wow where do I begin?!!! this week was AMAZING ((of course-every day is amazing out here))
first, an experience. so on Tuesday, during my personal study I started out with a prayer and prayed specifically that I would learned something that day that would bless the life of someone I talked to. I opened up my scriptures and there was a sticky note there with like 7 scriptures on it that I had written down from the mtc. I chose one of them to study and it was d&c 31:2. "Behold, you have had many afflictions because of your family; nevertheless, I will bless you and your family, yea, your little ones; and the day cometh that they will believe and know the truth and be one with you in my church." which basically says that sometimes it's hard to believe in God when your family doesn't. but it promises blessings if you remain faithful and do the things you're supposed to every day. so I wrote it down because I liked it a lot.
NOW LISTEN TO THIS hermana Vigo and I were teaching a less active in our ward, Leo. he's great. He's become one of my favorite people out here, seriously like funny and outgoing and fun and I really enjoy teaching him. he got baptized about 3 years ago but then fell away ((stopped coming to church)) because his family members are not Mormon and he does not have a lot of support. ((I learned all of this on Tuesday while teaching him.)) anyways, we planned to show a video about Jesus Christ and talk a little bit about that but the lesson ended up going a different way. we talked about the importance of reading and praying every day and he does a really good job with praying but struggles with reading. and he said its hard because his family doesn't love the church and he has a hard time praying because he doesn't think it's benefiting anyone. OBVIOUSLY i pulled that scripture out right away. I read it with him and promised that if he continued praying and reading every day, not only him but also his family would receive blessings. after I read it he just looked at me and said "wow." and then he promised to start reading every day. yes, WOW. I am still in awe at how perfectly Heavenly Father knows us. he knew exactly what we were going to end up talking about with Leo and he knew exactly what he needed so he led little old me to find the scripture and touch his heart. how blessed am I to have gotten the opportunity to speak to someone's heart through the power of God.
THEN, we saw him again on Saturday and he told us he'd been praying AND READING every day. I was so happy I almost started crying. We read 3 Nephi 11 with him ((one of my favorites in the Book of Mormon)) and talked about it. It went so great. He ended the little lesson with a prayer and started crying half way through because the spirit was just SO strong. It was the sweetest and one of the most beautiful experiences I had ever been a part of. He told us later that was only he 2nd time he had ever cried from feeling the spirit. He said that when he's feeling the spirit it feels like is feet aren't touching the ground and he's flying. An elder in my district, told me that when he feels the spirit it feels like there's something filling up his heart that's 70x too big. And a friend of mine said that for him, "it's like Hugging your mom after not seeing her for a long time. Holding the hand of the person that you really like for the first time. Combining all of the wonderful feelings and experiences into one moment." How beautiful is that? Isn't that something that everyone should want? When I feel the spirit, it feels like any holes that were inside me are filled to the brim. It's the most amazing feeling. And I can tell you exactly how to feel it EVER DAY. Read the Book of Mormon, pray, go to church. If you're a member, strive to do that as much as you can. If you're not, talk to the missionaries. They can help you feel it. I promise you. Our purpose on this earthly is to be happy and to learn and grow. That's what Heavenly Father wants for us.
as for a few things I forgot to mention last week, the ward here is great. the people are small in numbers but strong in spirit. they were so welcoming and so talkative(good thing, but difficult when they ask me a million questions and I don't speak their language). no one in the ward can play the piano so I've officially been called as the ward pianist in relief society and sacrament meeting. Also for any ward activity or meeting. which is fine except for the fact that there about 30 hymns in the Spanish hymn book that don't exist in English. needless to say I forgot that detail and started playing half the songs with the completely wrong tune/tempo because I have never heard them. but ya know what, it's okay because we're all learning here. from now on I'm going to have to listen to the songs before we start so I can actually play them right. also, since I'm the newbie missionary, the bishop asked me to bear my testimony and introduce myself. I basically said I was from Texas, had 4 siblings and bore a simple testimony with the few phrases I know in Spanish. then ended with "Estoy muy agradecido por este OPPORTUNITY." ((I am very grateful for this opportunity)) help. thankfully opportunity in Spanish is 'oportunidad' so it was pretty close. I didn't even notice I had done that until I sat down and elder tye((district leader)) informed me that I said an English word. oops. still haven't quite got the hang of thinking and speaking in Spanish 24/7.
Just wanna end with a quote that i found this week from Gordon B.
Hinckley and absolutely love. "Don't be gloomy. Do not dwell on unkind things. Stop seeking out the storms and enjoy more fully the sunlight. Even if you are not happy, put a smile on your face. Accentuate the positive. Look a little deeper for the good. Go forward in life with a twinkle in your eye and a smile on your face, with great and strong purpose in your heart. Love life."
Love you all mucho!!!!! You're the best!!! You're support and love is what keeps me going throughout the week. Couldn't do it without you guys.
Con amor,
Your favorite spaniard,
Hermana Spangler
Alma 26:12
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