Week 26 Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving world!

There isnt a ton to report this week. Nothing really earthshaking. Except for the literal Eath shaking that we had. About a 6.4 earthquake happened this week. But with Chile´s standards about what is and what isnt a bad earthquake, they are calling it merely a Temblor, which basically means, Tremor. Not earthquake. It is really funny what the standard is for an earthquake here. If is it under an 8 or 8.5, doesnt count as an Earthquake. But that is the ¨Earthshaking¨news for the week. Haha.

I want to thank you all for the beautiful emails and testimonies that I recived this last week in response to my testimony. Im happy to know that I dont need to just proselyte to help other people I love come closer to Christ. 

This week was mostly uneventful, Hermana Handley had the flu, or something similar, and we were out for the count for a couple days, we never had a full day in the apartment. We left and worked as much as we could without her collapsing (which almost happened a few times). And because we pushed through, we were able to find and teach 4 new families and really help some less actives remember that thier Heavenly Father loves them. 

We are having one problem right now though. The problem that we are having is that some of the members here, view the church as a whim, as something to participate in at thier convienience. We had a meeting with the leaders of the branch to talk about what we can do to strengthen our youth programs, and the leader of the young mens and the young womens didnt come...... But other than these few things, the ward and the work here are more animated than they have been in more than 3 years. We are all really excited about the miracles that we see every single day.

Thanksgiving was a great day here. It obviously wasnt anything close to being home with the family and eating pie until I want to throw up. But it was good. No one else was celebrating, just us, and I was really glad that day that my companion was a Gringa and that she understood Thanksgiving. We bought a rotiserrie (didnt spell that right) chicken and made mashed potatoes, veggies, fruit, and ended it all off with a suprisingly American tasting donut. I loved it. But poor Hermana Handley was pretty sick, so she ate a roll and some potatoes and pretty much called it good, and then she slept on the floor while I cleaned it all up. Fun day though.

Our spiritual experience for the week that really stands out, was a day when Hermana Handley was running a fever again, we had come back to the apartment to grab some more water for her, and we were debating about leaving again because we only had an hour more. But we left anyways, and started walking. And to be honest I wasnt sure where we were going, we just walked, I felt like I was just wandering knocking on doors, when suddenly I felt the impression to go and visit an old investigator who is never home.  We made a sharp 90 degree and began walking. And down this street we saw a GIANT house, with Christmas lights all over it. Moving in the darkness and everything. It was GORGEOUS. We stood in the street open mouthed in front of it for a good 5 minutes, and then a man on the sidewalk behind us said hello. It was his house and he was very pleased about how much we loved it. We talked about the house for a moment, and then about why two gringas were walking in the middle of the street in El Salvador Chile at 9 at night, and then he invited us to meet his wife. We went inside and just shared a lovely experience talking with this couple for awhile. We didnt have enough time to teach, but they told us to come back any time.

It was amazing to feel the spirit guide my feet like that. And even more amazing to later realize that we had listened and followed a very clear prompting. 

That was the week though. A week of rest and love and a Spirit of Thanksgiving. I am so thankful for this opportunity that I have to be serving a mission. I am grateful for my friends and family who are supporting me from all over the world, and I am especially grateful for my Savior. Without whom, we would not be here. Love you all, until next week!!! (My 6 month mark is Thursday BTW. When did that happen?)

Hermana Randall

Week 25 Conferencia con Elder Cook

Hello there everyone!

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

Week 24 Transfers... The Aftermath

Hello there Family, Friends, and intersted Fans.

This week was absolutely amazing. 

ALSO I CANT SPELL IN ENGLISH ANYMORE: LO SIENTO. 

We were able to do a lot of different things and we found one investigator that is progressing more rapidly than I have ever seen. His name is José and he is the ¨Pololo¨ or boyfriend, of a Less Active names Viviana. But she has been making great strides recently to return to activity in the church. 

They started dating awhile back, about 6 months, and she has been talking to him about the church. He even came to General Conference with her (the broadcast). While he was there, the other Hermanas (this was before I got here), gave him a Book of Mormon. Turns out, this whole time, like 5 weeks, he has been reading the Book of Mormon by himself! 

