Here is her letter from last week followed by this weeks letter:
June 24th
Hello Family!
How is everyone? You are all at Girl's Camp or in Rexburg...super jealous! But Dad is home with Pongo so that is fun too:)
La semana pasada estaba muy dificil, I was kind of going through a mini depression.....all week I have been trying to figure out how to get out of it. I called my mission president and talked to him. He really helped me a lot. I got letters from Mom, Dad, and Grandma and Grandpa Warren. Thank you so much for the letters. Mom and Dad, your letters helped me more than you know. But even with the letters, I was still having a really hard time and I was crying in every companionship study. I was so frustrated with myself and how I am not feeling the desire to go out and baptize like I want to. Yesterday, I had a breakdown in companionship study and cried for a long time. I really wanted a hug from Mom and Dad, to tell me that everything will be ok, but since you weren't there, it made me cry even more. Yesterday morning, I really wanted to go home. I was having a battle within my head, weighing the good and bad to going home and all the factors, regrets, good things, EVERYTHING was in my head, making me so confused and I had no idea what to do. So we left the apartment and tried to go out and the whole time, I was just tired and not into it. So I texted President and asked him for a blessing. Last night, around 9pm. I talked with President and told him how I was feeling. He told me that I am not going home, that his missionaries don't go home unless they have medical problems. He gave me a lot of advice on how to improve my missionary work, my the Lord needs me here, that we are having a lot of success in our area and the Lord needs me to stay. He said that the year and a half of my service will just fly by, that I got past the hard part. I am almost at 6 months! I have been out for 5 and a half months, this time just flew!
Then President gave me the most powerful blessing, he told me so many things, he blessed me with so many things. One of the things he told me was that my family wanted me to stay on a mission, and that they are being blessed for my service. That really helped me a lot.
So yeah, I am doing a lot better. Thank you again for your letters and Dad, thank you for your letter you sent in the package. That letter really helped me. You didn't know that your letter would help your daughter about 20 years later, huh? :)
So I don't have a lot of time today. Transfers are tomorrow so we have to be out of the mission office early because all 12 missionaries going home will be here at 2.
I am not being transferred, I am still here in Murray! Sister Egan was super happy when I told her. She practically threatened President if he changed us. I am still here with Sister Gonzalez and we have set a lot of goals to improve out relationship, and our area. We are going to lose weight this transfer!!! One thing that you learn on a mission is how to set goals and make plans. If you don't make plans to accomplish the goal, you will never reach it. I am really grateful for learning that here.
The Perez family took us out to dinner last night, the ones that just go baptized. They are planning on going through the temple in a year, and I will still be here!!! I hope they do that while I am still here, and if not, I can just come down to see them be sealed. I love them to death, and the thing that helps me to lose myself in the work is the people. When you think about others, you have no time to worry about yourself.
So this week was kind of a downer week, BUT these weeks make you appreciate the amazing ones. I am excited to have those amazing weeks this transfer. President promised me in my blessing that if I work with faith, I will have success in all of my areas. I will hold Heavenly Father to that :)
I love you so much!!!! I miss you and hope your week is great!
SLY!
Hermana Warren
Letter 2 - July 1 2014
Hola Familia!
How is everyone? I hope everyone had fun at Girl's Camp, and I am so glad that Jenna is ok. My heart skipped a beat when I read about her getting thrown from a horse. She was definitely protected.
So this week went so much better :) With President's blessing and help from Heavenly Father, I have totally done a 180, we go out and run every morning, my morning studies have been so much better ( I am filling up the journal you gave me:), and I am trying to eat better, it is hard when people feed you and you feel bad not eating the cake and ice cream they place in front of you. My desire to go out and talk to people is back!!! I love going out in the sun, on my bike and talking to people and teaching. My watch tan and my shoe tan is AWESOME!!
Anyway, it is amazing to see how Jesus Christ can lift you up when you are falling into dark, discouraging feelings and thoughts. I always love reading the story about Peter walking on the water towards Christ. His goal was to walk to him, but because of the winds and the waves, he got scared and begins to sink. He cries out, "Lord, save me!" And immediately, Christ reaches out His hand and says, "Oh man of little faith, why did you doubt?"
I love reading this story in Spanish. I seems more clear to me and more powerful. By the way, we have been speaking spanish when we are outside the apartment, we speak English in the apartment because Hna. Gonzalez has to learn English as well. We are playing a game to help us only speak Spanish. If we say something in English, we get a point and when we have 5 points, we have to one favor for the other person, whatever they ask. My spanish has improved so much, Sister Egan told me that she has already seen a difference and we have only been doing this for like less than a week.
Something funny from this week, I accidentally said "Estamos cerca a su cara" (i meant to say "caro") If you know spanish, it is really funny. We were with Sister Egan when I said that, so now we say it all the time.
So something that made me LOVE my mission: my two recent converts, Alberto Perez, and Edwin Roman, received the Aaronic Priesthood on Sunday!!! When they announced it in Sacrament, I was just smiling so big! We went with the Perez Family after church and we were in the room when he received the Priesthood. I love this family so much! They are moving to West Valley this month but they will still come to this ward. I don't want to move but they feel like they need to. They are planning on being sealed in the temple in one year :)
We taught a family last night, formers that we taught before. The dad is really hard-hearted and won't let his kids be baptized. I was really bold with him, I told him straight up that his kids need to be baptized because that is the only way we can live with God again. I was reading in the Book of Mormon today about not fearing men, but fearing God. That is something that I want to apply in my work. I want to say what God wants me to say, not try to sugar-coat things because I am afraid that my investigator will be offended. The truth is truth! We can't change it! PMG says that our job as missionaries is to "teach powerfully and clearly" so that out investigators can make the correct choice. That is something that I am working on. Sometimes I feel weird being bold, like I am being rude, but Jesus Christ was bold all the time, but he did it because he loved everyone he was talking to and he knew that they needed to hear these things so that they could make the right choices in their lives. Boldness + Love= POWER!! I want to be a powerful missionary, one who speaks with the Spirit, a missionary like those in the Book of Mormon. I REALLY want that so bad.
Anyway, we are reading the Book of Mormon as a mission. We are reading about 2 chapters a day, and focusing on repentance.
Also, you can post whatever on the blog, if you think that it will help someone, you can post my experiences from the last few weeks. I want to keep things real so others can benefit.
Sister Egan took us to Olive Garden today for lunch. She is such a blessing. She extended her mission for 6 more months. I love her so much.
I am glad that Sammie is wearing all of my clothes!!! :P
I love you all so much! Sorry about no pictures this week, I have a baptism this weekend, a mom and her son, so I will have pictures next Tuesday! Next Tuesday is my 6 months day!! Can't believe that I have been out for 6 months, that just flew! Only a year left to dedicate to the Lord. Gonna live it up! It is a great time to be a missionary.
HAPPY FOURTH of JULY!!!!
LOVE YOU!!!!! MISS YOU!!!!
SLY
Hermana Warren
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