My companion from
Honduras has only had four months here so she hasn't adopted the accent yet, but we understand each other just fine. Here in capital there are people from
all over with a whole bunch of different accents so you learn to listen better and
understand a big variety. In reality the accents don’t vary very much so it’s
not that difficult to understand others.
This week was really
great! We were really privileged this weekend. We had stake conference, and it
was in our building even though we are not the stake center, but our building
is bigger than the stake center. Elder Barros came to visit us. It was such a
great conference! He is a very funny man and a very good speaker- or rather
very practiced in following the Spirit while speaking. He spoke a lot about
conversion. He made an analogy that I just love. He had us turn off all the
lights in the whole building so that it was completely dark. Then he spoke very
specifically to a young women in the congregation and said "Sister, I have
something very special—a gift—for you in my hand. It’s very good. Do you see
it?" Then he had us turn on the lights and he had a pen in his hand. "It’s a
good brand!" he said. The point was this: that we have to live in the light to
see and obtain the gifts that Heavenly Father has for us. He also made the analogy
of all the light in the building, if outside got darker and darker the light
inside appears brighter and brighter and the darkness outside doesn’t affect
us. He said that we are in a path that is brilliantly bright and that if we are
firmly fixed or converted to this path, the darkness all around us will not
affect us but make us shine brighter! He read the parable of the 10 virgins and
replaced lamps with testimony and oil with conversion (I let you discover how
that affects the story :D) Also, he talked about the importance of the children
and raising them right and helping them walk in the light of Christ. Sunday there
was a choir of primary kids and during his talk he had the children and their
parents stand up and sing Teach Me to Walk in the Light—the kids the first
verse, the adults the second, and both the third. It was so powerful! We were
very blessed to be there. Also President Ayre (mission president) came and
spoke in the sessions! It was awesome! He is so great!!
The other day we were
walking to a less active’s house, and I felt the need to invite the man
standing on the corner to church. So I started in and he interrupted me and
said "I’m a member--¨" then lifting a can of beer "--inactive." We kept talking
about his life and why he wasn’t going to church and he talked about the
vergüenza (I don’t remember the word something like shame I think, no
embarassment?) that he felt because the missionaries always seem to find him
while he’s drinking even though he only does it about once a week. We read Alma
36:21, and he almost started to cry. He said, "How do you always know just what
to say?" Then, he threw away his can of beer. He said he was going to go home
and tell everyone about this, all his family and the Elders (he lives in provincial,
somewhat far)! What a privilege it is to be here doing the work of the Lord!
What a privilege it is to be on this earth at this time and have a knowledge of
the TRUTH! What a responsibility we have to share the blessings with others!
What a wonderful pure joy we receive for doing something so small yet great!
HOW GREAT IS OUR CALLING!!!!!!! "Yea, and again I say unto you, my
(friends), that on the other hand, THERE CAN BE NOTHING SO EXQUISITE AND SWEET
AS WAS MY JOY." -Alma 36:21
May you act upon what
reading this makes you feel!
I love you!!!
Hermana Arntsen
No comments:
Post a Comment