When we finally were informed that he was ready to recieve the missionaries we went and visited him at his house for the first lesson. And we asked what he understood about the origin of the Book of Mormon. He began at the very beginning. He explained that there was a prophet named Lehi, and that he had a bunch of kids, one names Nephi, and that God told him to leave Jerusalem. Then he proceeded to explain both books of Nephi and the first part of Jacob, because that is where he is at right now. He is INCREDIBLY receptive. We were blown away by the spirit in the room. And then we felt like we needed to aske the million dollar question. ¨When the Lord answers your prayers, and you know that these things are true, will you be baptized by someone holding the proper authority?¨

He proceeded to cry and he told us that he didnt have to ask again. He already knows that it is true, because when he reads and when he prays he feels a kind of peace that he has never felt. He is the equvalent of an EMT here, and he told us that once he was reading in the back of an ambulance after a long day (He has the Church Library app on his phone and reads stuff on there too) that he felt the presence of someone with him that day. And he knows that this is true. He wants to be baptized so much. The spirit was incredibly strong. So we have a baptism planned for the 5th of December!!!! 

We saw a lot of other miracles this week, but that is one of the biggest ones. 

And then after everything, the transfer calls came. Hermana Borges has been transfered to Mejellones, and I am staying in El Salvador to lead the sector. My new companion is Hermana Handley. She is from Utah, USA. And is arriving on a bus in about 3 hours. So I will let you all know about her next Monday. But Ive heard she is really sweet. (Something I need right now.)

We have a lot of great things happening in this little sector, and better things are to come!

Love you all, stay strong. And remember that even though the world is going nuts right now, and there are a lot of bad people doing bad things. That doesnt mean that God isnt there, that he isnt a god of justice because bad things happen to good people. It means that people are using the gift of agency to act according to their own selfish desires. It means that we all have more of an opportunity to grow, to become the people that we were intended to be. It means that one day, because of the actions of these people, they will answer for them all. The world is crazy, but God is not. He is stronger than all of the armies men can command. And if we trust in him. That strength will become ours. 

Les amo más de ustedes entienden. 

Hermana Randall

Week 23 Transfers!

Hello there Everyone! It is me again!

This week has gone by waaaaay to quickly. Things really are coming to a head here in El Salvador. Although basically all of our appointments fall through every single day, we have been blessed to find new investigators who are really prepared to hear the gospel. We also have been able to contact a lot of Less Actives and they are begining to understand what they are missing out on by not being completely active and taking the Sacrament every week. 

Also things with my companion are a night and day difference. This week, without revealing details. We had a real break through. In the middle of lunch the other day, literally I had just taken a bite of chicken, and she blurts out. Ï think President is going to send me home this week.¨

Im able to see things in a whole different light right now. And she told me, because of who I am, and the way that I have acted towards her these last 5 weeks, has allowed the Spirit to talk to her, and let her understand that she cant just repent by herself like she thought that she could. Turns out, the whole time that I thought I was just bearing the trials of my mission, I was helping to change the life of my companion as well. I didnt just learn a lot from this experience, but she did too. We have become pretty close this last week, as she finally opened up to me and let down her VERY large walls. And as I held her and let her cry, I really saw her as my little sister who was broken inside and hurting, and didnt know how to fix it. 

Now together we are working together to make sure that she will be okay. 

A lot of things have happened this week. And that is what was most important in the work for me this week.

I love you all. I hope you know that. I have a strong testimony that no one is too lost to use the Atonement and find joy and peace in thier lives again.  God loves you more than you could ever know. You were worth the blood of the only perfect man who ever lived. What other testimony of the love of Jesus and our Heavenly Father, than the nails prints in the hands and feet of our Savior. 

My Ponderize scripture this week was in Psalms 40:1-4 

¨I WAITED patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard me cry.

He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, AND estabished my goings.

And he hath put a new song in my mouth, EVEN praise unto our God: many shall see IT and fear, and shall trust in the LORD.

Blessed IS that man that maketh they LORD his trust, and respecteth not the proud, not such as turn aside to lies.¨

Sometimes we need to wait for the Lord. And then when we have progressed through the path that he created for us, we will be able to sing a new song. Because now we know why we experienced that. And now we can understand the happiness that we wouldnt have had without this trial.

Love you all :) And I´ll talk to you net week!

Also Transfers are this Saturday, so I´ll let you all know what happens, I may or may not be able to write on Monday, so maybe Tuesday!

Have a great week! I love you all!

Hermana Randall

Week 22 Halloween!

Hello there ravid readers, friends, family, and curious onlookers.

This week was pretty great not gonna lie. Difficult, but great. I was able to talk to one of the Sister Training Leaders, and President a little, and things are starting to work out. I still feel like Im in an episode of MASH were a jeep gets stuck in a mine feild or something and Radar keeps dropping the map so every so often we hit a mine and blow a little piece of emotion off every so often, but then Im okay again. Weird metaphor I know. But it works.

