Training

I'm doing awesome! I love training! My new companion is Hermana Delgado. She was born in Peru, but moved to Orem, Utah when she was 8. Anyways she's super awesome and excited to work! I absolutely adore her :). And I don't even need to teach her Spanish because she's already fluent!

Anyways this week has been really log and a bit crazy, but it's also been really good! Tuesday we had transfers. It was super weird saying bye to about half of the Spanish missionaries! All of a sudden our mission became really young!

 

I was happy to see all my friends because we ever only see the elders we serve with down here which is good and bad. We had a meeting and figured out who our new companions were. I was super excited to be with Hna Delgado. Then as soon as it was done we got going. We visited a bunch of people the first few days. It's a bit crazy training, because since we are Spanish we have 4 hours of straight studies and then we have to make time to visit people! 

 

We've been really lucky to be so busy lately. This week as the first part of Hna Delgado's training she is supposed to take lead in inviting our investigators to be baptized. Although none of the people we invited said yes we had some really neat experiences with it. The first one was with Rena Joseph. We've been teaching Rena for a few months, but hadn't invited her to be baptized for some dumb reason. I think it was partially because at first she totally hated the missionaries and we didn't want her to get offended, but I learned this week that we need to not fear inviting people to repent! Anyways Rena has a bunch of family members who are LDS. Turns out her brother was even bishop over a Ward in the small little town (I can't remember its name right now) next to Tooele, Utah.

 

A lady in our Ward met her at a garage sale and referred her to us, and at first she was shutting the door in Hna Sands and Lund’s face, but now she's gradually opened up to us. Now she even invites us over for dinner! Anyways Thursday we were trying to go visit her and for some reason I could not find her house although I had been there a billion times, finally out of the blue she called us to ask us if we could give her a ride somewhere. We said we couldn't, but then asked if we could go over to teach her since we hadn't been able to for a few weeks. We taught her the Plan of Salvation and explained to her how an important step of that plan is baptism. It was super cool because by the end she was able to recognize that the only way for her to get back to our Heavenly Father was through baptism. So we invited her! And the good news is she didn't totally say no, and I don't think she doesn't want to be, but she said she's worried that she won't be able to change her Catholic culture even though she's not super active anyways. We told her that God would help her along the way and invited her to pray about it. She agreed and we will see her again tomorrow!

 

Our second really cool experience came when our zone leaders invited us to do the same thing we did last March which was to teach the restoration to someone every day for a month. So it was getting pretty late one night, and we still hadn't taught it and we were a little stressed, so we just went home and thought we would just do it twice the next day. Well when we got there we had a thought to go visit our neighbor who had just moved in and a member of our Ward told us to go visit him. So we knocked on his door and gave him some cookies we had made, and he let us share the restoration with him right then and there! It was a cool reminder that when we try to be obedient and have faith in God he always helps us accomplish our goals.

 

Then last night we had a really cool lesson with Melissa. Melissa is the daughter in law of a really awesome member in our Ward named Hna Wright. Anyways we were sharing with her and her less active husband the plan of salvation. It was super cool because every single person there had lost someone in their family. Both of Melissa's parents had passed away in the past year, and also Sister Wright's husband had passed away a few years ago.  When we got to the spirit world in the lesson we for some reason ended up talking about temple work which lead to us talking about temple sealings. It was really cool because we were able to bare testimony of the fact that we can be with our families forever and that Melissa would be able to see her parents again. Sister Wright shared about how much hope that knowledge gives her because she knows she'll see her husband again, and I talked about how I know I'll be able to see my dad again because of the temple. The Spirit was really strong, and we knew that she could feel it too, so we invited her to be baptized and although she said no we know that someday she will be ready to accept out message. I love the scriptures in D&C 50:17-24

17 Verily I say unto you, he that is ordained of me and sent forth to preach the word of truth by the Comforter, in the Spirit of truth, doth he preach it by the Spirit of truth or some other way?

18 And if it be by some other way it is not of God.

19 And again, he that receiveth the word of truth, doth he receive it by the Spirit of truth or some other way?

20 If it be some other way it is not of God.

21 Therefore, why is it that ye cannot understand and know, that he that receiveth the word by the Spirit of truth receiveth it as it is preached by the Spirit of truth?

22 Wherefore, he that preacheth and he that receiveth, understand one another, and both are edified and rejoice together.

23 And that which doth not edify is not of God, and is darkness.

24 That which is of God is light; and he that receiveth light, and continueth in God, receiveth more light; and that light groweth brighter and brighter until the perfect day.

 

I know that as we teach by the Spirit according to people's needs that we will be able to help them feel the Spirit too. As long as we use Him those we teach will feel it too, it's just up to them to follow those promptings. Although sometimes people receive that confirmation from the Spirit it's always hard when they say no, but we just have to remember we all have agency. And who knows maybe that seed we planted in her will someday grow into a great big tree! It just may take a little longer than we hoped. I know his church is true. I know that God loves us and wants the very best for us even if we may not understand His plan perfectly. I'm so grateful for the gospel and the chance to share it every single day. And last of all I'm so grateful for my Savior Jesus Christ and all He has done for me. I love you so much! I hope you have a good week!

Love,

Hermana Burgoyne

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