Ok wow! I just spent an hour writing you my email for this week and it shut down when I sent it. I am sorry that this email is going to be so short but now I have like no time to write. I will try and remember everything that I wrote but if it seems rushed or horrible please forgive me and know that I love you all.
I apologize for the email mess last week. I have no idea what happened. But it sounds like dad got the emails when I forwarded them today which is awesome. Thank you all for your love and support. I want you to know that I love you so much and I am praying for you.
I hope that school is going well for Mom and Trent and Jenny and Dad and Mckay. Good luck with school this upcoming week. It's hard to think of all the fun I had last year during my first year at BYU and to think that I won't be there for two more fall semesters. But that's OK. In all honesty, I know for a fact that this is where the Lord wants me to be and there is nowhere else that I would rather be then where the Lord wants me to be.
Grandma and Grandpa, that is so exciting about your house! I can't wait to hear all about it. Send me pictures! Thank you for saying that you are trusting in the Lord in the process of selling your old home. You are such a great example to me and I want you to know how thankful I am for your strength in the gospel.
I want to talk about the spirit today. I don't have a lot of time and I can't go into much detail about my experiences but I want you to know that the spirit is real. I feel it every day and I have the absolute privilege to partake in the process of a miracle of the spirit, the gift of tongues. My Spanish has improved greatly and it's only because of the spirit that I have been able to speak with my companion at all. It's been a challenge but it has also been such a great blessing.
I had a really neat experience this week with the influence of the spirit during my studies. I was studying the bible and the thought came into my head to study faith. As a missionary you learn that those thoughts are not your own and that you should usually do what they tells you to do, so I did. I studied faith and I found a great scripture in Ether 12:12-15. Immediately the scripture Moroni 10:7 popped into my head. I know both were prompted by the spirit and what I learned was also prompted by the spirit. I won't tell you what I learned because I want you to learn from the spirit too! But I will tell you the cool experience that I had with it.
We went to teach a recent convert later that day and we decided, or felt prompted, to teach about faith. I shared what I had learned earlier that morning and I applied it to our lives. My Spanish was awesome and I know it was because it was the spirit teaching -- not me. I know because I was using phrases and words that I hardly know let alone use. At the end of the lesson she started to cry and said how she had prayed to God that morning with a question about faith that she was asking. She said that we answered her question exactly and how thankful she was that the Lord answered her question so quickly!
What a great blessing it is to be an instrument in the Lord's hands. Every step of that experience was guided by the spirit and in the end I got to see why. The Lord works in mysterious ways but the fact is that he works! And He uses those that are faithful and prepared to do His work for him. I hope in your own lives you look for those experiences of how the Lord is working through you currently. You are all amazing and strong and I know that the Lord is blessing others through you! I hope you look for those experiences and write them down!
The last thing I want to share has been a bit of frustration to me in my first transfer here in Puerto Rico. The message we share is true! There is no doubt in my mind that this is the Church of Jesus Christ and that He is at the head. But when we try and talk to people about it, a lot of people just aren't interested. We taught a man the first lesson yesterday and the spirit was so strong. We shared great scriptures and the lesson made perfect sense to him. I knew that he knew the message and church was true, but when we asked him to read the Book of Mormon, he said no. We went to a recent convert's house after the lesson and she shared the story of the painting of Christ at the door. The painting depicts Christ knocking, but the door has no doorknob. You have to let Christ into your life. You have to open your heart to the spirit and to His message. This man was not open to the message so the Lord couldn't enter his life. It's often discouraging to experience . . . but then you have experiences like Nico.
Nico was a gruff looking guy who had a lot of issues in his life. We contacted him one night when he was partying with his friends. He invited us in and our message touched him. He took the Book of Mormon and promised to read it. Nico was ready for the Lord and for His Church and because he opened his heart, the spirit was able to testify to him that this is the Church of Christ.
I am so thankful for the opportunity that I have to labor here in the beautiful island of Puerto Rico and to look for the people who have openend their hearts to our message. I am learning so much and I am so thankful for your love and support. Thank you for being great examples to me and thank you for your love. It takes a lot of effort to get up in the morning and get ready to go work your butt off everyday but your love and support makes it possible. You are my angels and I know the Lord will bless you for helping and supporting His missionary.
The scriptures I referenced earlier are my message for you today. I hope that you will study them with an open heart and mind. I love you so much and I'm sorry again for another mixup with the email that caused this email to be shorter than it was the first time. I will try and write as many of you as I can today. Pdays are crazy so if you don't get a letter I am sorry
This is the Lord's work and He is at the head. Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer and it is only through Him that we have the opportunity to live with God again. This is His Church restored in our days. Thomas S. Monson is a prophet of God with His authority .
I am so thankful to be here! I miss you all like crazy but I am thankful for the chance to learn and to grow!
Have a great week! I'm praying for you.
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