But a good week! We had intercambios and I spent a  day with the Hermana Training Leader, a Gringa from Colorado who is super nice. And that really allowed me to unwind and let go of some pent up stuff. 

We also found out that everyone in the whole mission is taking a road trip 12 hours for me in a bus, to Antofagasta, because Elder Cook from the Quorum of the 12 Apostles is coming to speak to us! Usually we cant get the whole mission together because of how big we are, but for this very special occasion, yes we are! Whohoo!  That is going to be the 21st of November and we are all very excited. And we have interviews with President and Transfers next week! Thanks are all coming to a head here. 

We also had a lesson with an investigator who is amazing, her name is Maria Alfaro. And we were a little late because we were with another investogator, and when we knocked on the door, she opened it right away and said, I thought that you werent coming! Not only did she acutally remeber the appointment, but she had made us herbal tea, pie, and sandwiches. It was not only a great spread, but a great lesson. We read 2 Nephi 31 with her and talked about the principle of baptism. And then asked the million dollar question, would she be baptised. And she said yes! She is excited to be a part of the church, we still have a lot of lessons to teach, but she is really happy to be a part of something. 

She even came to the big Halloween party that we had the next day. And brought a friend and her daughter. The work here in El Salvador is progressing, slowly, but surely. Maybe after these long years El Salvador will see a baptism!

We also found out that a member here has had her records of her baptism lost. So she has to be rebaptized and reconfirmed.  So we are figuring out all of the logistics here and now. Complicated, but fun. 

Our Halloweeen party was a success (due largley to the ffact that thanks to years of Primary and grade school I know how to make cute Halloween decorations with minimal time and effort.) We had two large families of Less Actives come to the party, and the next day they came to church! We also met a nonmember daughter of the Less Active, and she came to church the next day with them and everything! (Which was cool because our Relief Society president was a noshow, so I taught Relief Society). 

Anyways, things are not perfect here. I strive everyday to make things better with myself, my God, and my companion. And every day is another challenge. But another oppottunity for a blessing. 

Thank you all for your patience with my stories and sometimes my complaints. I love you all very much. 

My Ponderize Scripture for the week was 1st Corinthians 10:13, it talks a lot about how God will give you the strength to overcome temptations, but I changed it a little for the week. God will also give you strength to over come situations you cant control. 

¨There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God IS faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that which ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear IT.¨

I know that if we in our hearts want to do what is right and we work as hard as we can. Then will the Lord step in and help us to do what is left over. I know this, because every day when I drop to my knees, I ask him to take what I did that day, and help to make something of it. More than I could make by myself. 

I love you all very much. Thank you for your words of love and support during this time of testing for me. I have recived a mountain of emails from friends and family alike, and I appriciate and read every one of them. I love you all.

Have a wonderful week!

Hermana Randall

PS: For the people who asked I disclosed everything to President and things are going to be okay, and the mission isnt going to blame me for the loss of funds. But thanks for the concern :)

Week 21 Forward With Faith

Hello There Everybody!

This week was defiently interesting to say the least. We taught a bunch of lessons and found 7 new investigators! (Some of them were old investigators of other missionaries, but they are new to us.) One of the hardest things about this sector is that it technically is not a town. It is not a permanent place for people to live. All of the houses and such are all owned by the mine Cobresal. So when someone lives here, it is for only like 2-3 years at a time, maybe more, maybe less. So our Area Book is filled with investigators that dont live here anymore. We are basically the Rest Stop of the mission. We prepare everyone to recieve the gospel in another city.... El Salvador hasnt had a baptism in over 3 years.

(Sorry for the novel here. Be patient. If you begin to read, read to the end. If you dont want to read it, that is okay too. Its mostly my own emotions.)

On another sad note. I was yelled at pretty hardcore by my companion this week. It started earlier in the day when I found out that she was using the mission funds, not personal funds, to buy her brand new digital camera. That is a lot of money, and we are only supposed to use the money from the mission for specific things that are outlined in the Missionary Handbook. I wasnt sure if she knew the rule so I explained a little, and she got REALLY upset (the guilty taketh the truth to be hard), she told me that she knew the rule, but that it isnt really a rule, and that President knows that everyone does it, and that I could tell him if I wanted but it wouldnt change anything and I couldnt change her decisions. So I got really quiet and just let the matter drop..... But I could tell she was irritated with me.... So later I gave her my last cookie and granola bar because she was complaining about being hungry. I thought that fixed it.... But no....

