Hey fam!!
This week was our last Zone Conference with the Claytons before they leave in about a week, so President decided to break a little rule and hug all of the sisters. It felt like hugging my dad. I love the Claytons!! I'll be so sad to see them go. It'll be a little weird to have the new President for only one transfer. I think I'll just have to wait to see them before they become mine. Without a doubt, when they enter into that first transfer meeting all of us will think "Oh yeah, he's our new President. He is exactly the right person who needs to be here.". But until that day, all of us are a little sad, because we love they Claytons and will cry like babies the day they leave.
It was their last Mission President's Fireside on Sunday and it was the best one yet. TONS of missionaries and members came and it was so powerful. Usually the missionary choir sings simple pieces, but the ones we did this last week were by far the best. We started by singing all the verses of "I Am a Child of God", but in all of the languages that are spoken here in the mission. English, Spanish, Tagalog, Arabic, Lao, Mandarin Chinese and American Sign Language were all represented! The Tagalog was the best-there's only 4 of them but they sang the loudest and proudest. They Claytons cried the whole time! The testimonies that were given were some of the strongest I've ever heard, so I bet it made them feel good about the state that they are leaving the mission in.
President Morgan (first counselor) asked me to sing "Consider the Lilies" because it's their favorite. It wasn't originally a piece that I enjoyed....but of course I was happy to do it. It was cool to study the words of that song, especially on Father's day, and realize just how "seen" we are by our Father in Heaven, and I was glad that I was able to bear my testimony through it. I cried. Duh.
At the end, Sister Clayton said to the congregation, "Please take care of my Missionaries. I love them". Then everyone else cried. We are babies.
It's been a great week! We are continuing to work harder and harder. It's definitely been an "Ok hermanas...let's see how hard you are willing to work for Me" week, but both of us have felt so happy in the process that we don't even care. The Gonzalez family continues to be the greatest gift we have been given! They are opening up so much more than before and we can literally SEE the change in their eyes. They are working towards getting baptized at the end of July!!! Arturo's brother, Pablo (the one in the hospital) got a blessing from the missionaries that we sent over there and was released from the hospital a few days ago!! Arturo was so grateful. I think the BIGGEST miracle was that they went to a baptismal service in their brother's ward and both of them commented on how beautiful it was. Mayra cried through the whole thing (There is a lot of tears in this email). I love Heavenly Father! He is working a lot harder up there than we are down here...
OK-HUGE MIRACLE! A few days ago we got a referral from Otay Mesa for the sister of a member of their ward. We called her the other day and she said "Please! Come on over!". We went to her house and she just gave us this huge hug and said "it's a joy to have you in my home!". Her name is Elena and I guess when her brother was getting the discussions from the missionaries, she would sit in and listen, but never got baptized. A lot of her family has converted from Catholicism so she has a lot of family who are really solid members! We had a SWEET lesson with her, and she accepted to be baptized on July 26th within the first 15 minutes! She was already talking about what she had to wear at her baptism. I am so grateful for the missionaries who taught her brother. She said they were in and out within an hour and had a very high standard of obedience. She already knows what good missionaries are like and she knows the Spirit that obedient missionaries have! It's a great reminder that missionaries will leave a legacy-both good or bad. SO JUST BE OBEDIENT FOR HEAVENS SAKE. So keep Elena in your prayers! She's the coolest!!!!
I've been thinking about the past 16 months or so and the differences of areas I've had. I feel like in the Valley, I got humbled and beaten down, I got my weaknesses thrown in my face and I was made ready to learn. In Chula was where I got to heal a little bit from the Valley haha, and experience what it felt like to have hard work pay off on a DAILY basis. Santee has been my area of refinement. It is where I have learned the most about the nature of my Father and my Savior. I have learned that I really don't know much about them at all, but I am trying. Cory sent me a talk ("The Bitter Cup and the Bloody Baptism"-greatest thing I have ever read.), and Elder Holland brought it home when he said "Surely our sometimes clichéd expressions of testimony and latter-day privilege don’t amount to much until we have had open invitation to test them in the heat of battle and have in such spiritual combat found ourselves to be faithful. We may speak glibly in those Sunday services of having the truth or even of knowing the truth, but only one who is confronting error and conquering it, however painfully or however slowly, can properly speak of loving the truth. And I believe Christ intends us someday to truly, honestly love him—the way, the truth, and the life.".
Isn't it cool how we have the rest of our lives to figure out how to love our Savior? Enduring to the end-what a beautiful thing.
I love you all! Have a rockin week and know that you are always in my prayers!
Hermana Hess
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