Milagros

Hello hello from sunny Tacna. This is the sunniest January I have ever seen! Hope everyone had a good start to the new year. We definitely did, we saw So so many miracles this week! Not a ton of time so I will just share 2 of the miracles. 

First, Gisel.

About 2 weeks ago she told us that she didn't feel ready to be baptized and changed her mind. We know that she is ready, so it was hard to hear that. But we still have been having contact with her everyday and when we went to visit her on Tuesday, she opened up a lot with us. She is living by herself here in Tacna, and she had a few really hard things happen to her in these last couple months. In November, she felt like she had hit her all time low. She felt so alone and hopeless. In that week, her friend from work (who is a member) invited her to church. She went to church, starting listening to us, and everything changed. Now she is happy. She doesn't feel so alone because she now understands that she has a Heavenly Father who loves her. She was reading in 1 Nephi 3 this week and that's when it all just hit her. She loved verse 7 where Nephi is so obedient and says how the lord won't give us any commandment/trial that we can't accomplish/overcome. She said that when she read this verse, her heart started burning and she had a voice tell her in her head "What are you waiting for? you know this is true." She was going through lots of trials a little while ago and when she read this verse she knew that the Lord provided her the gospel to help her. She told us she wants to be baptized the 20th of this month. We scheduled her interview for Saturday and it went great. So great that she changed the bap date to the 13th. So her baptism will be this week!

Second, prayers answered!

We have been praying to find a full family to teach. We fasted for this last week and the day after our fast, our answer came! A member from another ward called us saying she had a few people that she wanted to meet us. Sure enough, we met Yusera and her family. She is a member, but has been inactive for about 10 years. She has 2 kids, Jimena who is 9, and Sebastian who is 3. Her husband isn't a member. Yusera said she wants to come back to church and she wants to change this lifestyle of her family. We have had contact with them everyday, they went to church yesterday and loved it! 

Tender mercies happening left and right over here. Wish I had time to share more! Go make it a great week. My heart goes out to President Monson's family. I am so grateful for all that he taught us, and the love that he showed us. Can't wait to keep learning from him on the other side one day! I am grateful that the gospel gives us the knowledge that there is so much more after this life! Love that man, happy that he can be with his sweet wife now. To finish off, a favorite quote from him: "You do not find the happy life . . . You make it."

XOXO

 

Hermana wood

D&C 98:12-14

Pics: We traveled to moqegua this week to do divisions with a few of the hermanas, so the stairs picture is from moquegua. & our area :)