Later we were leaving a house that we had entered REALLY late. Like 9:45. I was hesitant to even go in because of how late it was. But we hadnt been able to contact this person for a very long time. And we didnt even have anytime to teach them. So we just talked a little. And I didnt inturrupt and say the time, because last time I did that Hermana Borges yelled at me later as well. I just thought, Okay, we´ll leave the house and walk REALLY fast to the apartment, because we were pretty close. So we left and we both took off. I explained really quickly that we didnt have the 10:30 buffer time because it wasnt a lesson, and I thought that we were on the same page. So I was walking really fast, and she was just taking her time. I got a Little annoyed that she didnt seem to want to follow the rules. And she was obviously still peeved with me. So by the time we got to the gate in front of the house, I thought she might slap me. She was yelling how I was crazy, how I was going to end up killing myself, and how if I didnt relax and show love once in awhile everyone would hate me, and I would hate me, and I would have a horrible misión. Then she threw down her bag (we are in the apartment now) and dropped to her knees and still yelling some pretty mean things, she stopped and said, Lets pray and plan for tomorrow.

I sat in shock for a minute, I didnt want to pray with these feelings. I knew that whatever work we did would not have the spirit. Because of how angry she was, and how sad I felt. She continued saying somethings about how I could continue on this path and hate my misión if I didnt at least try to be happy, or I could change, because she has never had this problem in her misión before. I am happy to say that my response to all of this, at first it was apoligetic and confused, and a Little defensive, but by this time I hadnt spoken in a few minutes, I was just kneeling on the floor across from her and listening. My response became, ¨Im so sorry. Thank you. Im going to work on that.¨

After I said that she couldnt seem to have any other epithats to throw at me. So she prayed. It was a very angry prayer that indirectly addressed all of my percived shortcomings. And then afterwards planning for the day after took over an hour. I did all the planning by myself while she sat in silence and took off her makeup.

I dont think I ever prayed as hard as I did at that moment and the whole day after, and every day since. I recieved the impression to just ignore it, and continue doing what I´ve been doing. Just trying harder every day. Because this one incident doesnt have to be the downfall of our companionship. This was just one day.  The rest of the week went really well. I do admit it is hard to feel the Spirit in our times when it is just the two of us. Because I know she doesnt want me here. But we are both here, and both learning and growing. And I really have grown to love her, and appriciate her. My approach to everything right now is love, and the words, ¨Thank you. Im going to work on that.¨

I know that through my prayers, God has granted me a Little more humility and a Little more charity, to be able to sit back and listen to an angry list of my shortcomings and now feel angry. Not feel like I have to change her perspective and respond to what she is saying. Just to have enough emotion to say, Thank you. Im going to be better.

Sorry for the novel. I dont talk to a lot of people here. It feels good to get that out of my system. For the record, Hermana Borges, is a beautiful person. She has really wonderful qualities and a very strong testimony. She has and will change the lives of many people in her misión and in her life. I know that she is a daughter of God with unlimited Divine Potential. And I love her. And with that love on one side of the companionship, we will get through this Transfer. She doesnt have to like me, to agree with me, or want to work with me, for me to love her, to agree with her, and for me to have a desire to work with her.

But with faith and now that I talked with the Sister Training Leader and President about some rules that I knew where being broken or at least bent a little bit, our numbers have started to go up. Thing in El Salvador and our relationship are progressing. I wake up every morning ready to help her and the Lord with everything that I can.

Also as a thought for the week, the little things dont really seem like a big deal. But they are. For example, we needed to buy bread this week. And bread here is about 2,000 pesos. And we had 1,990. We needed 10 more pesos. That is like needing an extra 15 cents. And we didnt have it with us. So we had to leave empty handed. We dont ever really know when we are going to need that extra 10 pesos. Its like the commandment to read the scriptures and say your prayers every day. It is a small thing. Only 10 pesos a day for your spirit. But do you really want to get to the door of Heaven, or encounter a temptation and find that you only needed 10 more pesos to pass? It is by the small and simple things, that great things are accomplished. 

My Ponderize scripture for this week was 3 Nephi 18:24, ¨Therefore, hold up your light that it may shine until the world. Behold I am the light which ye shall hold up – that which ye have seen me do. Behold, ye see that I have prayed unto the Father, and ye all have witnessed.¨

Jesus the Christ was perfect. In every way, shape and form. And there were days when he was tempted. When he cried out to the Father for strength to do his will. When he fell on his face because he couldnt seem to go on. And he was hated. This perfect man, who ALWAYS taught by the spirit. ALWAYS had charity and love and diligence and faith, and all of the other things we need to be perfect. And he was hated.

When we strive to follow his example and be the best that we can be. We are going to be tempted. We are going to cry to the Father because we just cant anymore. And there are people who will hate us for what we believe. But we will always have Christ as our light out of the darkness, if we pray as we know he has prayed, we will always have him with us.

