 |
| Today we went to the beach with a member family in our ward :) the Piña´s :) i love them and it was soo fun, and then the rain came... jajaja
Hermana Peters has had some interesting experiences this
past week. She says that Satan really is
working hard to stop the work and in ways that she never expected.
Here are her words:
Hello
Family :)
How is everyone? I
really hope everyone is good! This past week I have been saying a lot of
prayers, a lot. And prayed a lot for all of you. Satan is working really hard
here in Santa Cruz because we are soooo close to getting a ward here, which
means a stake in Guanacaste. And of course Satan doesn´t want this. And I know
that he will do anything to effect the work, and also that he is working hard
on all of you too. PLEASE don´t let him win. Keep reading your scriptures every
day. EVERY day. And read them together as a family. Sooo many blessings will
come from the. Also pray are really talk to Heavenly Father. He wants to listen
and I promise that he is listening. AND he answers your prayers. Sometimes in
ways that we don´t expect, but he does. Basically I just love you all so much,
and I don´t want any of you to let Satan win. Okay?
Anyways... This week I
experienced my first real earthquake!! Haha it was Monday night and
Hermana Holmes and I were doing our planning for the next day when we heard a
giant boom/crack and then about 2 minutes later everything was shaking!! It was
a good 15 seconds long or so which is pretty long! But all is good and everyone
was safe :)
Also this week we had
divisions again, but this time I was with Hermana Jensen who has been out the
same time as me... So Ya 2 gringas with very little Spanish experience... I was
scared out of my mind. But I know that my Heavenly Father knows me, knows what I
can and can´t do, and wouldn´t give me anything I couldn´t handle. So I moved
forward with faith, literally faith in every footstep, in every word, and in
everything I do. And let me tell you, I understood and was able to communicate
better that day than ever before on my mission. Honestly was a miracle and I
know that Heavenly Father blessed me with that strength. :)
So I was supposed to
have a baptism this past Sunday but it fell through, which happens a
lot here. I was super sad though because this lady, Ivania, had become like a
mother to me. As we went to go visit her, she was fine at the start, but as we
started to talk to her, I couldn´t see the light in her eyes anymore, the light
that we had helped her find inside was gone again. And then she started to say
how she doesn´t believe in all this stuff. She doesn´t believe in Joseph Smith,
or any prophet here on the earth, and just ah crazy heart breaking stuff. I
don´t know what happened, and we are not going to give up on her. I know that
she knows this church is true, we just need to help her find the light once
more.
Well I just want you
all to know that I love you so much. I wanted to share a quote with you all the
helped me a ton this week.
¨Sometimes we become
the lightning rod, and we must take the heat for holding fast to God´s
standards and doing His work. I testify that we need not be afraid if we are
grounded in His doctrine. We may experience misunderstanding criticism and even
false accusation, but we are never alone. Our Savior was despised and rejected
of men. It is our sacred privilege to stand with Him.¨
Stand with your Savior
and you will never stand alone.
I know that to be true
with my whole heart.
Keep working hard
family :) i love you all!!
Love,
Hermana Peters
|
.JPG) |
A young women’s activity in our tiny little church
In messages to Mom Hermana Peters wrote:
Well
this week was crazy... Satan is working so hard here. And it ways that i wasn´t
expecting. We have had some scary experiences with men this past week, all of
us hermanas. And all of us haven´t really been able to sleep at night because
we are scared. We talked to president and he wants us to find a new house. And
we might have to have a man member of our ward with us in the evenings while we
are out now.
On top of that you
know how Satan just plays with people’s minds, makes you think the worst of
yourself all the time. Yeah it´s been a fight all week.
We
are moving in 15 days... So still have a bit of time. We have 2 apartments
right now. Me and Hermana Holmes live in one, and Hermana Garcia and Hermana
Jensen live in one next to us.
And well twice this
week we had guys following us as we were trying to go home, asking us were we
lived and stuff like that. The men here are constantly yelling stuff at us like
trying to get us to come over and talk to them, but this week it was a lot
more. We had a man that stopped me and Hermana Holmes and asked us to marry
him. At first i just thought it was funny and kept walking but he wouldn´t
leave us alone and by the end was saying how he just wants a baby, and kept
saying just give me a baby. By the end it wasn´t funny and i just felt gross
that he was saying stuff like that.
