Abundancia En El Señor

holaaaaa feliz lunes!!! 

Ok main lesson of the week is I can't cut cake and I'm apparently a nun. But seriously this week was crazyyyy, good and bad and incredible things.

Tuesday started off with service with our favorite name twin Carynne (still so confusing). We helped paint walls last week (well until she made us leave the house cause there was a slight chance of a gas leak and we were not for being blown up), so this week she had us tape the walls to prep for painting the baseboards. We were pretty much pros, so now I'm a certified taper. After that we spent some time working on revamping our English class because unfortunately we've had zero people lately cry, we're going hard though so just you wait we're gonna have a packed classes soon enough.

Story time since I didn't write last week oops, such a slacker. So we were door knocking last week and I thought we should knock this one door, so we did and this latino guy opens the door and we tell him who we are and about our church and he says ok ill be there. No hesitation, completely sincere. We looked at him like where did you come from. Told us his name was Daniel, gave him our card and that was that. Fast forward that night, we get a text saying church was too far and we realized it was the same guy, so we found him and his wife a ride (sister bates is an angel) and said we'd come over tomorrow. We'd met him for like 5 seconds that day but that next morning we meet up and him and his wife are there ready to go and so we had miracle two friends at church that day and now we're teaching them, tears of joy. Also I started introducing them to everyone as Daniel and diana and the guy pulls us aside and is like hey my name is actually not Daniel, and we looked at him like what. He felt so bad but he didn't know us and had to he careful, (this guy was in the military, ye got his arm blown off, so he knows what he's talking about) he told us his real name is hermides lol.

But back to this week, we had two lessons with hermides and diana, they are both so full of faith and just have such good hearts, we love them. Also diana taught me my new favorite word: chevrísimo, pretty much describes them.

That night we had an AMAZING lesson with our friend Maite. She's my favorite person ever, also she said she would take us to Cuba one day so catch me there in a few years. But we taught her the rest of the Plan of Salvation and holy cow this lesson, she had some questions about heaven and hell and we got to tell her about how we believe that God is more merciful than that, that there are three places that are all kingdoms of glory. She loved the idea of it and when we asked her what she thought, she said she really hopes it's like that, because she's always seen God as loving and merciful. Hna Jackson then started talking about how in the Spirit world we can do baptisms for the dead, at first I was like whoa this is a lot, but I went along with it, and it turned into a really beautiful lesson because Maite lost someone really close to her, and when we told her she could be baptized for her loved one, you could tell how much it meant to her, she said she wants to do it for them. I showed her a picture of the Portland Oregon temple (my temple) and she said she had never seen anything so beautiful. I promised her she could come visit me and we could go to the temple there together. We told her we would work towards that goal so she could be baptized for the loved one, the Spirit was so strong in that room. Maite from the beginning told us she struggles with feeling God's presence, but she could feel the Spirit then, and it made my heart so happy to see the hope it gave her.

Wednesday started off good with interview with President and district council, love the McGinns, had some good lessons, and then we got to our last lesson with our Jehovah's witness friends. We were planning to teach them the rest of the Plan of salvation and follow up on the Book of mormon (gave it to them last week), but yosbel the dad had different plans. Pretty much got talked at for 30 min, we sat there and listened, didn't want to pick a fight. We ended with a more open conversation, and he invited us back to have a bible study together, but not too sure about that. It's always in the Lord's time, they weren't ready then, but I really really hope they can be taught again, they are good people and just trying to teach their daughter the right way. Still hurts though rip.

Thursday some fire lessons and a long weekly planning session, you know how much I love those things. Lesson with jexabel that night with a member, she fed us chocolate cake for her birthday and their nickname for me is la cubana.

Friday we had the craziest thing happen, we went to knock a Grey dot and realized we knew the lady through jexabel small world, and then her friend who had just moved there was actually a member from Venezuela and wanted to come to church! So shared a quick message with them and planning on coming back yayyyy. 

Saturday we had a lesson with idalmis and Owen, new friends, Owen asked if we were nuns like if we wear the things on our heads, we said no. But had a really good lesson on the Restoration with them.

Sunday made me the tiniest bit sad when none of our friends showed up. Two said they were sick, two slept in, and hermides and diana come to find out actually came to church said the door was closed and left cause they can't text without wifi rip. Lloyds were the best and decided to feed us and the elders that night cause we didn't have a meal. I was put in charge of cutting the cake, not a good idea. After dinner we went over to marías, she's the one whos cat is literally a dog, and had another fire resto lesson.

Lessons learned this week: frosting + cremax = Okra is actually a thing (tastes like a great value pickle 0/10 dont recommend), I know how to use FB (ew), rain and drinking cold water = sick latinos grrrr, mananga is also actually a thing, car dealerships have popcorn, who knew, oh and tillamook doesn't exist in Jasper I don't how these people survive

Spiritual thought time 

I found this scripture in personal study and loved it: "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." John 10:10

Living an abundant life to me means living life in joy. Christ is the joy, the more we come to know Him, the more we come to know true joy. The way we come to know Jesus Christ is through His word, so treasure your time in the scriptures! His words will fill us and He will fill our lives in abundance. Somehow when it doesn't seem like there's enough time in the day or energy to spare, when we put Him first, there will always be enough, that's how numbers in heaven work, the end is greater than what we gave, and the difference in the middle is Him.

GOD LOVES YOU, just your daily reminder from your favorite hermana:)

- hermana neil