My most Darling Family and Friends...
Well, like the title says, 1 cambio complete! (A cambio is a
transfer by the way, and technically I have 2 one here and one in the MTC. but
you know what I mean).
So, little surprise to no one, I don’t have transfers!! and
get to complete my training with Hermana Bojorque here in my bonita santa ana!
whew.
Just a little heads up, I woke up incredibly early today to
teach seminary so if the letter makes little to no sense I am literally fighting
my eyelids, the traitors. How grateful I am to have gotten to go to seminary in
the daytime... This has been another long, full, exhausting, dirty, hot, busy
but great week of missionary work!
Lets start with the bad happenings first shall we? This week
Lillian (our miracle investigator who had a baptismal date of next Sunday)
decided that she didn’t want to be baptized anymore and that she didn’t want to
keep seeing us. ouch, sucker punch to my heart..... We talked with her for a
looooong time (well she did 98% of the talking..) and really all she gave us
were a bunch of excuses. She wasn’t ready, she didn’t want to leave her husband
for 3 hours every morning, her kids in the states were having problems, etc. It
was s little heartbreaking to be honest. The best description I can give is
Alma chapter 8... I think its chapter 8, but it might be 9. que triste! My
companion is great though; we went home, said a prayer for her cried for like 3
seconds got up and got back at it. A little while before I came the area
presidency came to visit the missionaries, with them came Elder Quinton Cook.
He said something that we have sort of adopted as our motto, our catch phrase..
"you were called, to be rejected". Well, if that’s my purpose
here I guess it wasn’t so bad:)
Now for the good news! Hold on tight there’s a lot!
1. This week we had a multi zone conference with presidente
Wilkinson. He said a lot of things that were really interesting and helped me
to grow in my calling. Let me give you the highlights:
- Faith without works is dead, but works without faith is
dead also. If we don’t believe in our work, if we don’t set baptism dates with
inspiration, teach with a plan and the spirit and plan every aspect of our
service, if we don’t have faith in our work, then its dead. It won’t go
anywhere.
- God is always ahead of us. He knows what’s happened he
knows what’s going. He knows what were going to do and what the investigators,
members and less actives are going to do. We don’t need to prove ourselves to
him, he already knows. We need to prove ourselves to ourselves.
- Satan is here to destroy this work through an
attitude of complacency, mediocrity and complaining. It is easy to find the path
of least resistance; it literally takes no work to be there. Do nothing and
you’re on the path. The only way to prove your character, to change yourself,
to go somewhere is by searching out the will of God and doing it, regardless of
how hard it is. The more adversity there is in an area the greater potential
for miracles. If you are facing challenges and rejection right and left its
because Satan is trying his hardest to counteract the good you are doing and
keep those who are ready hidden.
- There are thousands upon thousands of people in my area who
are ready and willing to accept this gospel. They just need to be found.
2. This week, august 15th, was el dia de madre!!!!! mothers
day for Costa Rica:):):) I asked if I could call you mommy, but they told me
no. Sorry, have to wait for Americas I guess. But yeah, so we got to celebrate
moms for a few days! We had special fhe lessons and a great activity at the
chapel on Saturday. It was really a great opportunity to bring investigators,
less actives and the members together for something that was "normal"
and fun! My favorite part was the lesson we got to share with some of my
favorite substitute moms. John chapter 19:25-28. In this moment Christ is on
the Cross... he’s already suffered the pains, afflictions, sicknesses and sins
of every human being who will ever live. He’s already been wrongly accused,
humiliated, whipped and tortured. His body is literally hanging from the cross
by nails in his hands and wrists... and he looks down and sees his mommy, and
thinks if I die right now there is no one to take care of her. He then gives
responsibility of the care of his mother to his apostle. And then, ONLY AFTER
he knows that she will be okay, he says that all is finished and complete. What
a testament to how important his mother was to him. The savior is our example
in all things, including the way in which we should honor, love, and care for
our dearest mommies. I love you momma!!!
Okay, only 2 other things I want to say. The first is that
the driving here is loco! They have stop signs, but no one uses them. Walking
the streets imp afraid to be hit by a car, truck or bus almost all the time.
You get used to it... and when you’re the one in the car, it’s like your living
fast and furious! These people are literally crazy and incredibly talented with
these cars. (Although aint nobody as good as my daddy!)
The other is that I had an experience that I found really
interesting. My whole life people have always told me how old/ mature I look
for my age. Here everyone tells me how young and innocent I look. At first it
kind of bothered me... I mean who likes to be told that they look like a
13-year-old right?? Well I decided I actually do like it. To be innocent is to
be clean, to be inexperienced as to the things of the world. To be new, to be
kind and to be compassionate. Everyone always says that the eyes are the
windows to the soul.. This week 4 days in a row I had someone tell me I have
beautiful eyes (yes one day it was a child, one lady who liked my eye
shadow and one drunk lady who told me I had "the eyes of an angel")
but every time I had the thought that this was my Heavenly Fathers way of
letting me know that he thinks I have a beautiful soul:)
Well I hope everyone knows how much I love and appreciate
them. Nothing beyond this gospel means more to mean then the people reading
this. I love you, pray for you and am grateful for you everyday of my life,
every moment of my mission. You all are my world!
All my Love,
Hermana Kugath
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