I leave for Chile on Wednesday! I am beyond excited and scared and nervous and extatic that I can barely think about anything else. It's a weird feeling. Both of my compaions have left for their respective missions already, so I am currently tagging along with a companionship with one hermana going to Chile the same day as me, but Concepcion sur. I had to move houses in the middle of the night after Hermana Baumgart left around two in the morning. It was quite the advernture. Saying goodbye was extremely hard, but I now that I will see everyone again.
One taste I got early of the mission field early this week was when Hermana Pineda got pretty sick and had to be taken to the Emergency Room (don't worry, she's fine now). We left around 11:30 p.m. for the hospital and didn't return until about 7 the next morning. It was a long night. However, somewhere around four o'clock, we started talking to one of the ladies that worked in the waiting area. We asked her about her family, her religion, and she asked about us. She was curious about what we were doing so we asked if she wanted to hear our message. She agreed! We taught the first lesson to the best of our ability, but she could not understand us. It was way early, and our spanish is fairly awful to begin with, so we were having a hard time connecting. However, at one point, We bore our testimonies after Hermana Baumgart recited the first vision, and I felt the spirit. It wasn't huge, but I felt a love for that woman that I could not understand how it came so fast. I could see just a tiny glimpse of what heavenly father must see her as. She agreed to talk to missionaries that would actually be able to talk to her, and we got her contact information.We gave it to our branch president, and I'm very much hoping that she will find the right path. All I can do now is pray for her.
Then sunday was beyond amazing. I still hadn't talked in church yet so I knew that I would most likely be giving my lección. It was on the life and mission of Joseph Smith. As I pondered about it sunday morning I wrote points about what I would like to address. I thought about other prophets and how Jospeh had been called in the same way, through humbling experiences. Such as Moses from prince to shepherd, Nephi from wealthy Jerusalem-ite to wandering in the wilderness, and even our Lord Jesus Christ, the first son of God, born from a mortal woman in a manger. For Jospeh, already extremely humble, had to admit to himself that he needed God to be able to know, and that he could not find the truth on his own. In the prophet pattern of being humbled and then asking God, he became one of the greatest prophets of all time. As I was thinking of this and writing, I was starting to realize all of the things that Joseph Smith had done for me. This whole church, God restored through Jospeh Smith. EVERYTHING I have, work for, love and cherish are because he was humble and great enough to establish the gospel on the earth again. All day I was thinking of new things the prophet had done and I could not stop talking about him or giving thanks for him. During my talk, as I testified of him, my face flushed red, my voice was a pretty animated and I started to cry as I listed the things that he had done for us. He is so wonderful! At the end, I quoted the standard of truth that I had learned at the Hill Cumorah Pageant so many years before. I saw elders silently quoting it with me and I was beyond excited. His mission is our mission. It is the same. We are working together to help bring all of our brothers and sisters back into the fold of God. It is our duty to proclaim this Gospel. Joseph gave his entire life and being to the gospel of Jesus Christ. The least I could do is give 18 months. The least every member can do is invite, love, serve, and help. We all need to be in this work. ALL of us. Jesus died for us. Joseph died for the work. The least we could do is give of ourselves to continue it. Continue the legacy of faith and commitment in the gospel as was started by Joseph Smith.
This is all I have for now, but thank you for being so wonderful! Pray for Angeles please! Pray for the missionaries! Pray for opportunities! Get lost in the work!
Love,
Hermana Richardson
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