Week 33: Greetings from San Lorenzo!

Greetings from San Lorenzo!

Because my email from last week wasn´t sent, heres last week´s news!!

This week was my first week training mi hija Hermana Posso. She is from Peru and has such a fun and energetic spirit to her. It is so much fun being with a new missionary because she is incredibly motivated to work. Our area is called San Lorenzo which is a lot more developed than Marcovia- to give you a little picture in your head of what it´s like we are now on paved roads, we live near a hospital and hotel. One challenge that we encountered this week was that many of our appointments began to fall through because they weren´t home! We started to feel like we were spending a little too much time just walking from house to house, and needed direction as to where we should go. We knew that God knew exactly who was in need of our help, and so instead of guessing and we decided to go straight to the source, through prayer! We prayed together first to know whether we should continue contacting or if we should go to our next appointment.. no surprise we both felt the same impression to continue contacting. Next we asked which street to follow, received the same impression, and on we went! It was really exciting to see how literally every time, we would say at the same time where we felt we should go we had the same answer. And we have started to do it every day so that we can be sure we are exactly where God needs us to be.

This week we were invited into the home of a woman named Gabriella who we had meet in the street before and had a lot of questions for us like what was the Book of Mormon, who was Joseph Smith and what was so different that Mormons believe? We were ecstatic to hear questions like that and quickly set an appointment to meet with her. The day of our visit we sat down to explain to her about how God as a loving Heavenly Father had sent his son Jesus to come to the Earth to show us the way, and to establish his church. In the Bible we have the records of the prophets of old and Jesus´s coming in Jerusalem, but that there was also another set of records which contained Christ´s visit here! to the Americas! When we explained that this record was called the Book of Mormon, and that a prophet named Joseph Smith had been instrument in the Lord to translate it, she nearly leaped out of her seat to be able to read the chapter of Christ´s visit in which we spoke of. The funny thing was that this is something that we teach and explain all the time, but this time I felt different teaching it- I felt a tingling sensation start from my head to my toes, if it were possible it was as if someone poured light into my body, and in that moment I knew that it was the Spirit was testifying to me, and to her, that it was the truth. Because that is what the Spirit does- it offers undestanding, and for that reason it was no surprise that she was hungry to hear more because the Spirit had let her know, maybe not in the same way as it had let me know, that what she was hearing was true.

I would also just like to say that San Lorenzo is the cutest little town and the members here are so fantastic. This Sunday was my first Sacrament meeting (because of General Conference which btw WOWW) and it was testimony meeting (when the meeting is dedicated to whoever wishes to share thir personal conviction of the truthfullness of the gospel may share) and as a branch of about 30 members, practically every member got a chance to bear their testimony. Though the number are small, it reminds me of the blessing that no matter where we are in the world, no matter how big or how small the numbers are, the organization of the church is the same, doctrine of Christ is taught the same, so that we may ¨may come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God¨. God is not a God of confusion, He is the same yesterday today and forever and has revealed all possible to his children so that they may have a clear picture of how they can return to His presence. I know it not only because I chose to believe, but because I too have had questions, I too have had doubts, but one who has questions and doubts has two options: investigate the wisdom of man by checking out what Google has to say or by investigating the wisdom of God through his Holy Scriptures. The spirit that gave light and understanding to Gabriella and I this week is the same spirit that will give understanding to those who seek it.

My companion is a complete goon and has already peed her pants (well, skirt) like three times in the street from laughing so hard and I love her like crazy.

I love you all! Thank you for your prayers and I´m praying for you all too!


Hermana Bernal

Week 32: Hallelujah

Hi family and friends!

