Adversity is a blessing that helps us become acquainted with God

First off, shoutout to ma li brudda who's turning SEVENTEEN today!!!! HOLLA! :D hehehe (Everyone give him lots of hugs and kisses to watch him squirm for me!) ;)

Okay. Now about the week.... It was a pretty low-key week. We got wet. And I mean SOAKED. And no one would let us in!!!! We were in the outskirts of our area in a place called Skeleton Town and tried a couple of houses on the way to the seaside (the other furthermost part of our area on the opposite side....), but to no avail. Finally one of our investigators let us in and we ended up chilling in her house for two hours until the rain died down enough for us to go back out. The thing is that here in Belize? When it rains, everything shuts down. Even the chinos. Er....the chinese stores. :) I don't know why though. I guess they don't really like adventure (That or random, drenched, smelling-like-wet-dogs young women showing up on their doorstep offering to share a message about Jesus Christ and eternal families)!

Anyway, needless to say, it rained a couple of times this week. ANND it was right around the time that I was beginning to get a cold.... :/ Puchiga! But oh well. I'm finally getting over it, I think. :)

So. Miracles of the week. It mostly involved time. Calling/visiting people when they needed it most. We had been weekly planning and then I called our recent (half) convert, Frank to check on him. We were planning to confirm him on Saturday afternoon and we wanted to make sure that he was still excited about that. (We have been waiting FIVE months..... It was a crazy situation, but that's another long story for another time....) So anyway, I talked to his sister and she asked for a certain member to be there. So I called her up and as I was talking to her, I noticed that she was crying. So.....Sister Vasquez (as tired as she was from her recent health problems....) and I jumped on our bikes, ran to the store to buy chocolate, skipped lunch, and went and visited this member for an hour or so. She has been very stressed lately, but was able to vent and solved everything herself. I am just in awe with this member and her little family. I'm in awe with many members in fact. We were able to serve various families this week in their own times of need and all of them involved single mothers. I hope that someday I can be as good of an example to my future children as they are to theirs. They are the definition of true strength and complete trust and reliance in the Lord.

On Tuesday, we had a leadership meeting down in Belize City. On the way back, Sister DeLeon and I (our companions were left in Orange Walk...) ended up being split up on the bus. But it was great. I had the coolest experiences with giving children "He is the Gift" pass-along cards and becoming friends with their parents.

I also met a really cool guy on the bus as we were going from Orange Walk to Corozal. I wish I had more time to share a little more detail about him. But.....he used to work with a member a few years ago, so he has heard a bit about the Church. Not much. He is recently married to his wife (a little over a year) and they just recently had a little baby girl who only survived a few days. (Plan of Salvation!) But he was very nice and we got along very well. He agreed for us to come back and seemed really excited. #TenderMercyoftheLord #TheSpirit

One more....

At the bus stop in Belize City, I was able to meet such an amazing woman named Elizabeth who has had 14 years of pure adversity (starting with the deaths of 11 of her 14 children in a fire) and is still going strong. I was able to have a short "lesson" with her and bore my testimony of God's Plan of Salvation and Jesus Christ's Atonement. I LOVE being a missionary--a representative of Jesus Christ all the time. I love being able to go anywhere and still find opportunities to share His gospel or to talk about His love and His Atonement. I know that He lives and loves us. I know that He loves us enough to bless us with trials so that we can become more like Him. So that we can feel Him ever closer in our own lives. So that we can be happy, knowing that He understands us, knows exactly how we feel, and is with us always. I love the story of the footprints in the sand. There's a man who is standing with the Lord, looking back on his life. As he views the path he left behind, he notices that often there are two sets of footprints in the sand, but in those most difficult moments--those hilly spots--he only sees one. He turns to the Lord and asks, "Why? Why did you abandon me when I needed you most?" The Lord simply smiles and replies, "It was in those moments that you only see one set of footprints that I carried you instead."

