Sunday, September 25, 2016

Tender mercies and Chicatanas!



Hola todos!!! Its hot, its humid, and its really really rainy here in the heart of Dixie.  

This week was FULL.  So much has happened. Both good and bad!  Opposition in all things right?  

Well Tuesday was just one of those opposition days for Sister Frazer and I hahaha .  We originally had a full day of lessons and follow ups but they all fell through.  Except one! It was with a lady we found tracting.  She was busy at the time but invited us to come back. So we did!  We sat down and had an awesome lesson. I testified, Sister Frazer testified, we invited, she committed, and right before we were going to end with a prayer, her neighbor and her neighbors mother barged in and sat right down.  She asked us " Ya'll don't believe in Jesus Christ!  ******!! Did you know they don't believe in Jesus Christ??!!  Who are ya'll?  Why do ya'll use a different Bible? How dare you come into this home when you know nothing about what you have to preach. Show me in the Bible where it talks bout this!"  She was furious.  The spirit whipped outta there like there was no tomorrow.  I felt uneasy and uncomfortable.  All I knew to do at that moment was to be polite and bounce out of there because I knew if we stayed I would want to say something rude or try and contend with her. But she gave us no room to say anything let alone try and help her understand. Even if we did I knew in my heart she would not accept any explanation we had to give her.  I do not want to say anything unkind about this lady because she has as much right to believe what she does as we do.  We are not here to convince, persuade, or lure others into believing what we share.  We testify of what we personally know to be true and invite others to experiment the same way we have.  This is definitely not the first time I have experienced this type of encounter and I know it will not be the last.  But I am grateful for the Savior's example when He was faced with difficult questions or circumstances, and I hope to follow Him.

However, whenever we have days that are full of stuff like that I always know that something crazy awesome is going to happen next.  That is what I LOVE about missionary work! God is so keanly aware of us. It can turn on a dime.  You never know what to expect, who is behind the door, or who will accept your message next. We had some amazing experiences as well this week.  A few days ago we had a Spanish lesson with a lady named ******.  She was SO nice and we had a great lesson.  Before we left I saw one of our pass along cards on her mantle next to her television.  I asked her what it was and if she knew missionaries before!  She said no but that she got it from her Catholic Church! hahaha On the back was 2 sisters that served in Demopolis a year ago and who I know!  It was so funny and ****** just laughed and laughed and thought it was muy chistoso. Tender mercies!!  

Saturday morning Sister Frazer and I, and the Branch Presidency went out to a neighboring city to do some service for an inactive member.  We built some stairs to lead up to her trailer.  And let me tell you it was hard!!  It also started POURING down rain after we had only been there for a half hour or so.  We all got soaking soaking wet.  But it was still a wonderful opportunity!
And it doesnt end there Peeps!!  WOW SUNDAY.  Sunday was such a blessing of a day! Specifically church.  It was so amazing!  Real quick background to the miracle story about our investigator, ****.  ***** lives in Greensboro (about 30 minutes away).  He found out about the church through his neighbor, Brother Bell, who is a member.  We have alot of members of the branch that live in Greensboro but most of them are inactive, because it is so far.  So to strengthen and help the members in Greensboro who are active and to also invite the inactive members to become active, the senior missionaries in the branch hold a weekly Gospel Class in Greensboro. Tony has been coming regularly and on Saturday we had a lesson with him.  **** is sincere and wanting to change and come closer to Christ!!  He genuinely wants to be better and to surround himself with good people.  We taught him about the Restoration, as we were explaining Priesthood authority, we told him that Brother Bell has that same authority that the apostles once had, he told us he wanted to be baptized and to receive that Preisthood Authority as well.  YES ******!  Because he lives so far away we cannot see him as often as often as we would like but we have a return appointment tomorrow and we are going to set a baptismal date with him.  WOOHOO.  And he came to church yesterday along with a guy named Chris!  Chris was a former investigator from the sisters a few months back but he moved to Colorado for a few months and just recently returned.  He is SO solid and told us he is ready for baptism! So looks like we'll be having a joint baptism here in Demop pretty soon!

See how that week just turned around??  I swear the Lord is watching out for us.  HE LOVES US.  

Also chistoso moment:  Trying to find and contact a referral that our Branch mission Leader gave us.  Upon finally finding this house we meet a nice lady from Vera Cruz Mexico.  After talking for awhile about who we were she invited us in to eat some food she made.  It was spicy goat that was super duper good!! We were talking about interesting foods from other countries and I told her about a kind of bug that I had heard about that is very popular to eat in Vera cruz and asked if she eats it.  She laughed, went to the fridge, and pulled out a tub.  She opened it up to show me and there were thousands of little dried bugs inside!! They are called Chicatanas.  S. Frazer FREAKED out and screamed!  The woman laughed and popped a few in her mouth and gave some to her little 3 year old to snack on too! She told us to try some and I did!! Didn't taste like much but it was interesting!! Had to do it to say I did! hahaha

I love this quote that I found in my personal study this week!  "Although we do not have the opportunity to walk with Jesus Christ to Jerusalem, we can show our willingness to replicate that journey in our own lives.  Remembering the Savior's own willingness to sacrifice and serve in accordance with Heavenly Father's will can give us strength to "go, and do likewise"  (Luke 10:37)"

I love this work. I absolutely LOVE being a missionary for my Savior.  I love the people I have met. And I love God.

So go out and serve someone!!! Turn your ARROWS OUT.  Not just for a moment but forever.  We are promised that if we do, we will find ourselves, in the process.  

siempre con amor,

Hermana Chicatana Mole
steadfast in Chirst
#molinesrockmissionariesrule


No comments:

Post a Comment