Helllllo everyone,
Holy moly it’s August. When did that happen? I think I have talked about this before, but time and space move differently in missions, so it’s hard for me to believe it’s already August. I’m pretty sure I’m going to be a little sad when September rolls around and I’m not heading back to BYU. However, right now I get to focus on being a missionary and doing this work which is also great!
Hermana Fernadez is seriously so wonderful. I am really grateful she’s my companion. She is so happy, obedient, hardworking, and seems to still be tolerating me which is all good!
I am also super thankful to be in this area. There are several people who Hermana Escobar and I found who are now close to having a baptismal date which is exciting. It reminds me that this work actually is possible. It just requires a lot of faith. Faith on our part as missionaries and their part as investigators. As missionaries we have to believe that this work is important and can change people’s lives and then work accordingly. As investigators, they have to believe that the message of the gospel is true and then do something about it. Sometimes I get caught in the trap of going through the motions without believing that what I am doing is really going to make a difference. It seems like our investigators believe in the message we are sharing but don’t want to do keep their commitments or do anything about it. So if both of us do our part, that is when we see Heavenly Father really magnifying the effort put forth.
I feel weird talking a lot about my investigators because it seems like I know a lot of personal stuff about their lives and their faith…but basically we are just working with a lot of great people. Noah who I have mentioned earlier is still progressing. We had a really powerful lesson with him when we invited him to be baptized. It was one of those lessons I really felt like the Spirit was telling me what to say…it was really intense and pwoerful and I want to teach more lessons like it. He still is looking for an answer, but again this is where faith kicks in.
Another thing: it was really hard for me to invite people to be baptized at first. Well, it still is. We are supposed to invitie people the first or second lesson which just seems strange to me. I understand now if I want people to be baptized I actually have to ask. And it helps us see who really will progress or not. I’ve been trying to do it more and I’ve had a lot of spiritual experiences with it as people really consider if they want to be baptized. It seems like after we invite them they are more receptive to learning more as well!
2 less active families we teach have been showing up at church the last couple weeks!!! This also seemed impossible, helping re-activate families but oh man it’s a great feeling!
Random thoughts:
-Today for P-day we at as a zone with a member and it was super delicious. I attached a picture.
-They have these things called pacas here. Basically they receive shipments of used American clothes and sell them in pacas. Everything is like a dollar or two…You all know I love buying second hand clothes so it’s basically the best thing that has ever happened to me. -I had to sing I am a Child of God to an investigator who wanted to hear me sing english ALONE. Singing is not one of my strengths. I was only slightly horrified. Needless to to say, Hermana Fernandez and I practiced some hymns together in english afterwards.
-I killed a bee in an appointment. Eveyone told me “ohhh now more bees are going to sting you.” I thought it was a joke but literally 6 bees followed me aroudn for like half an hour! It was awful! Can someone google this and see if it’s a really thing???? -Missionaries are poor at the end of the month so this week we paid for our taxis with centavos (super small coins). I felt like I was 7 again buying a slurpee with dimes hahah.
Quote of the week:
“Trabaje, disfrute” translation: work, enjoy…which is what we do as missionaries. Work a lot and find joy in doing it! This experience has been really incredible and I have learned more about myself, serving others and the gospel than I ever thought I could. As hard as it is to be away from home, it’s getting easier to forget about myself and focus on the people. I am really thankful for that because that’s why I’m here.
Have an amazing week!
Hermana Scruggs
hermana ellie scruggs 