I know that the Atonement can carry all of us in our most difficult times. There is nothing that we can't overcome in the strength of the Lord. Let us all learn a lesson from Paul found in 2 Corinthians 12:7-10:

7 And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, themessenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. 8 For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.
 9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I ratherglory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
 10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I amweak, then am I strong.
Paul is given affliction--a thorn in the flesh. He asks the Lord three times to make it depart from him and the Lord says what? "My grace is sufficient for thee....my strength is perfect in weakness."

If we accept these trials and lean on our Elder Brother, His grace, and His strength, we can endure anything thrown our way. Christ wants to help us and if we are faithful and diligently seek His help, I know He will.

I love you and pray for you all. Adversity is a blessing that helps us become acquainted with God! That's my invitation for you this week--take pleasure in your infirmities and think about the grace that our Savior's Atonement provides to make us strong!

Love Always,

Sistah M.

Hope you had a good new year!

Hey everyone!

So I don't have too much to write this week. It was a pretty fast week, it seemed like, but kind of slow in the work of the Lord. With New Years, people were.....a little unreceptive to the word (to say the least). They do have a really interesting tradition here, though. They make these little dummies that look like old men and they stuff them full of palomitas (firecrackers to my understanding....) and light them on fire at midnight to signify getting rid of all the old and starting with the new. Very interesting.... One of the other sisters took pictures, so I'll have to get that and then pass it along next week! Only in Belize.... ;) haha

Umm...a few simple stories for now. We had an interesting follow-up lesson with a man we met two weeks ago. We had originally had a return appointment set for last Sunday, but ended up missing it because of choir practice running late. (Yes, I know. Missionaries should NEVER miss their appointments or arrive late. Sister Vasquez and I just forgot....) Later during the week, however, we ran into this man again and sat down to have a quick lesson with him. We started laughing and getting to know him and then sang one of my favorite hymns, "Praise to the Lord, the Almighty," which heloved! We asked about starting off with a prayer and he volunteered to offer it even though he has never prayed in his entire life! We started talking about prophets and Jesus Christ (leading on to the Restoration of the gospel) and he was so happy about everything. He kept saying that he didn't have to pray about what we were teaching--he already knew that it was true! So that was a really cool experience. When we first contacted him, he didn't seem like a very positive guy. But it just goes to show that we need to talk with everyone and follow up with everyone because we never know who the Spirit is working on....

My companion and I may or may not have pulled a prank on the other sisters. We, of course, didn't do it all on our own. Some of the members helped us pull it off! :D That, however, is a bit of a longer story, but let's just say that the sisters thought someone had stolen their bikes and that they were going to have to pay for new ones. :) hehe They did learn their lesson though--to lock their bikes always and to come home on time! hahaha

One last story. Wednesday night, the recent convert family that lives down the street--their two children were reallysick. We had called the elders to come and give a blessing and they got there, without any oil. I had bought some two months or so ago for the bites on my legs, but and long since stopped using it. There was still quite a bit left, so we were able to quickly run home and the elders were able to consecrate it and use it for the blessing. They gave the son a blessing first and by the time they finished, their two year-old girl was crying and wouldn't stop. They anointed her,still crying. But it wasn't until they began giving her the blessing that she finally stopped. It was....a very cool experience. The Spirit filled every part of that room. And the children were better the next day which is incredible because Reyna had the possibility of having Hepatitis--it was that bad....

I am so grateful to be here on the mission. Every day is full of tiny miracles and they all are strengthening my faith. I'm so grateful for the adversities that we face in life, for I know that they are what help us become acquainted with God.

Thank you for all of your love and support. Shoutout to ma li sistah who may or may not be getting a mission call this week! (Fingers crossed for Belize! ;) hahaha) And double shoutout to ma older sistah who leaves for North Carolina in a month! I am so grateful for the blessing that we have to serve the Lord in various capacities throughout the world. I encourage all of you to continue to look for ways to show your love and appreciation for Him through the service that you rend for others. Always remember President Monson's favorite hymn, "Have I Done Any Good?"

I love you all! Have a wonderful service-filled week!

Love Always,

Sistah M