Hey there, querida familia!
Man, time is just flying by so fast out here. I
can't even believe that my other two comps go home in two weeks. WHY??? This is
cruel and unusual punishment. I keep on having to say goodbye to my best
friends and it's really tough. But, life goes on and so does the Work!
This week was pretty good! We spent a lot of it
trying to finish up teaching Tony all of the lessons so he could be ready for
his baptism on Saturday. He is AWESOME and his baptism was so tender. I don't
know if I've ever met such a pure hearted 13 year old, a teenager who is so
genuinely dedicated to getting closer to God and serving and helping his
family. He is such a sweet kid. And the people who spoke at his baptism all
mentioned him serving a mission, and that makes me so excited because he is
going to be an amazing missionary someday! It was a great night.
Also, both Darren and Jamie came to church
yesterday with Tony Li! We also had a lesson with them last night, but Jamie
couldn't make it. Darren is AWESOME! Even with his limited English, you can
feel how sincere his desire is to know if God is real, and that he trusts us to
help him know. We were able to teach them more about Jesus Christ last night
and we found the "Because of Him" video in Chinese! Milagro!:) The
Spirit was very strong as we told them more about our purpose on earth and that
Jesus Christ makes it possible for us to return back to our Heavenly Father. We
hope the lesson helped them feel the Spirit, even if they didn't understand
everything we taught.
I am so blessed to be on a mission. I think about
it, and never in a million years would I have met all the people I've met on my
mission had I not gone. I wouldn't have met my companions, the members, or our
investigators. And what makes it so special is that these are people who
have changed my life, and impacted me in a way that has brought me closer to
the Savior. God knows me perfectly, and he has placed people in my life that he
knew I would need so I could become the person He wants me to be. That is one
of the most amazing things about being out here, and something that I didn't
necessarily anticipate before coming out on a mission. Before, I was set on
changing peoples' lives and helping others to come unto Christ, and didn't give
much thought to how much these people would change me. Little did I know that I
was the one who needed them so I could learn, change and grow closer to my
Father and my Savior. It's the people I have met that have helped me to understand
how much God loves me, and how much He loves all of us.
Hna Carvalho--I guess she is just Cindy now, came
to Gilbert to visit with her parents this past weekend! It was fun because they
showed up at Tony's baptism and I got to see my compi again!!! It was so
strange seeing her not as a missionary, because it was the same old Hna
Carvalho, but at the same time she was different. But it was so good to see
her. When you say goodbye to someone you've been with 24/7 all
day every day for 5 months and then all of the sudden you don't see them
at all and you can't communicate with them in any way, it almost makes it
feel like that person isn't real anymore. You know they are
there, but it's like they're just part of this dream world that exists
outside of the mission haha. So it was awesome to give her a big hug
again and talk to her. And her parents came all the way from Brazil
to pick her up and are amazing! Her mom was one of the sweetest people I've
ever met, so nice and cute, and even though we couldn't communicate super well,
I could still feel her love and appreciation for me. Her dad is super funny and
has this big goofy grin on his face all the time. His English was really good!
You can tell they are both just SO proud of Cindy and they love her so much. I
feel really blessed that I got to meet them, even though our time was short, I
love them a lot, and I am glad I was able to tell them in person how
much they're daughter impacted my life and changed me and that I was so
grateful I was able to be her companion. It is awesome that they were able to
come and meet all of the people that love their daughter so much and see how
many lives she impacted and changed. It was hard to say goodbye again, but I
know I'll see her again! I did promise her parents that I would learn
Portuguese and come to Brazil somedayJ
I don't have a whole lot of updates on other investigators
this week. We will be meeting with all of them soon though so I'll let you know
next week:)
Que tengan una semana MARAVILLOSA!! Keep on being
the best, fam:) Seriously, thank you for your prayers and love.
LES QUIERO MUCHO!!!
Hermana Lattin
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