Happy Valentines Week!!

Hello there everyone! I don't even know where to begin.

We were able to meet with Ana again this week. It worked out well because we had a lesson cancel on us, so we gave Ana a call, and she told us to come on over! We taught her the second half of the plan of salvation. We gave her the plan of salvation pamphlet and she just loved all the pictures in there of Christ. She still seems to agree with everything we're teaching. She's told us that she knows that Joseph Smith saw Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ like he said he did. She also believes the Book of Mormon is a good book, that because it testifies of Christ it is true. I'm not sure if she completely understands the significance of these truths just yet.

All the calls we've been making from our former investigator notebook finally paid off! We made contact with this woman named Viorica and she was very happy to have us stop by. We headed over to her home after district meeting on Thursday, and talked to her a little bit. We focused on the Book of Mormon and asked her what she remembered from past lessons. It was  clear that she remembered some basics but needed a review. We read the introduction with her and promised her that if she would read and pray that she will know for herself that the Book of Mormon is true. She said she would read the chapter we gave her and pray. She was so kind and welcoming! We're hoping to meet with her again this week!

I was also very pleased that we were able to meet with a less active member this week. She really is great, but we have the hardest time meeting with her! We finally set something up for Saturday, and we were able to have a nice long visit with her. I feel like she really needed it. She wants to meet with us again this week, and I really hope we are able to as it's the last week of the transfer. I would like to see her again in case I'm transferred.  

Thinking back on this visit with this member, I'm reminded of something I've learned out here concerning the gift of tongues. I think there was a part of me that thought when I came out here with the gift of tongues being promised to me that I would just magically be able to speak the language perfectly. That wasn't the case, but what I did come to realize was that just as the scriptures promise we will be given words in the very moment we need them. There have been moments in my mission where I've really felt prompted to say something specific. Sometimes it's a one liner, sometimes it's longer, in either case in that moment any fear of the language melts away, and for those brief moments I sincerely could feel the power of the spirit behind my words. Although my speech has been simple, I know in those moments that I have said the words that Heavenly Father wanted me to say. This particular member is fluent in English, so we visit with her in English. Before we left, the thought came into my mind to tell her a couple specific things. As I began to say those things that came to mind, I felt that spirit behind my words, and I knew that those weren't fleeting thoughts. That was guidance, something that she needed to hear. I felt blessed thinking on it later realizing that I can be an instrument in God's hands for good despite my weaknesses. I also think that many times we are guided by the spirit without even realizing that we are being prompted. That thought I had wasn't a loud dominating thought, but I know it was a prompting of the holy spirit.

                 

                                             ( You should see the bottom of my socks!!)


Anyway, we had some other fun things this week:

-Interviews with President and Sora Hill. Is it weird that I love interviews? Mostly I just love seeing the Hills. I love them, and I feel like they always have this spirit of love about them. Visiting with them just makes me happy. At interviews, President confirmed that my official coming home date is August 6. I guess you can all mark your calendars now!

-Celebration of my one year mark. Yeah, we totally had a fiesta. By that I mean we made a bunch of food and ate it all together with the elders. We ate way too much, but it was so good! Sora Bird's parents sent her some salsa and tortilla chips. Those didn't last very long. It was delicious. All of it!

-Service and English classes as per usual. When we told our English students that one of us may be leaving soon, they expressed their disappointed at losing one of us. Remember how I was nervous to teach beginners? I've since realized that I actually enjoy it and this moment just added to that. If we're going to be missed, that must mean we're doing something right!

-There were so many people at church this week! It was so great. There were some people who have either been less active or out of the country for awhile who all came. It was so great to see all the excitement of the members and the reunions. One of my favorite moments was sitting down in Relief Society and seeing how much our Relief Society president was beaming. That was a little miracle.

Okay, one final thought and then I promise I'll wrap this up. As a district we've been trying to dedicate each week to a different Christlike attribute. We're on patience right now, something that's not always easy. I think one of the biggest things that has stuck out to me as I've been studying patience is the importance not only of having patience with others, but having patience with yourself. So often I think we want to be perfect now. We want our flaws to disappear. We want to instantly be able to master a new instrument or understand a new concept. We become frustrated when these things don't come instantly, and many times we just give up. We may have bad thoughts or feelings towards ourselves because we just weren't as good as we wanted to be. Speaking from personal experience, this is a very destructive mindset, and you definitely won't meet any of your goals if you let your mind stay there. Instead, practice patience and don't give up. I wish I had my study journal with me so I could share more of my thoughts, but know that just like anything else, Heavenly Father can help you develop patience. I feel like patience goes along with the attributes of faith and hope. The more we can develop patience the more peace we will have in our lives and the more hope we can have in the promises our Heavenly Father has given us.

Happy Valentine's Day this week!

Va iubesc!

Sora Adams