Happy Easter!!! So good to hear that you guys enjoyed it, This week it was especially exciting to share with people about the restored gospel of Jesus Christ because the day of his resurrection was already on everyone¨¨s minds! While contacting we have been sharing cards that have a video that is really beautiful to remind us of the gift that all of us are blessed to have- the gift to be able to live again after this life. And if we have done well, we¨ll be living with our families for the rest of eternity. I attached a link of the video :)

The past couple of weeks we¨ve been teaching three youngsters who¨s families are members and have been preparing to be baptized. Saturday they were baptized, and the morning of their confirmation we went to pick up one of the boys, named Bryan with 10 years, to wait for the bus that takes us to the church building. We arrive, knock on their door, and hear nothing until his mom responds ¨¨he{s sick, hes not going¨¨... This was incredibly unsettling because as Paul taught in Acts, a baptism without the reception of the gift of the Holy Ghost is incomplete, and if he couldn¨t go his baptism wouldn¨t count! Frustrated, we went back to the bus stop to wait until we both felt prompted to return to the house and try once more. This time as we knocked on the door his mom didn¨t even answer, and Hermana Avila and I decided it would be best for us to pray. We prayed that he might wake up, that he might remember this special day of his confirmation and open his little eyes to make it to church on time. After calling his name a couple more times with no answer, we called up a mototaxi to take us to church because at this point the bus had already passed and we were going to miss the Sacrament. We waited a good 10 minutes until finally it came, and took us a different route than usual and all of a sudden we see pass by a boy dressed in his white shirt and sure enough it was Bryan!! Seeing him was one of the most exciting moments, and we arrived in perfect timing at church not only for him to be confirmed, but also for him to be able to take the Sacrament. It made me so grateful to know that God had carefully prepared the means and timing for us to fulfill his work. It really was a miracle, and all because of one prayer! I know that there are no coincidences, and everyday we have the choice to see the blessings in our life as miracles or as casualities.

Also, today we had changes and I found out that I¨m leaving my beloved little town of Marcovia, now off to a more developed area called San Lorenzo where I won¨t get to see as many pigs, horses and cows everywhere, but the work is the same and I¨m so grateful the opportunity to be able to train an hermana from Peru! Tomorrow we meet, next week I¨ll send photos!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=12&v=p2wdMwpYByI


Hermana Bernal

Week 31: Happy Father's Day

Hey family and friends!

This past Saturday was Father's day here in Honduras and so we decided to plan an activity in the church building and it was such a fun time! Attached are the photos of the event. 85 people arrived and it was so great to allow our investigators to see that Mormons have fun too!

My companion Hermana Avila is in the last stretch of her mission with only 3 months left... Something that I have learned from her is that we can more loyally follow the example of Jesus Christ when we stand for what is right no matter what others are doing around us. Sometimes we let things slide around us that we know are incorrect, but we must remember that the day we made a covenant with our Heavenly Father, we promised to take upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ. As a missionary I have plaque with His name to remind me everyday of this covenant, but as members we don't need a plaque to have His name written on our hearts.

Love you so much, till next week!! Here are a couple of fun photos from this week!

Hermana Bernal

Week 30: Baptism of "Joven" the orphan child

Hey all,

This week we had the great blessing to see the baptism of a joven named Eduardo. It has been really awesome to see the change in this boy, because he comes from a pretty tough family situation- orphaned as a child, passed around by various families who couldn´t handle his behavior, and now living with an uncle in law and their family who are members of the church. As we have taught him the worth that he has as a child of God, and the plans that our father in Heaven have prepared for him to have a happy and successful life, bit by bit we have noticed a change in his composure and brighter countenance, and it just makes me feel so grateful to know that no matter what home situation we come from, the gospel brings light and hope. Even the simple knowledge that we are children of God was something he had been missing and it reminded me of a quote of one of the leaders in the church Boyd K Packer when he said ¨The study of doctrines of the gospel will change behavior better than study of behavior." Eduardo is living evidence!

Till next week! 

 

Hna Bernal

Week 28: White As Snow

Hey familia!

