a sacred responsibility

MI GENTE PRECIOSA-

We've hit about every range of emotions this week-so it's been pretty normal!!!!! We've been in a trio this week with my girl Hermana Kealm.  We're from the same MTC group so it's been way fun to catch up and to work together.  I just love her to death :')  Normally, it would be pretty stressful to be in a trio, but we've just been having a grand time laughing, crying, eating way too much ice cream, contacting EVERYONE, and telling stories.

Let's start off with our friends Norma and Gerrard :-)  We've been working a ton with them and they are progressing so well!!!!  Normally, we really struggle because we don't know how to teach them in two different languages but this week, with Hermana Kealm, we were finally able to have a quality lesson with them both!!! On Wednesday, Hermana Kealm taught Gerrard Spanish while we taught Norma the first lesson.  It went SO good.  Norma is just proof that God is preparing people for

us.   We talked about how much this message is going to bless her little family, about the restoration, and the Joseph smith experience.  After sharing his experience, I said, "do you think it's possible that Joseph Smith really saw God?"  And she told us that she believed it completely.  She told us that when she was 12, she lived in a Catholic home with nuns for teachers.  She was in Bolivia by herself and just felt so alone.  She said she remembers praying with all her heart to feel better.  She had a dream that night that God came to her and wrapped her in a hug and said, "you're not alone, I'm here to take care of you."  She told us that she believed that Joseph Smith saw God because she'd seen Him and never forgotten the experience.  Then we asked her to get baptized and she accepted!!!!!  Right now, we're working towards the 9th of September so keep her in your prayers.  She might actually have her baby around that time so right now it's a goal they're working towards to pray and know for themselves that this church is true.

On Friday, thanks to Hermana Kealm, we were able to teach Gerrard.  It was super weird because it's been a while since I've shared the first lesson in English.  I'm definitely more comfortable doing it in Spanish, but thankful that the gift of tongues  works both ways.  Update, Gerrard is doing SO so so much better.  He's happier and nicer and more fun to be around and I just love teaching him.  Anyways, with him we had to kinda go to level 0 but he seemed to understand it really well.  He kept saying, "This makes so much sense to me" or "I feel so happy listening to this" or "I really wanna know if this is true."  IT WAS SO COOL.  We talked about the Book of Mormon and how it was evidence that Joseph Smith was a prophet.  We asked him to read and pray SPECIFICALLY about it.  He was so cute and SO excited to ask God.  I don't know how to explain it, but he's just like a giant 5 year old and he was so excited to learn all of it.  We are working towards baptism on September 9th with him as well.

This week, I read a talk called, "What have you done with my name?"  It really made me reflect my mission and look back and see how I have been serving as a representative of Jesus Christ.  But it also made me look back on my life and ask the same question.  A mission is a great time to focus 100% on the Lord and His work but as followers and disciples of Christ, we have the responsibility to make him PROUD of how we are using his name.  What a sacred responsibility he has given us.

I just love you guys with all my heart, thanks for everything!!!!

Con muchisimo amor,

Hermana Spangler