Hola Familia!
What a week. Seriously. It has been an amazing week here in Corrientes. Hermana Michaud and I are working a ton!
This week we had Zone Conference with Elder Viñas of the Area Presidency. Man, how awesome it was! We were all told to prepare a five minute talk on the Atonement. Then, when we got there, he asked us to share what we learned about the Atonement. Then I learned about Grace, through D&C 50: 40-42.
40 Behold, ye are little children and ye cannot a all things now; ye must b in c and in the knowledge of the truth.
41 a not, little
b, for you are mine, and I have
c the world, and you are of them that my Father hath
d me;
42 And none of them that my Father hath given me shall be
a.
One of my favorite scriptures in the mission. I feel so much love when I read it. And I never realized what Grace really meant. I would like to give you guys a chance to study it for yourselves. What is grace, and why is it so important in the Atonement of Christ?
Since we are on the last part of our missions (this is the second to last transfer of Hermana Michaud) we have decided to purify ourselves. We are trying to get rid of anything that is going to get rid of the Spirit. That means thinking about home also. :( It's super hard, but we have seen the fruits of this process in many different ways.
We have been working with a less active member here. Let's call him Joe. Joe here has a freakishly strong testimony. He is the only member of his family, (right now we are working with his mom and dad.) and loves to work with the missionaries. What happened with Joe you ask? About five or six months ago, Joe wanted to serve a mission. He talked with the District President and was told that he should instead look for a wife. Now Joe, respecting the leaders, said OK. But, he lost a lot of drive (ganas/animo for Kyle, it explains it better I think). So he stopped coming to church. But last week he started coming again. And, happily, the members were super supportive and he felt right at home. But, right now, Joe's problem is that he is not paying his tithing. He has a really hard situation at home and he finds it hard to pay his tithing when it could help his family. Now the missionaries before have talked about this millions of times with him - all the blessings he could have received. He started praying for an answer. Well, on Saturday we went to pick him up (he was going to go with us to some appointments) and we started talking. The theme of tithing came up. He explained to us the problem - how he is a realist, and is looking at all the worldly needs. I honestly don't know how we got to this point, but you could feel the Spirit super strong, and I started talking. Words were coming out of my mouth as they popped into my mind. I told him that the world's view is realistic. That the world doesn't believe in the miracles, that the world doesn't believe in all the commandments, that we need to become as little children and try to get rid of our pride. We have to try him (God) ... He's willing to give us the blessings, if we are willing to use our faith.
Let me tell you, I've never felt the Spirit so strong. And I know that he felt it also, because he's going to start paying his tithing. :D What an experience.
Last night, we were walking to make an appointment with one of our investigators, when we passed a young woman sitting against a wall. We said "Hi", and we noticed that she was crying. We went a couple more steps before we realized we should turn back. We asked her if everything was alright and, like everybody does, she told us she was fine. So we, of course, sat down right next to her, and she started telling us everything. She's in her mid 20's and lives with her husband, three year old, and mom (whose a little crazy). Her three year old is still in her terrible stage and her mom just doesn't want to talk to her. It was the last straw. She left, and was sitting there contemplating suicide when we passed by. We started sharing with her the Gospel and the peace we can have in our lives with our families through it. We then walked her to her house, and met her husband and daughter, and told her we would pass by later that week. She's great, but looks like has some depression issues. But, if there is one thing I know, the Gospel helps every type of problem.
I can see the blessings of the Gospel everyday here. He puts us missionaries and members in the path of his children, to bless them, be cause we know his gospel. The Lord wants us to be happy, he wants to give us his blessings. We just have to be willing to follow and obey him. That's that hard part. :) lol! But, he loves us. What great comfort I have in that. That's why I love that scripture so much in D&C 50: 40-42. We are his little children, and we need him everyday of our lives. Jesus has overcome the world for us, and if we follow him, we will not be lost. :) This Gospel is true. And I'm positive when all is said and done, I can be with my family forever. What a blessing :) Be smart, be Safe, Trust in the Lord.
Love Love Love
Hermana Erin Kaye Griffeth
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