This week was good! Well, mostly good. Not a lot of our investigators came to church which made us really sad. And on Saturday I got a touch of heat exhaustion so I got really sick to my stomach and had a headache so we had to come home so I could rest a little bit. But I ate and got my electrolytes up and was okay to go back out that night! I'm drinking tons of water but I guess my electrolytes just dropped too low...
Me and Hermana Thomas are working well together and learning to combine our strengths to help those we're teaching. When she goes on exchanges once a week I am companions with Hermana Magnusson - I will try to take pictures this week so you can put faces to names! I don't have much time but my bishop from Arizona asked me to write a letter to the youth about the ups and downs of missionary work so I will send that to you. You've already heard some of these stories but... enjoy!
Bishop,
The experience of being on a mission is nothing like I ever imagined and way more than I hoped for. It is the best and most challenging 7 1/2 months of my life thus far. Every day is something new and brings new challenges and new blessings.
We never really know what is going to happen when we step out of the door- one time we knocked on a door and a man opened the window of the bathroom while he was showering to tell us that who we were looking for wasn't there... Another time a man proposed to me on the street and while I was bearing my testimony that God loves him, he replied saying that if God really loved him, He would bless him with me as his wife... there are just some things we don't have answers for.
Then there are times when you think this might just be the hardest thing you'll ever do (because it is). Like when your "golden" investigator goes back to praying to saints. Or when they say they don't want you to come over anymore because they're going back to their own religion. When your investigator cancels their baptism and moves away without telling you. Or when your favorite family goes through something like a teenage pregnancy and it tears them apart. There are things we can't control that will break our hearts and make us wonder if we're making a difference.
Then there are times that give us those answers. That tell us that we are absolutely making a difference in these people's lives. I remember one night after dinner we got in the car and my trainer told me to pick who I thought we should go see. I sat there for a second trying to think who we had planned to visit that night but I just thought, let's try Veronica. She hadn't been home the last 5 times we tried to visit her so I was a little hesitant not wanting to waste time and I knew we weren't close to her house, but she was who came to mind so we just went. When we got there we realized we had forgotten the video we were going to show them. We didn't have a backup plan but knocked on the door anyway and someone answered! Well a little boy looked through the window and yelled "it's the church girls!" and Veronica came and opened the door. She and her husband are members but haven't been to church in a few years and their three sons have not been baptized. The minute we sat down she started telling us that not 10 minutes before we knocked on the door their youngest son, who is 9 years old, was asking if he could get baptized and what he needed to do to be baptized. Then we knocked on the door. She started crying and said that it never fails, whenever they need help or they're going through something the missionaries come by. It meant a lot to her that we were there and we set a date for all three boys to be baptized and the family came to church the next day for the first time in a long, long time. So cool to know that I can be that person for someone else, to help them when they need it. And that while I was sitting in the car trying to think of where to go, and she came into my mind, her son was asking what he needed to do to get baptized and she was wondering how to help him. Heavenly Father is mindful of EVERY ONE of His children. He loves us so much (the three boys are now baptized).
Another time, we were talking to one of our investigator families and the mom was on the verge of dropping us and going back to the Catholic church but she didn't because she said that when she looks into my eyes she can feel the love of God. What a blessing to be called and set apart as His servant to help others feel that love!
That same night I had forgotten my planner (don't ever do that) and since we were both new in the area we went to the only other place we knew how to get to. As we parked we noticed a "for rent" sign next door so we remembered that one of our street contacts was looking for a place to rent. We wrote down the information and went to visit the person we came for. The next day we went to that street contact to give her the rent information. When she opened the door she started saying every reason in the book why she didn't want to see us anymore. We told that was fine but that we had some information on a place to rent since we knew she was looking. Her entire face changed, she took the information and we were able to keep teaching her. Her daughter is getting baptized next week and she will follow soon. People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care.
This mission is totally different than what I expected. It is so challenging and it pushes me to my very limit! But it is so worth it. I am helping people gain eternal salvation! Why would I ever want to miss out on this opportunity? I am grateful everyday for the decision I made to serve a mission and I wouldn't rather be anywhere else at this time!
Love,
Hermana Granado
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