Also weird things at
night. Like one night this week i suddenly woke up and i thought i heard
someone say my name. And then as i laid there i had a very VERY strong feeling
to go shut our front window. I didn´t even know it was open. So i know I’m
being protected when things like that happen, but it´s just hard feeling
scared. (This is an experience like Samuel in the temple)
We have been playing hymns at night this week which helped! And thank you for praying extra hard
for us. You were inspired to pray harder. And I’ve thought a lot about that
scripture, D &C 84:88 " And whoso receiveth you, there i will be also,
for I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your
left, and my Spirit shall be in our hearts and mine angels round about you, to
bear you up." And also about
Grandpa White. I really can feel him here with me, and i know that there are so
many other angels here. And Hermana Holmes and i were talking and we know that
Heavenly Father won´t let anything happen to us that isn´t supposed to happen.
And that as long as we are obedient, we will be okay.
|
.JPG) |
Another fun Pday (preparation day) at the Pina´s home in
Tamarindo!
|
.JPG) |
Hermana Holmes and Hermana Peters
Words from Hermana Holmes about the week:
Dear people,
Welllll I don´t actually have a ton of time to write
today, but I´ll get whatever I can into this letter.
This week has been insane. Satan is furious with us (all
of us missionaries in Santa Cruz) and has resorted to just about everything at
some point or another this week to discourage us. Lessons have fallen through,
creepy men have followed us, dogs have almost attacked us, we have felt bad
spirits try to come to our home, we haven´t been able to sleep, more creepy
men, temptations to think negatively of the certain people etc. BUT all is
well. We are happy because Satan is not. We are fighting and fighting for this
ward here in Santa Cruz, and we´re not giving up! :)
We have talked to President Wilkinson in regards to our
physical safety, and are now searching for a new apartment, but in the end, we
have the promise that if we´re exactly obedient, no harm will fall upon us. I
am SO grateful that I can say I am exactly obedient. I know that is keeping us
safe from harm. I have felt the Lord protecting us from both the seen and
unseen, and I have felt strongly the presence of His angels surrounding us. I
have absolutely no doubt that this is His work. We are so so close to the goal
of a ward here in Santa Cruz!!!!
This week Hermana Peters and I were able to bring some
young women on visits that have never accompanied the missionaries before. In
each case, the young woman had a struggling testimony and a difficult family situation.
It was incredible to see the change in them at the end of the day. Both loved
coming with us, the parents of both girls were VERY grateful that we would take
the time for their daughters, both now have a great desire to serve missions,
and both commented on the spirit they could feel in the lessons. They were a
great aid to us and the investigators, but the experience for them has the
potential to change their lives. I feel so strongly that this is one of the
keys to strengthen the members here in Santa Cruz. Working with the members is
so important! They need the blessings of missionary service just as much as
full time missionaries do. It´s part of our responsibility as members to share
the Gospel, and I know that few things can bring more conviction and growth to
someone´s testimony than sharing it with others.
Hermana Peters is amazing, and is an incredible example
to me. She is also amazing at talking to everyone--and not just that, but also
talking in such a sweet and kind manner. This sister has a strong, righteous
spirit, and it´s a great blessing to work with her. She and I are going to be
great great friends for the rest of our lives. I have no doubt about that. :)
Oh, and Pday was awesome. We went to Tamarindo and had
breakfast with the Pina´s. They took us to the beach afterwards to take
pictures and enjoy looking at the water....because we can´t swim. But it was
way fun! :D
Oh, and for all who were wondering, yes, Victor and
Greisy came to church and were confirmed with the gift of the Holy Ghost. It
was so sweet. :) :) :)
Ok, now I´m out of time. I love you all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Have a great week! Go fight Satan and stuff! And do missionary work!
Love,
Hermana Holmes
Some thoughts:
"You were given this life because you are
strong enough to live it."
"If the kingdom of God is not first, it doesn't matter what's second." Maxwell "Today's trial is tomorrow’s testimony" "Hardships often prepare ordinary people to do extraordinary things." cs Lewis |
No comments:
Post a Comment