On Saturday we had a baptism! Jorge, whom I mentioned a few weeks ago when he finally started coming to church, followed his wife{s example and was baptized and confirmed a member of the Church. Our next goal is to help this wonderful family go to the temple and be sealed together for time and all eternity in one year.
This week we had some pretty spiritual experiences with a new investigator. She is a woman who left her husband and moved from Cordoba with her 11 year old son back into her parents{ old home here in Cañada de Gomez. She lost everything and has so much faith that God will help her get through this. She has big plans to open up a panaderia or some sort of shop where she can sell comida casera (homemade food) right from her home. (Something I love about Argentina pueblos, they have kioscos and little negocios right adjacent to people{s homes in the middle of a barrio. You can get your groceries without having to go all the way into the centro!) We told her that if she reads the Book of Mormon and prays to our Heavenly Father that she will find a way to pay her bills, feed herself and her son, have furniture, and make her dreams come true. We taught her how to pray and asked her to offer a prayer. This is standard for missionaries to do, and I have been anxious to have this experience here in Argentina ever since I watched some examples from the Preach My Gospel DVDs we watch during companion study (The church made a documentary called The District where they followed missionaries in two different missions and captured real teaching experiences.) The examples in the DVD were really powerful: the missionaries asked their investigators to specifically pray to know if the Book of Mormon is true. With this woman we simply told her how we pray to Heavenly Father in the name of Jesus Christ, and that she can ask for anything specific in the middle. We let her pray for whatever she felt she should pray for. When we all knelt and waited for her to begin her prayer, I was expecting her to be a little timid, as most people are when they first offer a vocal prayer in front of us... but she completely blew us away! I was pleasantly surprised and extremely touched when she said [Please tell me, Lord, if this book is true, and if these hermanas are truly your servants that you have sent to me[ WOW. She prayed for exactly what we were hoping she would be asking! I think she has been praying all along to know if what we are teaching is true and was humoring us when we taught her how to pray. It was a beautiful moment, and I will always remember her sincere pleading, not only for strength, but also her sincere gratitude for what she did have.
Prayer is an incredible thing. I am learning to pray more specifically and more diligently. The Lord in many ways already knows what are desires are, but once we honestly express to him in vocal prayer with humility and faith, amazing things start to happen. We may not get our answer right away, but we do come into an alignment with the will of the Lord. Whatever it is He feels needs to happen in my life, I will feel at peace because I am exercising my faith. Sometimes I have to learn this principle time and time again, to be patient with the Lord{s timeline. But when I finally am in accordance with his will, everything around me makes so much sense. I feel like I can brace myself and bear my trials in a way I never thought I could before. We cannot overcome our obstacles alone. Another beautiful thing I learned is that the Lord will not allow us to have a trial we cannot overcome! When a conflict arises and at first it feels overwhelming and too much for us to handle, all we have to do is step back and think, I can do this! The Lord placed this in front of me for a reason, this will make me stronger in the end. Then we press forward with faith and even though it will be hard, it will be possible. It will be more than possible, it will be fulfilling.
1 Nephi 10:19 For he that diligently seeketh shall find
I love you all so much. There are times throughout my day when I see something that reminds me of home (which is a stretch, there isn{t too much that does at times.. its often an American song playing from a remis driving by, or an American brand on a T shirt) and I am reminded of how blessed I am to have had such great memories with such wonderful friends and family. I hope you can step back and look at where you life is right now and remember to rely on the Lord in all things. Our Savior sacrificed his life so that we can rise to our highest potential! I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas!
xoxo hermana miller
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