I know that this is a long email that sounds like one endless complaint. I even considered deleting it. But I feel like I need to share this experience, this week with you all.

I truly feel blessed, extremely happy, and content to be here in El Salvador with Hermana Borges. I am growing in ways I didnt know posible. I have more of the attributes of Christ, at least the beginnings of them, than I did almost 5 months ago. I love the misión. I love what I am doing. And I am so very happy to be serving my God.

So, go forward with faith. Press onward saints. ¨Shall we not go on in so great a cause?¨-Joseph Smith.

Love you all. Hurrah for Israel!

Hermana Randall

Week 20 El Salvador: Scene 2, A New Perspective

Hello there world!

Yes, tis I once more!

I would like to thank all of you for the words of love and encouragement that I received from Friends and Family alike. And I would like to inform everyone that God is a God of miracles, and this week was amazing.

First off, after writing last week, I actually felt sort of bad, I felt like I had complained and sounded a Little whiney. Thank you all for being an outlet at a time when I needed to be a Little immature. Because after a lot of prayer and soul searching I have learned A LOT this week. I see why the misión changes you so very much. It really is like a spiritual bootcamp. You are given some of the hardest trials in your life, and all of the tools you need to over come them in the exact same day. After that God just askes us to use them to the best of our ability, and he´ll help us sort out the rest. And then the very next thing, or the next day, if you have used those tools, and accepted the help of the Lord, you have your eyes opened to see the Hand of the Lord in everything in the misión. Even if you only witness the Little miracles, arent they still miracles?

This week was a lot better. I wrote President about a couple rules that I had learned differently than we were doing here, and turns out that I was right. So that revelation made my companion a little more upset, but I decided that I was going to let her do her own thing as long as it didnt break the rules. So this is something I did talk to her about. But other than that I have been doing my very best to be the best companion that I can be. 

I made her breakfast a couple of times, and made her bed when she wasnt looking, and left a couple little notes where I knew that she would find them. Through the acts of service and my determination to be patient and love her, things are beginning to progress in our relationship. 

It really started after our Zone Conference last week. She really wasnt interacting with me that much. In fact she sat with a different missionary, so I had to sit with her companion. And then the leader of the Zone had to ask us to switch. That started out pretty weird. But then I gave up, and just payed attention to the lessons and added input. I felt like I talked a lot, but I kept feeling like I needed to keep talking. Later when we were back in our sector (2 hours on the bus later), she started crying and told me that during the meeting she realized why I was here, because she was tired of the sector. That she loved the sector, but that she was out of ideas, out of energy, and here I was full of energy, full of revelation, and so ready to work. That was a huge break through. She said that she could just feel my testimony, and knew I was here to help.

Then later during the week, after the Weekly Planning and during Companionship Inventory, she had a couple things that she felt I needed to change of course, but afterwards I felt really impressed to just say, Thank you, I´ll try harder. And then I spent the next couple minutes, at the prompting of the Spirit, telling her that she is a wonderful missionary, that she has done great things her, and that we are going to work together, and that we are going to see so many miracles. She started crying and I can tell that she really is just tired and a little lost. I wonder if it has to do with our level of maturities as well. Ive lived as an adult for almost 3 years on my own. And the mission is her first time. Although she has more time in the mission than I do, Im older and have a little more experience in the world and working with other people. 

I was able to see that her perspecitve is so different than mine, not only with age and experience, but culturally as well. She is from Brazil and is also learning Spanish. I cant expect my companions to be perfect and to understand me all of the time, that would be unfair and unChristlike. 

We have really made some great strides, and I really know her to be a Daughter of God. 

One experience I would like to share was really amazing and had all of us in tears. 

Hermana Borges has been having me do the Daily Planning because she says shes leaving soon and I need to learn, so I felt impressed to visit an investigator that I have never met. We went the next day and the mother of the investigator answered the door. Her name is Yasna. She had really long hair, REALLY long. And was sort of dressed like a hippie, she was really cute. She saw us and got the biggest smile on her face! Invited us in, and we began to talk. 

She told us that she had been praying to God to show her the way that she should go, to send angels to protect her house. And then she stood up and was about to clean the house, when we knocked on the door. Not even a minute later. 

We taught her about the Restoration and about the Book of Mormon, and she told us that she knew that what we were saying was true because God always answers her prayers. She wants to be baptized and read the Book of Mormon!

I just ran out of time! But things are great! And I love you all!

Hermana Randall

PS: My Ponderize was, Helaman 3:26-27