Wow. Where
do I even begin!? Last week was just an emotional rollercoaster. It has been a
fantastic and very special one.
As you know,
Hermana Steinfeldt and I are just loving and soaking up everything about every experience
we are having together. I really needed her. This area needed her; and the two
of us together have been a remarkable thing to see. She has truly blessed my
mission and my life. We have so many miracles waiting for us here in
Hospitalet! I can´t wait to see what else we will witness together!
Tuesday: I
went on intercambios with Hermana Arauco! She's such an exceptional hermana! We
just have so much fun! I always learn something new and great from her! We
contacted this super sweet lady, Yolanda, at the very end of the night who was
just sitting on this bench and talked to her about the Book of Mormon and she
seemed pretty interested so we set up a follow up appointment! I hope it turns
out great!
Wednesday: We
had an appointment with Dari! Back story … Dari is about 31 years old, she has
a 15-month-old baby boy and she is from the Dominican Republic! They have
become some of my favorite types of people! They are just a blast! Three years
ago, she was being taught by some missionaries in her country. She didn´t feel
like it was her time then. But now, she said she is ready to pick a path and
stick with it! On Sunday we were walking to church and she came up to us and
told us she wants to hear about our message! MIRACLES! We bore powerful
testimony of the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the Atonement.
She told us that, if she prays and receives an answer that this is true, she
will be baptized! She is so prepared and just the cutest thing ever!
Thursday: We
were able to visit a lot of the less active members in our area. It truly was a
blessing. I have loved getting to know all of the members here. They are the
BEST! I love it when the youth come out with the missionaries. They always tell
us how much they want to go on missions now, because they spend so much time
with us and are able to see these miracles each and every day!
Friday: ZONE
CONFERENCE! It was so emotional! I bawled my eyes out, but … what else is new?
The Paces were with us and it was "basically" our new last time
seeing them. I can truly say that this time getting to know them has been one
of the greatest blessings in my life! I cannot even begin to describe my love
and appreciation for these two spiritual giants in my mission and my life. They
are a couple of the most loving, kindest, knowledgeable, humble people I've
met. Hermana Pace talked about how we need to always be spiritually fed,
because just as we can't go without food and water for more than a day or two
or three, the same is true regarding our knowledge of the gospel! We have to
keep feeding ourselves every single day so that we don't we lose our testimony!
We can´t eat or be spiritual fed on Monday and expect for it to last until
Wednesday or Thursday. We´ll die spiritual! It can´t be a stale testimony, it´s
gotta be fresh!
Then
President Pace talked about the sacrament! He said that our faith should never
be determined by anything that happens with people or situations. He said:
"The center must hold, and the center is the sacrament." He then
talked about how, if we have faith and always remember the Atonement, then we
should never stray away. It´s so true.
Saturday:
Today was an incredible day. We able to have an appointment with Dari and
President Pace! It was amazing! We taught about the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Faith, Repentance, Baptism, Receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost, and Enduring
to the end. I was a little intimidated at first, but it was powerful, and Dari
couldn´t deny it! Dari is just incredible and has so many desires to learn, to
change, and to stick with it strong. Just like we promised her … she will be a
very amazing and strong member of our church someday soon! She has a baptismal
goal for the 11th of July. Please keep her in your prayers.
After the
appointment and after she left, President Pace asked if we could give a prayer
of thanks. It was so tender and dear. He was very emotional and I was touched
when he said, "I pray that when the hermanas go home from their missions,
to their families, they will be able to know that they gave their all in the
service of the Lord. I am so grateful for this opportunity to have had this
lesson with the hermanas, because I rarely get the chance. I love serving with
them and among them." We later said, "President, thank you so much
for coming and helping us. We really needed it." He replied, "No
hermanas … I needed it. I can´t thank you enough." Bless his heart, I love
President Pace so much!
