Tuesday, July 21, 2015

Service heals the broken heart and broken body

My sweet, sweet family,
HI. So, when I got home from writing last week I wrote you all a big letter at home that I was going to type up this week. Buuuuut I left it in casa, so I'll just wing it! I didn't write a good letter last week, so I'll try to be better this week!
Whew. A super wet week! Did I mention that Toluca rains every day? It wasn't the easiest week, but we did see some miracles. We're STILL working on the Familia Suarez. Haha, when they get baptized just about all of Toluca will rejoice - the ward is trying so hard to help out. The dad couldn't come to church because one of his uncles is dying, so the mom said she couldn't come either because she was going to have to prepare all of the corn for Monday's tortillas alone... so obviously we offered to help, so we woke up at 5 on Sunday to walk over to their colonia and help. And guess what? Found out that service heals the broken heart...and broken body. I had gotten really sick on Saturday night, and I was obviously not feeling too excited about walking the 40 minute walk to the tortilla place at 6 in the cold morning. But I'm so happy I did it (with the help of some meds)! The rest of the day I hardly felt sick, and today I'm totally fine! Nothing more than a little cold! Aaaaand they came to church. We had some really good people committed to church that fell through, pretty sad, but also some miracles - such as Carlos showing up despite the fact that when we called their house in the morning his wife told me "we're going to MY (Christian) church as a family today, sorry". Also, I can't remember if I've talked about Alicia. She's a super awesome investigator we have who accepted baptism a long time ago. Well, we went to our appointment with her on Thursday, and halfway through the lesson she randomly started telling us "I'm not getting baptized and don't try to tell me that I need to." We've always had such awesome calm lessons with her, she's always been so excited about our invitations, we always feel the Spirit so strong when we're there... but everything just started falling apart. Anyway, instead of feeling frantic or worried, I really just felt so calm. When she finished talking, I felt that I should just calmly explain a few key points and bear testimony. It was one of those moments where I really didn't know what I was saying - I felt the Spirit speaking through me. I can tell when that happens, because I stop worrying about my Spanish (which is still a problem) and the words flow. Anywho, immediately after I stopped talking my companion started sharing a scripture about Noah and 8 years old and baptism and Alicia interrupted and turned to me and randomly said "I'll do it. I'll get baptized. The moment you started talking I felt a great peace and I knew it was the right thing. You have a gift for explaining things." And then she started crying. Of course, I know I had nothing to do with it at all - it wasn't me talking. But it was a cool experience. While I was talking my companion had been looking for this scripture to share and hadn't been listening, so when Alicia said this my companion was all confused and after we left was like "Hermana, what did you say?" I told her "Seriously, Hermana? I can't remember. I have no idea." It was kind of funny. I'm so grateful that the Lord let me have that little experience this week, because honestly it was something I needed. I've been worrying a lot about my Spanish and my knowledge of the scriptures and my ability to explain things, and I've just felt so inadequate this week. Of course, the most important thing is the Spirit. It's the thing I need to focus on the MOST. I feel like this week was full of little tender mercies. My companion and I are still getting along really well, actually we got a dog together this week so I guess you could say things are getting pretty serious... Kate, Christian, Sunni... I hope at least ONE of you is reading this! Remember that dog we found in Bear Lake like ten years ago? The black lab? Pretty sure that same dog found me in Mexico. On Saturday we were walking and I felt sick and was nervous/stressed that people weren't going to show up for church the next day, but I was trying to "fake it til I make it." We say "Buenas tardes" to everything that moves, so to be funny I said "Buenas tardes" to this random stray dog and I don't know what happened but he suddenly got really attached to me and started walking with us, like ALL over. Like through busy streets and neighborhoods and he would walk a bit and then a few seconds later turn around and wait for me and then when I caught up he'd walk with me again. It was so cute. I kept thinking he'd run away but he never did! Only when we were going into a lesson he tried to come in the door with me but the Hermana wasn't feeling it... he wasn't there when we came out :( Anyways, it was just the funniest little thing that made me so happy in kind of a tough moment. Heavenly Father is real, and He loves me. That simple truth was confirmed for me many times this week. I love Him. Please pray this week especially for Carlos, his wife Heidi, Max's mom and dad, Max, Alicia and Antonio, and Benedito, Esperanza, Benedito Jr., Carol, and Mateo Suarez! Here's to a better week, a week of progress and health! Thank you for your words and prayers, I love you all so much! Joseph Smith was a true prophet of God, and through him the fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ was restored. Go read this month's Liahona to find some awesome stories of the life of Joseph Smith, PLEASE! I love you guys. Have a good week!
Beeeeeeg Keeeeeees Leeeeeeetle Keeeeeeees
Hermana LeSueur

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