A Labor of Love: October 2014

Hola Amigos!

What a week! Something funny happened this week... I realized that scriptures are true to their word... Last week as I reflected on the scripture in D&C 60:2-3... I realized I needed to be more faithful in opening my mouth in all situations. Well... I guess Heavenly Father thought so too... the scripture says: "But with some I am not well pleased, for they will not open their mouths, and then it says... if ye are not more faithful unto me, it shall be taken away, even that which they have." Well this week... I got a really nasty cold, and one morning I woke up and LITERALLY couldn´t talk. No joke I´ve never lost my voice like that before. So lesson learned. The scriptures mean business. Also... I am thankful for sickness... because without sickness we would forget how good it feels to be healthy. I like being healthy. :)

This week we contacted a lot of the people we had met in the streets! One day we went to visit a cute little elderly woman named Nali, she´s 81 and just so precious. We asked her if there was anything we could do to help her and she thought for a second... got a suspicious look on her face and then pointed to the counter... where there was a dead mouse sitting in a mouse trap. She wanted us to take it out and dispose of the mouse. So fun. Hey we´re willing to help in whatever way right? Yuck.. I hate mice.

This week I have been struggling to know how to help people progess.. since I´ve been here that has by far been the biggest challenge. People let us in and we have the first lesson and then nothing happens. Its so hard for me because as we sit and have lessons I truly can see so much in them, I see them as future RS presidents, future Young Mens presidents, future missionaries.. future faithful members of the church, but I just don´t know how to help them realize that potentional, ya feel? Its a struggle for sure.

Sometimes I just get so frustrated, and feel like I am not doing enough. But I learned an important lesson as I read a talk this week by President Eyring ("Rise to the Call"... if you haven´t read it.. READ IT) What he said hit me hard... he said:

"If I only think of my own performance, my sadness deepens. But when I remember that the Lord promised that His power would go with me, I begin to look for evidence of what He has done in the lives of the people I am to serve, I pray to see with spiritual eyes the effects of His power."

Wow. So true. I know that it is so important to truly LOOK for the progress.. and see the ways HIS power is affecting the people! Because... it truly is that... HIS power. It´s not anything I am doing. It´s all Him. In the end of his talk he quotes D&C 123:17:

"Let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed."

I LOVE this scripture. What a relief. I just have to do my part eh? I know that if and only if I "Cheerfully" do all in my power... the Lord will do the rest and his arm will truly be revealed. What a blessing it is to know I am not doing this work alone. :)

Con Amor, Hermana Matheson

The trees here are so pretty :)

HOLA!

This week started out just STELLAR. This monday the Cuevas family was nice enough to teach me and my companion how to make milanesas! They were so yummy! I can´t wait to try and make em on my own! I´m so grateful for families like the Cuevas! We also had exchanges this week, so fun!

Hermana Japa and Hermana Dote, our dear Sister Training Leaders came from San Rafael to spend a little quality time! I was blessed to spend a day with Hermana Japa! That girl is a rock. She taught me so much in just one day. As our day went by I noticed that she had literally no fear of sharing the gospel and she didn´t let a single moment pass by to not share! I realized how much I need to improve that, and was reminded of a scripture we read in Zone Conference, D&C 60: 2-3:

"But with some I am not well pleased, for they will not open their mouths, but they hide the talent which I have given unto them because of the fear of man. Wo unto such, for mine anger is kindled against them. And it shall come to pass if they are not more faithful unto me, it shall be taken away, even that which they have.".

Pretty bold eh? If that´s not pretty clear, I don´t know what is. Sometimes its so true, sometimes it so easy to be reluctant to share the gospel. Because of the fear of man. But I know that we need to fear God. Not man. Pretty sure what God thinks is a little more important!

This week like every other was full of discouragements and also MANY BLESSINGS. One discouragement was with a less active family. We have been meeting with a less active family that the parents need to get married (pretty much everyone in Argentina...) and we had a really spiritual lesson and talked about the importance of families and they told us they would set a date. The next day we came and they had set a date, we were so happy. Then Saturday we had a lunch appointment with them and they said that they weren´t sure anymore... because sometimes they disagree... and aren't sure if they can handle the commitment yet. AHHHH. I wanted to cry. Satan definitely doesn´t want families to come together in righteousness. I´ll tell you that. He is ever present and tearing apart families!

This week we took some time to go through our area book. Wow. If I didn´t have a love and appreciation for the area book before, I do now. There were so many names and stories and people who need our help. I felt a little overwhelmed. But I loved it. I felt like I was on a treasure hunt. I want to visit every. single. person. in that book. SO overwhelming! But wow there are so many people to help.

This week a cool experience happened. We were knocking doors close to our apartment and we found a woman named Maria, said we could come back later that week, because she had pictures to show us of some elders she knew. We took what we could get. When we came back, she started showing us all the pictures of the Elders her family knew and we learned that her husband and three of her kids were members and inactive now. She continued to show us pictures and we would try and slip in some doctrine.. but it was pretty apparent she didn´t want to listen. After about 30 min we started to feel like we should leave, like we were wasting our time. But for some reason we felt okay about staying. And about 10 minutes later her husband walked in and started talking to us. After a while we got talking and he told us his frustrations and they told us how the last time they let missionaries in their house was 16 years ago. WOW. I felt so blessed. We talked more and more to him, and by the end he started to cry and told us he had the desire to return. We felt so blessed. We hope to continue to help him return! It´s experiences like that, that remind me how blessed I am to be an instrument in the hand of the Lord.

Yesterday for Argentina was "Dia De Los Madres" for Argentina! We celebrated in Relief Society and we brought our favorite facturas (pastries) to share. They were all so happy, and we told them all how much we loved them. As we were talking to them I realized how much appreciation I have for the Mothers of Argentina. They are so faithful and hard working, they sacrifice so much for their children! I was reminded of how important the mothers of the world really are. Thats where it all starts! I am so thankful to have such a stellar mom! What a blessing to have been raised by my incredible mom through the principles of the gospel! What a blessing this gospel is!

Con Amor, Hermana Matheson