6th
of Jan: We were greeted by rain:) Which was quite welcome after all the
heat we've been experiencing. I know those in the states are possibly a
little jealous, as it's quite cold up there, but I wouldn't mind
changing weather! In the morning we had our District Meeting. We talked
about finding and working only with the escogidos, or those that are
searching and prepared to accept the gospel. After learning and taking
notes we headed off to pick up lunch.
After eating we tried to find
Vanesa. She wasn't there, and after calling and talking to her
(reminding her who we were, as she had no recollection of two
missionaries she had talked with in the street for a good 15 min) we
realized that she didn't have a desire to hear more. Thus, we went over
to the church to wait for Toni, the member that would be accompanying
us. Toni has an incredibly impressive gospel knowledge! You can ask him
about anything and he has scriptures, experiences, and answers. It was
fascinating to hear from him and to learn!
While he accompanied us we
stopped by Andrea's house to see if we could talk to her. We didn't end
up finding her, but ran into Josue, her brother, instead! He seemed open
and interested and accepted a baptismal date for the 25th of Jan!
He seems like a great kid, but I'm not sure how much we'll be able to
work with him, as his mother doesn't want anything to do with us. We
have, at least, planted the seed, and for some future missionary it will
grow into a strong and beautiful tree, teeming with life. As the day
rolled to a close we stopped by Grido's to celebrate the 17 month mark of my
comp in the mission! I have celebrated three of these now... and not one
of them has been mine!
7th of Jan: We had
lunch with Cristian, our ward missionary leader. He has a lot of enthusiasm for the work and has an energy to get things done that I
appreciate. After talking with him we went to visit with Josue, but were
unable to find him. We went next to contact a referral we had received
from the offices. Once near the laundromat where he lived we called to
let him know we were waiting for him. He said he was on the way and that
we only needed to wait 15 minutes or so. We waited; however, as 15
minutes turned into almost an hour we realized that he wasn't coming.
The rest of the hot and humid day was spent out on the streets trying to
contact old investigators and less actives. However, no one was home.
At 7 we headed to the familia Iquise for dinner, which was the highlight
of a hard, long day on the streets. We came home to an apartment
without electricity. So, we did what any regular person would do;) We
took our mattresses out onto the fenced in balcony and slept there,
where there was at least a breeze. I fell asleep enjoying my view of the
5 stars we have access to;)
8th of Jan:
Interviews with President! It was great to talk with him and to let him
now how I'm doing and how the area is doing. At the end of the interview
I asked him if I could have a blessing. As he gave me the blessing I
could feel the love Father has for me. Answers were received, and as he
ended I found myself in tears, as seems to be normal here when blessings
are involved! We spent the rest of the day teaching lots of small
lessons. We ended up talking with Maria, a recent convert, and her
family. It was nice to be inside with air conditioning, even if it was
only for a small while;) We ended the day by going to Cristian, who owns
the ice cream shop. We were supposed to meet up with his friend who he
had presented earlier and teach him, but the friend didn't end up
showing. We did get free ice cream however, so it wasn't all in vain;)
And still no power in the apartment...
9th of
Jan: This day was rough. After spending most of the day in the heat and
sun I wasn't feeling well. We headed to our apartment around 5 so I
could take some medicine for the pain. We were without power again. I
was laying down in the bedroom with a cold cloth on my forehead, trying
to sleep a little. However, in the heat it wasn't really possible. So I
took out my little Book of Mormon and randomly opened to Helaman 12. I
ended up reading until 3 Nephi 12 before sleeping for a little while. It
was interesting to see the patterns of belief and disbelief. I was
shocked that after seeing such miracles the people could forget so
quickly!
After a short nap I woke up hurting more than before. I was
praying incessantly for electricity, so that I could at least suffer in
air conditioning. Not really thinking it would work, but praying that it
would, I pushed the on button on the remote for the AC. And what do you
know, cold air started pouring down! All I could think to myself was,"What a miracle!" On that note I fell asleep. Maybe something as little
as having AC doesn't seem like a miracle or anything worthy of note. But
to me something as small as this was a sign that I wasn't alone. That
Father was there, and he knew just how much I could handle. He was
watching out for me.
Also this week we got to
teach the familia Salas. Jackie has a lot of desire to be baptized, to
feel closer to her son who passed away two years before. It is truly a
blessing to know her and to see just how strong she is. She came to
church this Sunday
and participated in Gospel Principles, sharing her testimony and
personal experiences! We also had Dana and Ariana at church with us. The
best part of Sunday,
in my biased view, was getting to see Mario and Rosanna from Parque
Patricios! It truly was like being with my family for a short time:) It
was just the visit I needed after a rough week.
My dear Rosana and Mario!
I
love you all and am praying for you! Remember, no matter how rough the
day or the week is, there are little miracles all around us. Like AC
that works, stars above us, and a knowledge that the love of God transcends all pain and discomforts, all silences and moments when we
feel utterly alone. Of this I can bear testimony.
Hermana Dickson
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