to the question "I will do my own push ups for the
cake" But Elder Bush responded "I am sorry but the only way you can
have cake is if Elder Parra does the push ups." Another missionary
later said "NO I don't want cake!! I don´t want him to be in pain
anymore" but then elder Parra turned to this missionary and very
gently said " Elder, you may not want the cake right now, but some day
you might be hungry and will want it, and so even if you don´t want it
right now, I will do the push ups for you." Silence filled the room,
as we watched him do 15 push ups for every missionary, now that our
appetite for the cake was completely gone. Elder Parra began to shed
a few tears in pain, and his smile was gone. We opened our scriptures
and read the account of the atonement in Luke 22 and it says that an
angel came to help Christ during this time. So one of the
missionaries came to help elder Parra do his push ups. 5 more
missionaries were missing cake. But it also says in Luke that the
angel could not help him for the whole time, so he left and Elder Parra was left alone again to do the push ups. And he did them for
every single missionary (12)
Then we read 2 Nephi 2:8.
I learned from this experience and felt a little more of what Christ
has done for me, but even more is what He did for those who don´t want
to learn the gospel or who will never accept it. He gave us ALL the
opportunity. And how truly great it is to make this known unto ALL
the inhabitants of the earth!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! EVERYONE has a
chance. I was very humbled, especially reflected on those times at
the beginning of my mission when I didn´t contact people because I was
scared. How prideful I am and how much I need to change...because I
have to work 100% NOW to receive 100% of the blessings the Lord has in
store. And the Lord has made it very clear to me in many occasions. He
intends to bless me and the people I teach immensely in the time of my
mission. Now I understand why when I understand the atonement more,
my desire to share increased 10 times more. I don´t understand how it
was done, or how it works, but I KNOW it was done and that it DOES
work. We ALL have a chance, a second, and a third and as many as we
need to come back. And as it says in Mosiah, all He requires is that
we keep the commandments.
Henry B Eyring said that "whenever I am tempted to say that I have
worked and I need a vacation, or I need rest after a long and hard day
of work, I always say these words " Remember Him" and I receive the
strength necessary to continue.
We have been called in this time to come to Him, to remember Him, and
to bring others with us. Salvation is not a cheap experience. It
will be hard. Elder Holland said that " A missionary must be prepared
to walk a little of the path that He walked in order to bring
salvation to His sons and daughters. We will have to pay a portion of
that price. But we have the promise that we don´t have to do it
ALONE.
When I am tempted to wonder "why don´t people just GET BAPTIZED and
why is it so frustrating and hard to help people understand...I will
Remember my Savior and my Redeemer-- and I think he will teach me to
love each one of His children, as he has loved every single one of us.
I don´t want to give up my name tag with Jesus Christ, but I know one
day I will, and I don´t want it to just be a memory but I want it to
be a part of me.
Ha, well, I learned so much that I might not be able to write it all
here but I hope you all got a feel of what I experienced this weekend.
I love the people here with all my heart, I love the gospel, and I
love my Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.
All my love
Hermana ;Lindsey
President came this week. It was a great learning experience for all.
We had a training for the leaders of all the branches and practically
President "burned" all of them for not working 100%. He used the
scriptures in Alma 4:18-20 to tell the presidents to leave their
¨judicial seat¨and get out and work with the people. Attendance is
low here, and we are trying to break the barrier between ¨church¨ and
¨missionary work¨so that the work can move forward with more speed
and efficiency. Church and missionary work go hand in hand and now I
think the members understand a little more of how to work together
with us. We had our FIRST branch council this Sunday. You gotta
start somewhere! My companion and I made a really great missionary
plan that we shared with them and I think if we work hard to get it
started and keep it moving it can really help us and the branch be
much stronger.
But President also "burned" all of us missionaries for not working 100%
because right now we are all being mediocre missionaries and we have a
lot more to give. Its true. Guess it must be the heat. I don``t
know, but the area is wonderful and the members are so great and we
are finding people, just that there is a better way to do all of this
and it is to work together with the members. He taught us that the
way to work efficiently may not bring immediate results, but if done
correctly will bring continuous results later. Then he listened to
all of our ëxcuses¨for why we didn´t have great results this month and
he taught us one of the greatest lessons I have had about the
Atonement of Jesus Christ. In PMG it says that äs your understanding
of the Atonement increases, your desire to share the gospèl will grow¨
I have always pondered on that statement. I always understood and
knew that Jesus Christ suffered and died for each one of us, but my
understanding deepened incredibly after this experience.
