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| These are the Hermanas that live below us |
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| Mi comp |
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| Templo |
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| Drinking mate . . . . kidding. We can't. I just wanted a pic. |
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| This is a park in our area next to the river of trash. Everyone just puts their trash in this river. It's so sad.
So this past Tuesday we finally got
to go to the temple in Asuncion! We had to leave at 5:40 in the morning to be
there by 7:30 and our session didn’t start till 11 so we got to do initiatories.
My companion had only been through one time for herself so she got to do initiatories
and sealings. She was the daughter and a session all in one day. It was
seriously so amazing. When I entered the temple I just cried and cried. I
couldn’t stop because I was soooo happy to be in the House of the Lord. The
last time I just really didn’t understand anything in Spanish but this time I
understood it all. It was so beautiful to me. Even though I am so far from home
the covenants and blessings that we make and receive in the temple are the
same!
The other day I met a man in the
street and he was kind of aggravated that we were talking to him. He got all in
my face and said why are you here in my country trying to change us! It’s
because you think that we are savages, that we don’t know God and that we need
an American to come down here and tell me how to have faith in Him. I was
really startled because no one had ever responded in that way to me. Luckily my
companion is amazing and is teaching me and she had a lot of beautiful things
to say to him but I kept thinking about that. Why am I really here? In the
temple I got my answer. It’s because God loves all his children, not just the
saints in Utah. He wants all his children to enter the temple and receive all
the blessings and promises available to us. That’s why I am here. It was truly
so beautiful. We didn’t leave until 2 in the afternoon and then we had a testimony
meeting with all the missionaries and I bore my testimony even though it scared
me to death. I hate speaking Spanish in front of other missionaries, but ya I
totally forgot the word “digna” haha which is worthy. I was just standing there
trying to think of the word and my cute companion yelled it out from the audience.
In that moment I felt so happy because, for me, that’s a companionship. That’s
working together. No one knew what I was trying to say, but she did. haha It kind
of made my point that we are never going to be perfect but we can always be
digna and I said that exactly. hah I’m not perfect, but I know that I am worthy
to enter the House of the Lord. It was hard to leave because I found out we
only go once a year and it’s always in May. Next year I will already be home.
Something I loved that one of the elder’s said is that we have our whole life
to do the work for the dead in the temple, but we only have 18 months to preach
the gospel to the living, all day, every day and we need to use this time well.
I loved that. Sometimes I forget that. I’m learning so much. I was so (what’s
the word for when you don’t know what’s going to happen. haha I was.... innocent. I guess that works. I was so …. no. It’s naïve) to what the mission really was
before. I didn’t really understand. I thought I did, but I didn’t. It’s a lot
more than just talking to people all day long and trying to get them baptized.
These covenants they make will change their whole life and the life to come. I’m
so so grateful to my Heavenly Father for the time I have to serve. Even though
I am missing lots of things at home, I know that Heavenly Father is with all of
you and he is with me. I know that my time to serve is so short. The time is
going so fast. I am trying not to count the time. The other day I said that I
have been gone 7 months and it was the first time someone said “falta un poco,
no mas” and I wanted to cry. haha
I love you all, xooxoxoxo
Hermana Ball
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