So last week we went to Centro in Cuernavaca
for p-day. We emailed first and then went and looked around the center. I
fell in love. They have all these little shops with handcrafted things.
Emily -- you would go crazy. I wanted to buy everything I saw but
resisted. One day I'm going back and buying everything, though. When I'm
rich and can actually speak spanish. :)
This week was another busy one. Get used to hearing that. Tuesday
we had a special conference to watch the dedication of the CCM in
Mexico. Elder Oak's dedicated it back in 2013 and it was recorded
because he wanted all missionaries in Mexico to watch it. It was really
cool to learn about how the Lord truly is guiding his work. Elder Oaks
also mentioned that having a testimony is not true conversion. To be
truly converted is to do and become. I got to see my companions from the
MTC at the conference and Elder Montierth (one of the elders from my
MTC district). The first thing he said to me was 'You are still white as
ever'. Ok people...give me some time. The shoe tan line is really
coming in strong.
We are teaching and working with many investigators
but not many of them are progressing because they won't come to church.
It's really frustrating. But we are trying to keep our heads up. One of
the problems is that there are a lot of churches here that go out and
'preach' to people...similar to what we do. However, the difference
between us and them is that 1) we have the fulness of the gospel and 2)
we are asking people to do more than just listen. We are inviting them
to come unto Christ by helping them make covenants...like baptism. We
are asking them to receive an answer for themselves and in order to do
that, they need to read the Book of Mormon, Pray and come to church.
People here love to listen but they don't want to change. So we are
trying to find the people who want to change. In one of the talks in
conference yesterday said that those who are truly seeking to find the
truth will do everything they can to obtain it. So our search for those
people who are prepared continues...
Speaking of conference...I LOVED IT. It goes by way
too fast as a missionary. I was able to watch it in English and it was
lovely. Some of my favorite talks were: Elder Holland (of course), Elder
Bednar, Elder Eyring, Elder Ballard...ok maybe all of them.
But did you all hear Elder Ballard's? Following up
on his request for members to pray to find one person to share the
gospel with? I'll admit, I didn't do that before the mission, but I've
repented and now I'm realizing how important members are in this work.
So you should all totally do that. And study preach my gospel!
I also loved all the talks about obedience. Man,
this world is wicked. We need all the help and blessings we can get. We
are given commandments to bless us. People don't always think that. They
think commandments are just another way to tell us what to do. But it's
a way to exercise our agency and faith and receive blessings.
Something Emily wrote to me last week and something
that I learned from Elder Eyring's talk is that blessings for being
obedient don't always come immediately (also, consequences for sin don't
always come immediately either) but they always come. God is bound to
bless us but He blesses us in His time and when it is best for us. This
is because we need to build faith. I am definitely working on building
my faith as a missionary. Every day my faith is tested as I walk out the
door searching for people who want to accept the gospel. People ignore
us, don't keep committments, etc and I have to walk up and down big
hills...oh and I don't know a lot of spanish. Every night I get home
tired with bug bites, dirty legs and achy feet, but I marvel that I was
able to make it. How did I get through the day? I am not seeing
'success' like I think I should see it...with buckets of people wanting
to accept the gospel, but I am seeing it every night when we get home
safe and we've done all we could during the day. In time I know the Lord
will bless us with success, but I also recognize He is blessing me
every day with little things.
Ok, that's all for this week. I love you all. Here are some pictures from the special conference on Tuesday.
The first is with Hna. Garcia, Hna. Junca, and Hna. Thompson. The
second is our zone. The third and fourth is our companionship. Hna.
Garcia told us we had to carry her since she is our trainer. She is
crazy and I love her.
LOVE YOU ALL!!
Hermana Durham
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