These weeks are flying by! I can't believe I've already been with Hermana Bustos for 3 weeks. Sometimes the days seem so long but the mission is going so fast. I already have been out for 7.5 months... weird!
Boy oh boy, what has happened this week?! I have a few stories!
A few days ago, we went exploring in a part of Actopan 2 that neither of us know. We knocked a few doors and found a young kid, who said we could return the next day because his mom would be there. So the next day, we went back and met the mom, Leticia. She let us in and we started talking about her family. I wrote down all of their names and asked if there was anyone else who she'd like to pray for and she told me yes, her mother-in-law, who she said was in bad condition and they didn't know if she would last much longer. So we got down on our knees and offered the blessing. In the prayer, when it came time to pray for her mother-in-law, I did not pray for her health as you might have expected... or as I might have expected! I did not feel that I should pray for her to get better. Rather, I prayed for her to have peace and know that her family loves her and she has left a grand impact on all of her posterity. So that was that. We taught a little lesson and talked about baptism and Leticia said that yes, she would be baptized if she came to know these things are true. But we finished up and my companion said the closing prayer. As she said "amen" Leticia's cell phone rang. She answered and as she was talking, her face changed. When she hung up she said, "Um, my mother-in-law just died." ............................... I am pretty sure I looked like a fool with my mouth hanging wide open! She said, "I think it was your prayer. We know that she is in a better place and not suffering anymore." It was a miracle! As the Bible Dictionary says: "The object of prayer is not to change the will of God, but to secure for ourselves and for others blessings that God is already willing to grant, but that we must ask for in order to obtain." Sometimes that blessing is disguised as death (but let's just remember that death is just the separation of body and spirit for a little while!). Wow, I am so grateful for the power of prayer and the power of being a missionary. Heavenly Father is so aware of us! Let us never forget that He hears and answers every prayer!
Also, I think we need to baptize this family. :)
Other experience. We were walking around on Sunday looking for less-actives (which is harder than you would think when you don't have a GPS or a map with street names and you don't really know anything about the area). We decided to look for a sister named Esther. Long story short, we found her! She's a 68-year-old lady with short white hair and blue eyes. And she's crazy! And wonderful! She's so great! Here's one of my favorite quotes from the lesson: "They boys used to look at me from behind but now I look at them from behind!" Hahahahaha such a crack-up! The best part is, after about 50 years of inactivity, she committed to come to church on Sunday!
On Saturday, we had a conference with Elder Arnold of the Seventy, his wife, and President and Sister Egbert. It was SO GREAT. I left wanting to baptize, reactivate, and serve all of Actopan. Quickly, here are some of the things I learned:
- Use the scriptures and the words of the prophets; they explain way better than I can!
- Teach the doctrine, the why
- Take responsiblity for my area. No more waiting around for the situation to change. Change the situation!
- Be a defender of the truth!
- Work with the members (GIVE THE MISSIONARIES REFERRALS EVERY TIME THEY ASK!)
And with that, I'm signing off. This work is hard! But it's worth it! I know that there are people prepared to receive the gospel here in Actopan. I'm not responsible for my companion or her thoughts and actions, but I am responsible before God for ME. And I am going to work my tail off here and now!
LOVE YINZ!
Hna Snyder
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