This week has been absolutely amazing.
After
I wrote last week we went to the bus terminal and waited for my new
companion to arrive. Hermana Handley is AWESOME. She is 20 years old,
tall, from Orem Utah, goes to BYU, and has 15 months in the mission. She
also speaks really great Spanish and has a lot of experience. Also, her
Dad is the lighting designer for all of the theatre things at BYU. I
met him before the mission and didnt even know it. So how is that for
connections right? Haha.
We have been getting
along famously. We both have the same motivations for the work, we both
want to help as many people as we can, and we both had a really hard
last transfer. This transfer, so far, has been an answer to prayers on
both sides. And it turns out that I might end up ¨killing her¨in the
mission. (That is when your companion leaves, or dies, in the mission.
If you are the companion, they say you are the one who ¨killed them¨.)
So I could end up staying here in El Salvador for 6 months... That would
be an interesting thing to do......
But aside from the fact that I love my companion, this week was amazing for other reasons as well.
On Friday we left El Salvador and went to Chañaral. Had Companion-Exchanges with the Hermanas there for the rest of the day, and then at 12:00AM
we left and went to the bus terminal and waited for our bus to
Antofagasta, which came TWO HOURS late. So after boarding the bus at
around 2:30AM we tried to sleep a little on the journey. Got to Antofagasta at about 7:00AM
and took a heart pounding taxi trip to the big chapel. We ate a granola
bar for breakfast and then all of the Hermanas from all over the
mission arrived! I got to see mi mamita, my trainer, Hermana Sclaise,
saw Hermana Borges, and I saw all the people I arrived with from the CCM
as well. The WHOLE mission was there. And for a really unique
experience we were able to take a photo with everyone who was there (we
were still waiting on a few zones).
Then we
sat down and began to sing, and prepare spiritually to hear from
President Soares of the 70, Elder Gonzalez President of the South
America South Area and Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the 12
Apostles, and of course all of their wives. When they all arrived the
Spirit in the room was amazing. Like a concentrated force in the front
of the sacrament hall. We were given the privledge to shake all of their
hands and look them in the eyes and everything. It was really amazing.
They
said a lot of things that applied directly to missionary work and what
we are all trying to accomplish as members, And I could transcribe all
of my notes directly. But I dont think I will do that. I will say one
thing as word for word as I could remember it.
Elder
Cook was talking to all of us, and he was closing up his talk. We knew
that he was about to bear his testimony, but it suprised us all when he
began to tell us that we shouldnt share every single little detail about
the spiritual experiences that we have in our lifes. That they are a
sacred trust from God, and that we should guard them closely, sharing
them only when the spirit directs us. And then he said,
¨I share very simply and without details. That I know the Savior´s
Voice. That I know the Savior´s Face. And In know that He Lives. He is
the one who is leading this church today.¨
I
have never felt the spirit as strongly as I did then. I felt without a
single doubt in my mind, that my savior LIVES. I am not here alone. I am
here for a purpose. MY SAVIOR LIVES. The spirit in the room was one of
the most profound things I have felt, or will feel in my life here on
this earth. The divine witness that he bore, will forever be engraved in
my heart. Because now I too know these things.
He followed his Apostolic Witness of the Divinity of the Savoir with a Blessing on all of us.
¨I give you an Apostolic Blessing that you will understand
spiritually the signifigance of your mission. This will bless you and
every single person you love, have loved, or will love...... You will go
forward with Strength, and do what you need to do......You will have
your own testimony....... I leave you with my witness of the Savior,
with this Special Blessing. In the name of our Savior, Jesus Christ.
Amen.¨
My mission, and my
life, will be forever blessed because of the spirit that I felt in that
room that day. I at this moment am feeling very much like Joseph Smith
felt. God has given me this revelation. He knows I know it. I know I
know it. And never will I deny it.
In this
world today, I have heard a lot of the different sides, the different
debates about why the LDS church needs to change to conform to society.
But I would like to add my witness, however small that it may be, to
that of an Apostle of the Lord. I know my Savior lives. And I know that
he is the one guiding the church today.
Let us
never forget, or become so caught up in the things of the World, that
we forget that it is not our place to create rules of Heaven. It is our
place, our calling as memebers of the church around the world, to have
enough faith in the Lord to have faith in the men that he has called and
ordained to speak for him. As I shook the hand, and later listened to
the witness, of an Apostle of my Lord, Savior, and Redeemer, I recieved
my own divine witness, that the Savior lives. He loves all of us. And he
does indeed direct us in these Latter-Days.
I
love you all so very much. Thank you for all of your support and love.
If you are having your own doubts about the truth or you dont know where
to go or turn right now. I invite you to read the Book of Mormon, Pray
to your Savior, and I know that he will answer you. Maybe in his own
time. But he will answer. You dont have to meet an Apostle to recieve
this witness. Im just happy that I was blessed enough to have that
opportunity.
I love you. And I love my Savior. Have a beautiful week wherever you may be.
Hermana Randall
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