“He lives! All glory to his name! He lives, my Savior, still the same. Oh, Sweet the joy this sentence gives: ‘I know that my Redeemer lives!”’ (Hymn #136- I Know that My Redeemer Lives)
August 15, 2011
Hola!
It’s going to be a short email this week because I am uploading pictures to send home through the mail. This week was great! We have changes (transfers) tonight and we are very nervous as we expect it will be our last week as a trio. One of our trio is leaving so that means either our trio splits up or they put a local in with us for a change. I love LOMA! All the members here are great and are so excited to work and share the Gospel. We sang in Sacrament meeting yesterday- Hermana Alvarenga and Matias, a 19 year old member of the ward who is preparing for a mission and is really cool, and I sang and Hermana Young played the piano. Matias sang the first verse and then Hermana Alvarenga and I sang the second in Guarani. Guarani is the second language in Paraguay and they speak it mixed with Spanish usually. Hardly anyone knows pure Guarani, just words and phrases. It’s a really cool language though. And when we started singing in Guarani, every Paraguayan in the room had their eyes on us (which was everyone, haha). Fue purete. Then I sang the third verse in English and then we all sang in harmony the last in Spanish. It was cool and the Spirit was really strong.
Mariela, the cousin of Thalia, came to church yesterday for the first time and she has set a baptismal date for the 2nd of September. Blanca is still our golden investigator that we are working with. We told her about the word of wisdom. She said she drank alcohol occasionally and drank coffee, but after that lesson, she said, “Well, I won’t drink that anymore.” She gave it up just like that. It’s amazing how feeling the Spirit and what really having a testimony can do. She is awesome!
Walked by the temple today for P-day. Me encanta ver el templo. We went to take pictures and we saw the guard, Hno. Falcon and the janitor, Hno. Sanchez, who are both in our ward and who feed us lunch. Hno. Sanchez helped translate the Book of Mormon in Guarani, which is an amazing feat and he bore his testimony in pure Guarani in Sacrament meeting which was really cool to listen to.
We had a cool lesson with the Gonzalez family. Both parents and their two kids were baptized but only Hector, who is 15, still goes to church. We taught them that obedience to the commandments always brings blessings. It’s like in 1 Nephi 3:7, the Lord never gives commandments, without a way to follow them. Many people say they have to work on Sundays and that’s why they don’t go to church. Obviously, working is important, but we encourage them to find a way to both feed their families and obey God’s commandments and to have the faith that God will help them with their righteous desires. There is always a way. Here is a hint: if you ask a less active family if they have been reading the Book of Mormon daily, they will say no. Most don’t even know where it is. One sure way to keep your testimony strong and healthy is to read the Book of Mormon everyday. It will give you spiritual power and keep Satan far away. Like the primary song says, “Scripture power keeps me safe from sin.”
I am going to close with my testimony. I am so glad that I chose to go on a mission. I am learning so much everyday and my testimony is becoming stronger everyday. I love being surrounded by strong members who love the Gospel and by companions with strong testimonies. I love this Gospel and I know that la Iglesia de Jesucristo de Los Santos de los Últimos Días is the true church on the earth today, meaning that it has the authority and power of God through the Priesthood. Wickedness never was happiness, and happiness comes through obeying the commandments. Therefore, keeping the commandments equals happiness and muchisimos bendiciones! We have a loving Heavenly Father who hears and answers our prayers. Keep the faith!
I love you all! Good luck to the girls who start school this week! I love Tay, Rae, Jo and Jen and think of you often!! And good luck to Kelli and Andrew who get married soon! I love you!!
Love,
Hermana Brittner
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