This will
probably be the last time I write a weekly Update!
How did this
happen? The mission flew by.
Trump is
President. When I found out there was disbelief. It is very strange for me
because when I left no one was talking about elections and then bam people
voted for Trump? Weird. But I feel better the second coming is much closer
:)
This week I
gave a talk (my last) at church about faith in works. Yngridy received the Holy
Ghost too :))))
Super High
light of the week - Elder Nielson
visited our mission. I love him and his wife!! I loved every minute that they
spoke! He is the executive seventy of the mission work. He showed us the new
Christmas videos/campaign that hasn´t been released yet, really really good.
Some notes
about what he said:
We are here
on earth to gain our bodies and be tried and tested. There are people who say
they don´t believe in God because if God existed he wouldn´t let bad things
happen in the world. But it´s why we´re here! If God took away our trials we
would never find Him. We grow and learn through our challenges. Because of the
Atonement we have power to become clean from our sins and we have the
capacitating power to overcome our weaknesses.
Elder Packer
always said where there is fear, faith and Christ disappear. But when Faith in
Christ appear, fear disappears- the only emotion the quorum of the 12 have
never felt together is fear.
The oil in
the lamp of the 12 virgins is not testimony, it´s conversion.
Our
investigator Ana is in the book of Jacob in the Book of Mormon. We read with
her Alma 7:11-16 and 3 Nephi 27 and explained how the atonement is connected
with baptism and she said when she receives her answer she will get
baptized.
Rapael
decided to marry is girlfriend/wife. They´ve been together like 25 years. So
we´re just waiting for the paper to get in to get him married and
baptized.
So Awana was
marked to be baptized this Saturday but in her interview with the first counselor
of the mission, it was determined she needed to wait just a little bit longer.
She was so excited to get baptized, keeping all the commandments. The Spirit
told me the decision was right but it was not pleasant. It was a make it or
break it moment. Giving her a little more time would have given her the chance
to really be firm. But she got very upset and angry and she said she didn´t
want to be baptized anymore and that she would just go back to her old life.
Dropping her off we explained about Michael Jordan how he was rejected the
first time for the team, but it made him learn to work hard and so he became a
much better player because of the challenge. We returned the next day with the
first counselor of our ward and the young women´s couselor who are both really
great. We read Éter 12:27 and it was a great lesson the Spirit was strong. We
testified that our trials make us stronger and are worth it if we don´t give
up. We marked our next visit for the next day, but when we returned she wasn´t
there and she had drunk the night before. The next day she didn´t come to
church and when we passed after we invited her to an activity later, but she
said she would go to another church with her aunt. I love her and I hope one
day she will return :) There are so many blessings the Lord is preparing for
her.
Normally I
don´t give very many details about these types of things, but I shared porque
tou indo embora mesmo! (Just kidding!) because this experience at the very end of my
mission made me reflect on how grateful I am for my testimony, my conversion. Having
the Gospel doesn´t mean we will have less problems than any one else, sometimes
more even. But it does mean that when we face the challenges we know that they
have a purpose and we know how to overcome them because we have Christ by our
side helping us.
I am so
grateful for my mission. I had the oportunbity to understand the atonement of
Christ and recognize Him as my Savior and I have seen the love that the Lord
has for his children.
Com amor,
Até um
pouco,
Sister Haggard
 |
| Elder Nielson conference |