Hna Calderon brought in a giant delicious looking cake for us to eat
after the conference but one of the assistants, Elder Bush, wrote on the
board "only those who have had perfect numbers of excellence in their
entire mission can eat the cake" Well, none of us. Then he wrote on
the board "Elder Parra (the other assistant) will do 15 push ups for
every missionary so they can eat the cake." Already I guessed what the
lesson was, but I didn`t expect to learn as much as I did-
Elder Bush said " Hermana Lindsey, do you want to eat the cake?"
"Yes" I said. Then he turned to Elder Parra "Elder, are you willing
to do 15 push ups for Hermana Lindsey?" Emphathetically he said YES.
So I got cake.
One by one he followed the same process. At first the elders were all
laughing and cheering..but after about 4 missionaries got cake we
started to notice that Elder Parra was in pain. So one of the Elders
proudly responded to the question "I will do my own push ups for the
cake" But Elder Bush responded "I am sorry but the only way you can
have cake is if Elder Parra does the push ups." Another missionary
later said "NO I don't want cake!! I don´t want him to be in pain
anymore" but then elder Parra turned to this missionary and very
gently said " Elder, you may not want the cake right now, but some day
you might be hungry and will want it, and so even if you don´t want it
right now, I will do the push ups for you." Silence filled the room,
as we watched him do 15 push ups for every missionary, now that our
appetite for the cake was completely gone. Elder Parra began to shed
a few tears in pain, and his smile was gone. We opened our scriptures
and read the account of the atonement in Luke 22 and it says that an
angel came to help Christ during this time. So one of the
missionaries came to help elder Parra do his push ups. 5 more
missionaries were missing cake. But it also says in Luke that the
angel could not help him for the whole time, so he left and Elder Parra was left alone again to do the push ups. And he did them for
every single missionary (12)
Then we read 2 Nephi 2:8.
I learned from this experience and felt a little more of what Christ
has done for me, but even more is what He did for those who don´t want
to learn the gospel or who will never accept it. He gave us ALL the
opportunity. And how truly great it is to make this known unto ALL
the inhabitants of the earth!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! EVERYONE has a
chance. I was very humbled, especially reflected on those times at
the beginning of my mission when I didn´t contact people because I was
scared. How prideful I am and how much I need to change...because I
have to work 100% NOW to receive 100% of the blessings the Lord has in
store. And the Lord has made it very clear to me in many occasions. He
intends to bless me and the people I teach immensely in the time of my
mission. Now I understand why when I understand the atonement more,
my desire to share increased 10 times more. I don´t understand how it
was done, or how it works, but I KNOW it was done and that it DOES
work. We ALL have a chance, a second, and a third and as many as we
need to come back. And as it says in Mosiah, all He requires is that
we keep the commandments.
Henry B Eyring said that "whenever I am tempted to say that I have
worked and I need a vacation, or I need rest after a long and hard day
of work, I always say these words " Remember Him" and I receive the
strength necessary to continue.
We have been called in this time to come to Him, to remember Him, and
to bring others with us. Salvation is not a cheap experience. It
will be hard. Elder Holland said that " A missionary must be prepared
to walk a little of the path that He walked in order to bring
salvation to His sons and daughters. We will have to pay a portion of
that price. But we have the promise that we don´t have to do it
ALONE.
When I am tempted to wonder "why don´t people just GET BAPTIZED and
why is it so frustrating and hard to help people understand...I will
Remember my Savior and my Redeemer-- and I think he will teach me to
love each one of His children, as he has loved every single one of us.
I don´t want to give up my name tag with Jesus Christ, but I know one
day I will, and I don´t want it to just be a memory but I want it to
be a part of me.
Ha, well, I learned so much that I might not be able to write it all
here but I hope you all got a feel of what I experienced this weekend.
I love the people here with all my heart, I love the gospel, and I
love my Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.
All my love
Hermana ;Lindsey
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