This week was a great week. My companion Hermana Avila and I have been continuing to work with many of the members who have forgotten their testimonies, and with the help of many visits with members we are reminding them that like our bodies need food and water everyday to be nourished physically, our spirits as well are in constant need of nourishment. This week our lessons were centered on how after we are baptized and confirmed, we are washed completely clean of our sins, and the weight of any past guilt or shame may be lifted because we are now able to start anew. But how long does that last? How long after baptism are we perfectly clean, without sin? Our Heavenly Father has created us with weaknesses, and as humans we are bound to make mistakes, but we have been blessed with the opportunity every week to partake of the Sacrament- the symbol of the body and blood of Christ that renews this covenant of and allows us to become as white and pure as the day we were baptized. I love the scripture in Isaiah:18 that says Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

Right now in Marcovia we are in the super windy season and its pretty funny because by the end of the day I have a very attractive layer of dirt on my skin, reminding me that every day we have the need to be washed physically and spiritually. What would our bodies look like if we bathed only once a week? What must our spirit look like if we haven´t given it a nice deep clean when Sunday comes around? I am so grateful for the opportunity that we have to have fresh starts and new beginnings. I am grateful for this gospel, and for the one that makes it all possible, our Savior Jesus Christ.

Hermana Bernal

Week 25: "All people need is a little love"

Hey family and friends,


This week was precious. We were able to work with a lot of members who went out with us visiting some of the members that we haven´t seen in awhile at church, as well as a few investigators... It is so awesome to be able to see people the members here take care of each other, sharing their testimonies and helping them understand the blessings of obedience, and how beautiful it was to see how immediate we saw results!! The church building is pretty far away from the houses of most of the members, so there is a bus that passes by the town every Sunday morning, and when we got on the bus my companion and I could not believe our eyes we were so ecstatic to see the number of smiling faces there, it was nearly double the attendance of prior weeks! Clear example to me that sometimes all people need is a little love, a little visit, and a little push in the right direction. We must never forget that our little efforts are often what make the difference in the precise moment when they are needed.


Love you,

Hermana Bernal

Week 24: Are we doing the basics?

Hey everyone!! I am so happy to write to you today!!


Recently we had transfers, and my new companion is named Hermana Avila! I feel so so grateful to be with her, we get along really well.


So so much has happened, I wish I could tell you all about it but for now I will share one experience that I had with Hermana Vicente that taught me a great lesson on faith. It was a Saturday when missionaries from another ward had planned a baptism in our ward building, and had asked us to arrive early to clean the building and prepare the baptismal font. We get there early, begin setting up only to find that the water system was faultering, and there was barely any running water to fill the font. Staring at the font we thought to ourselves, this is a baptism, the Lord knows exactly how important this day is for someone who is about to make a covenant with God, there must be something we can do! So, we knelt down and began with a prayer to ask for guidance. In the middle of the prayer, the little running water that had been flowing completely stopped. Not one drop left the tap. But keeping in mind that often answers to our prayers often don´t come instantly, we kept searching for the solution, called a few members, and after about 20 stressful minutes a member came like an angel and was able to find a hole that was releasing all of the water outside! We covered the hole and fixed it all up, quickly filled the font, and that day the now recent convert was baptised, now able to enter into the kingdom of God. As I reflect back I find it funny that in the middle of our prayer God tested our faith with the complete hault of the flow of water, and once we found the hole how simply the problem was resolved. Sometimes when we feel like we are giving our all and we find ourselves in brief moments where it seems as if ¨¨the water stops¨¨, these are the exact moments when the Lord is just waiting to see if we will doubt, or if we will press forward with the faith that there is already a solution, a wise purpose that has already been prepared. Sometimes the solution is that really we need to ask for help- in this case we needed to call a member-, sometimes the solution is as simple as a hole in the system- are we doing the basics? reading our scriptures, saying our prayers, going to church? And sometimes the answer is just patience. On my mission I have been learning a lot of patience, and I expect to continue learning it for the rest of my mission and life! Haha. Anyways I love you all, I know God answers prayers, I know that God blesses us in acordance with the faith that we demonstrate.



Hermana Bernal ;P