Sunday:
FATHER´S DAY! What an amazing day, and a very sacred and important day for all
of the fathers around the world … and my Daddy. He shared with me a few of the life-changing
events that happened on this wonderful day, years ago. ”Sunday (June 21st
is a special day ...
-
Celebrating
the sacred privilege of being a father.
-
Celebrating
28 years since the day I asked your sweet mom to marry me.
-
Celebrating
30 years since the day I was baptized (6/21/1985).
My response
to him: "Wow. How special. Isn´t it just beautiful how life works out? God
is so perfect. And so is His plan. I am so grateful for all 3 of those
celebrations! Thank you for being the greatest example I could have in my life.
Thank you, thank you, thank you. For the love, the counsel, the support, the
help, the funny memories, the spiritual moments and life-changing experiences
that you have given me through my entire life. I could never thank you enough.
I love you SO much dad. Te amo
papí!"
Dari came to
church and sat in the front row with the Vargas family, and all the missionaries
spoke! I was nervous, but it went well … my 6th talk! We also saw
the Giorginos! My awesome MTC teachers, whom I love, were in Barcelona for the
weekend and just happened to show up at our church building for Sacrament
meeting! I couldn't believe it, it has been well over a year!
Monday: President
and Herman Pace – our last concilio with them. Our Concilio (Leadership
Meeting) in Barcelona was seriously incredible! We learned things from the
Paces that were inspired and exactly what I needed. Hna Pace talked about
Faith, so full of spiritual power that I felt like I was capable of doing
anything! She's such an incredible teacher! Then President Pace talked about
forgiveness and how to develop better relationships between your companion, the
members and investigators, and anyone in general in your life. It was exactly
what the Lord wanted me to hear. I'm so grateful for my leaders and for their
thoughtful and inspiring teachings that help me become a better missionary.
The
assistants (Elder Dunn and Elder Skousen) asked all the missionaries to write a
thank you letter to the Paces. They made a huge book out of all the letters and
the Paces loved it! Our zone leaders, Elder Dailey and Elder Ponce, also asked
a member to make a big lighthouse out of foam and then wrote all of our names
on it. It turned out really cute. It was really sad having to say goodbye to
the Paces on Friday as a Zone, but even more so this past Monday. At the end of
Concilio, we had a testimony meeting. The Spirit was so strong, and everyone went
up and bore such heartfelt testimonies of the power, divinity and beauty of
this gospel. President Pace ended with his testimony. Tears were streaming down
everyone's faces. After that, we all gathered close around the piano and sang
our mission hymn 'Brillan
Rayos de
Clemencia' (Brightly Beams Our Father's Mercy) and everyone was bawling! President
Pace offered the final prayer after that and for about the ten minutes we were
praying there was not a dry eye in the room. Afterwards, President Pace said
let's sing some more. We did and the room was just filled with the spirit. It
truly was such a great meeting!
I´m sad the
Paces will be leaving us next week. But I´m so grateful that I could have the
opportunity to learn and grow from them. I truly love them so much! I´m excited
for our new mission president, President and Hermana Dayton. They have been
preparing for the last 6 months and I just know that we are going to see so
many more miracles with them and learn a lot from them. They are called of God.
I absolutely
loved Concilio yesterday. What a special and sacred experience we all had
together. Our lives will never be the same. Thank you for all you have done. I
cannot even begin to express how I feel.
President
Monson says, "Change is one of the most constant things in our
lives." I always think I don´t like it, or I won´t like it, but every time
it happens, something extraordinary evolves from it. We learn and grow. We are
crafted and molded into who we were born to be … new experiences, new opportunities
… a new life!
And it is in
and only through our Savior, Jesus Christ, that we can become perfected and
change for the better forever. I love this gospel with every fiber of my being,
and I love being a missionary. There is nothing greater, nor more rewarding, and
we are going to hold our centers and declare it throughout the eternities.
I love you
all. You are in my prayers. I´ll see you before you know it. God be with you … till
we meet again.
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