Dad, I was thinking of you all week as I saw the firetrucks zoom past our house! They got pretty close to a bunch to our members' houses but all is well! It was hotter than heck, and the immunity to heat I built up in the Valley apparently doesn't exist anymore, but we found a lot of new investigators by going up to random people's houses asking for water so I guess miracles can be found anywhere:)
SUPER SOLID WEEK! It's amazing what an attitude switch will do to ya. We've been able to recognize the hand of the Lord a lot more and as a result, we've been tons happier and better and more humble servants. There's been a LOT of faith-building experiences for sure. We were contacting a referral last Wednesday (one of the hottest days of the week) and she immediately invites us in so we were like, "Awwww yeah! This is gonna be good!". And then she tells us she's a Born-Again Christian and proceeds to bash us for the next 10 minutes. We just got raked across the coals. The scariest part was the look in her eyes-I swear if there was a look of just evil, she had it. She was particularly vehement about the Book of Mormon. We just stood there and said "Be a Representative of Jesus Christ. Do Not Fight Back" over and over again in our minds and got out of there as soon as we could. It was interesting. The adversary was definitely present in that room but both my companion and I felt the reassurance of the companionship of the Spirit so clearly and strongly. As we walked back to our car we both said that the hardest part of that whole experience was what she said against the Book that we love so much. She could have gone off about us personally and neither of us would have minded, but our hearts hurt so much for what she said about the Book of Mormon. We left having such strengthened testimonies about it. Later that night we had a lesson with the Gonzalez family, who previously asked us never to use the Book of Mormon in the lessons. Our experience with the referral contact gave us the courage we needed to have a full-out Book of Mormon lesson with them, and both of us have never testified so strongly of it. The spirit was so strong and they LISTENED. I am so grateful for those two experiences that we had - just in the space of three or so hours - that helped me realize that I am not ashamed of the Book of Mormon. Ask me about it. I'll tell ya.
MTE season is upon us again so we wont have the chance to work in our area for the next two weeks or so. But we both know that Heavenly Father will take care of our area in our absence. Santee's was last week and there are no other Spanish sisters in our zone so we actually got the chance to go out and work in our own area for an MTE! President Clayton gave us such good training and we focused a lot on how to get members excited about the work. We had the chance to visit a few member that day and we asked all of them "if you were a full-time missionary, what would be your favorite thing to say to potential investigators?". It was cool to see their responses and testimonies and as we helped them understand that only THEY could share that with people, their faces totally lit up! ALL the members gave us the names of their friends to go visit and asked if they could go with us. After months of not having much success with member referrals, that was a major miracle. It's amazing what inspired questions can do.
We had a Mission President's Fireside this last Sunday. It was in Spanish so basically it was the best thing ever. Actually, it was my favorite one I've attended. An elder in my district and I sang the same piece we did for Easter and it was another one of those "perfect moments" that come by every so often. We did a "There is a Green Hill Far Away" arrangement and we've had the chance to sing it at a few different activities, so it definitely wasn't the first time it was being performed. But when we got to the last verse both of us just started to cry (riiiight in front of president and his wife and a kajillion investigators....awesome.) and weren't able to finish it. The Spirit choked us both. There are a few moments where you feel the Spirit so strong that your heart almost hurts, and this was definitely one of those. It felt SO good to bear our testimony in that way, and we are so grateful for the chance to be conduits for the Spirit. We found out yesterday from a companionship that's serving in the city that their investigator leaned over after we ended the piece and said to them "If that's what the Spirit feels like, then I want to be baptized.". Perfect moments. God is Good. I am happy.
The Gonzalez fam gave us a waffle maker! Miracles!
I've learned much about faith this week. Instead of being worried about getting everything done, I've made a conscious effort to just take that leap of faith and put EVERYTHING into God's hand. Every day seems like a trend. From 12 to about 4:30 we knock and knock and no one is home or we get rejected. But from about 5 to 9, it's like God puts people directly in our path and we see tangible miracles. During the afternoon it's easy to get frustrated and question; "We're working so hard! Why aren't we seeing these people". This week I have learned that there is a very important principle to be learned in waiting. If we just wait patiently for Heavenly Father's plan to unfold, then we will be amazed at the things we see. God trusts us enough to wait and not get discouraged and LEARN. I have learned that yes, receiving a witness after a trial of your faith is wonderful and amazing, but sometimes knowing that you are doing the work of the Lord is enough. The witness will come....don't miss out on the miracles if you're too preoccupied with the lack of it:)
Life is good. There are so many good things and I love learning all the different "good things" there are.
I LOVVVVE YOU!
Hermana Hess!
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