The One Where I Walked Through the Garden of Eat'n

                Last Monday was SO FUN! Since it was our p-day closest to the Fourth of July, we put together the greatest American P-day. The Elders cooked up hamburgers and hot dogs and found good BBQ sauce and normal hamburger buns. Oh my, it was so amazing! We made brownies for dessert. Then we played basketball and American football and then topped it off with soccer. So many sports, it was incredible. J

                Then we taught Janet and Octavio and their son Marin and their daughter Sofia. Octavio told us he couldn’t join us during the lesson because he was working on something and he and Janet had a discussion so he’d rather stay outside. Still, we invited him, but he wasn’t coming in. But as we started with a hymn, he came inside. He sat down and joined us. He later told us that he tried working but nothing was turning out right. Then he felt like he should come inside. So he followed the prompting and came and learned of the Restoration of the gospel. Also, Marin kept talking about how he only has to wait 9 more years until his mission. J

                For district class we sung the Star Spangled Banner and I could almost hear the whole family joining in and Lindsay’s harmony. Good memories. J For lunch, the Navarro family made us hamburgers in honor of Independence Day for the USA! 2 days in a row… = best thing ever!

                Also we went to Isabel for the first time. She was there Thursday when we taught English in the library. She wanted us to come by to teach a little more English, so we went and her and her husband and their cute little daughter, Florencia, were there waiting for us. We just started talking with them to get to know each other and she asked, “So tell me about your religion! I don’t know much, what do you believe in?” We ended up being able to lead a conversation about the Restoration and they were so focused and it was so special. They were so excited to get a copy of the Book of Mormon! It was so wonderful.

                In Peumo we met a woman named Maricela. She has 3 kids that are pretty hard to handle. She talked about how stressed she has been. We began to ask her what she feels like she is missing in her life. She said peace. She talked about how it is impossible to be a parent and have peace. She kept cutting us off as we tried helping and told us how we don’t understand because we don’t have kids and don’t have stressful responsibilities. So the only thing that we knew would work was read the words of someone who does understand. Perfectly. We read John 14:26 “Peace be with you. My peace I leave you. Not as the world giveth, give I unto you.” She got quiet and then opened up explaining that she has separated herself from God and needs to come back. She agreed that she would read the scriptures with her family every day!

                Saturday morning we went running FINALLY! My comp didn’t have running shoes, but a less active (Paola) gave her old ones to my companion and we were able to go running!! Also Saturday afternoon we had an activity in the church. They call it a “chocolatada” in Spanish but I don’t know what we’d call it in English… but basically we had a great message, hymns, a game, and then a TON of hot chocolate! It was great because a lot of people came and some members brought new friends! And our investigator Theresa came so yay J

                Then in the night, we went to Janet and Octavio. They were so happy when we walked in. They told us. “Look!” Oh my, they had been reading and praying every day as a family for a week and hadn’t missed a day! They said that they have noticed that everyone has been happier and more patient with each other. Wow, this book is so powerful. Octavio told us how he probably wouldn’t be able to come to church tomorrow. But today in the morning when we were setting up the hymn books, he came walking in the chapel, smiling! Ah, it is so good that he came. J They have to finalize the divorce of Octavio (if his ex will even sign the papers) and then wait 11 months to legally get married so that they can get baptized so that in a year from their baptism they can get sealed. Theirs is going to be a longer process, but they are so happy to be working towards the right goal.

                I was doing my studies as usual, and out of nowhere (well 2 scriptures) came a burst of excitement and energy to set a super specific goal for these next 2 months. I read in Helaman 11:23 and it stood out to me the phrase, “…they received many revelations daily.” I self-reflected and thought about if I am receiving a constant stream of revelation or is it every now and again? I then followed the footnote to Alma 26:22. I reflected on what is required to receive revelation, know the mysteries of God, and bring souls to repentance. I need to repent, exercise faith, bring about good works, and pray continually. I thought about everyday missionary tasks and felt like the hardest part is finding new people to teach. It requires the most faith. So I decided that to exercise more faith and do good continually, I am going to talk to everyone and focus on finding people to teach. I will give more people the opportunity to accept the gospel. And as I thought about my time left, the number 50 came to my mind. I knew what it meant, and I swear I couldn’t think of a single other number. I knew that in my last 2 months from now until September, I need to find 50 new people.

                Then as we got home, back to Pichidegua, we ran to visit a family we had contacted a couple days ago. It was a mom and her two daughters. They investigated the church a few years ago, but when they moved here, they lost contact with the missionaries. We got to know them and learned of their personal lives and were able to testify and teach of our Savior Jesus Christ. Then one of the daughters, Constanca, said the closing prayer and expressed her gratitude for our visit and how it was, “a great joy that (she) didn’t realize how much (she) needed it.”

                We had lunch with Hermano and Hermana Verara. They live super far away and own a HUGE property filled with fruit trees and a ton of farmland. After lunch they invited us back to tour and see the “campo” or fields. So we walked through and took pictures and just enjoyed the BEAUTY of the creations of God. As we were walking we were told that we could eat any fruit we wanted and could pick it and eat as we walked. Oh my, it was a dream. I’m pretty sure that is how the Garden of Eden was like. Free to enjoy the beautiful nature of God.

                We passed by the house of the family of a member and they let us in. The grandma is 100% blind but she recognizes us from miles away because of our accents. She wasn’t excited to hear from “Mormons” but as we just got to know her first, she eased up and ended up asking us about our religion. We were able to read a few scriptures to her and she shared some special personal experiences and invited us to come back!

                Today we were in Peumo for Fiamma’s baptism! She was so happy and brought her dad who recently lost his wife to cancer. After the baptism, I asked him how he felt and what he thought. He looked at me and said, “Good. If feels very different than any church I’ve ever been in.” And then with tears in his eyes he said, “It feels like family here.”

                We also felt like we should visit/contact a random road with few houses at the edge of Pichidegua. It seemed a little bit like a waste of time to walk so far. But we felt like we should. So we went and started knocking doors. The first house was a super Catholic lady that answered. She looked at us and paused, then said, “Come in!” Surprised, we walked in as she explained that her niece is an investigator of the Elders and had heard that there were sister missionaries now in Pichidegua. She said that when she heard that, she knew we would find her. And we did! God led us right to her. We also noticed her daughter sitting on the couch in the family room. We said, “Permiso” and walked over and started talking to her. Her name is Claudia and she’s 23. She has and ADORABLE daughter that just turned 4. Claudia was really open and shared her personal experiences. She hasn’t ever been really close to God, but was open in learning. So we sang a hymn which set the spirit. And we taught about how God is our loving Heavenly Father and how He has a plan for each of us. She ended up accepting a Book of Mormon and in the end of the lesson she said, “Wow I am so amazed. I LOVED listening to this. It is emotionally moving. Thank you, I didn’t know I needed this.”