10/18/2010

HOLA FAMILIA!!!!


Como Estan!?! It sounded like you had such a fun time in Parowan!! I wish I could have been there and seen Adam! I miss him a lot but I was thinking about him all week! So I was there in spirit with all of you!! AND HAPPY BIRTHDAY FAYTHIE!!!!!!! I love you sweet baby lady!!!!!

Well I am so so glad you had fun but I hope that you will drive so safe and get back home safe and sound!! So write be as soon as you get this so I know what time you got home!!

SO..... What goes up must come down right? So last week was so wonderful and seriously the best but like everything there has to be opposition in all things. And this week there was!!!

So our sisters are struggling. But we still have faith that they will want to come to church because this Sunday they didn’t come which was hard. So we didn’t have investigators at church which was a little discouraging but we are going to keep our heads up and we know that if we put our faith in God we can do all things.

This work is so hard because it is so true and Satan knows it!! So one of the sisters Marielena, she is 15 and we went to her house on Saturday and she said I don’t know if I want to be baptized because the day earlier a pastor from her church came with 7 young people to ask her why she hasn’t been to church for a couple of years!! Seriously what are the chances of that? That the day before we were suppose to come this pastor that hasn’t talked to her for a couple of years decided to talk to her. And she said I think I want to go to that church!! AHH!! Satan knows our investigators and he will stop them anyway possible to be fully happy!! But we told her that the only way she can know what she should do is by praying because people say a lot of good things but she needs to ask the Lord what is best for her. And she said she would again and we gave her a book of Mormon and she said she would read it! SO we are praying so hard that she will remember that experience she had after praying for the first time after our message! Her sister Luz didn’t want to come to church because she didn’t feel well so... hopefully next week!

But we are trying not to get discouraged because we know this is true and we know that our investigators have agency and this is a very special gift from the God. With this gift, it is the only way that we can become like our Heavenly Father! So on one hand it makes it hard but on the other hand, this is the only way for us to fully know our Savior!! This is something I never realized! Just how very important and sacred agency is. We can become like our Father in Heaven when we choose our agency wisely!! This is the only way because God won’t force us to do anything! He will wait patiently until we come to him because he will never take away our agency!

SO this coming up week we are going to work so hard with them and to find all those that are escogido! I love my companion because she has a lot of animo and when it is so hard she is there saying, “No Hermana everything will be just fine!”

Another thing that I learned from this hard week is the love that God has for us and the love that our Savior has for us that he would die for us! So when our sisters said that they didn’t want to come or they wanted to choose another path, I felt so so so sad and I hurt for them, because I know that this gospel can and will change their lives! It is not just ONE more church, but it is THE Church! The Church that holds ALL the sacred power of God! And I hurt for their decisions they wanted to make. And I thought that is times 1000 what our Savior and Heavenly Father feels when we don’t choose the path that they would have us take and make decisions that will bring sadness into our lives! At that moment I felt that I never ever want to have Christ feel that way because of me and my decisions! Because if he felt just a little bit of how I felt that is horrible and I would never want him to feel that way ever again! I am learning that even though moments and weeks are so hard and I feel so low, I know at those very moments God is teaching me what I really need to learn! He is the master teacher and everything, I mean everything, happens for a reason and is always for our good!! Through the tough times our rugged edges are getting smoothed away and we become a new creature in Christ!! Like you said mom in one of your emails as my mission goes on the hard times won’t seem so hard and they wont last or seems so dark. Because well, I guess, Christ is opening my eyes and having me see that Yes! There is opposition in all things but there is a purpose and a time for all things as well and he is having me be humble and bringing me to my knees and solely rely on him!!! Because I am nothing with out him!! He is everything and I love him more than I can say. Because when I am down and down on myself and I don’t know how I can go on, He is there and literally I feel His arms around me and telling me that everything will be all right! That tomorrow is fresh with no mistakes in it!! And I love knowing this, that no matter what happens, He is always there for me and that He loves me and knows what I can accomplish!!

I thought my Spanish would be getting better but no lol!!!!! It is so hard because my companion can speak English so most of the day we are speaking English together. So it is so inspired why they put Latinos and gringos together because it helps with their Spanish but we made it our goal to only speak Spanish and that she will help me perfect my Spanish more and not have it sound so basic but to have it sound more real I guess! LOL!!! So we have been doing that and it has been helping and I have been really studying Spanish in the morning and all the rules. But hey Case, How did you learn indirect and Direct subject pronouns?? because I have no idea why but they are so hard for me! And how did you study in the mornings? What advice could you now give me because I know a whole lot in Spanish, So what now, can I do, to really start to be fluent? If you could right me back with some tips that helped you that would be awesome and you too Laren. I know you said to study verbs and learn how they are used and how they are conjugated but if you have any more advice please help me! Because when I talk to you all for Christmas I want you to be like wait, Is our sister gringa or Latina lol!!!!

Well I better run but remember how much I love you all!!! And I am not sure if this is appropriate or not but maybe on Sunday we could have a family fast for my Spanish, all those that are able. I am not sure if that is OK or not so if not that is OK and I know you will be thinking of me!

I love you more than I can possibly say and I miss you all so so so much!! I hope everyone is happy and so safe!! Love you all!!

Love always and forever

Hermana Turnbaugh

P.s Mom I bought a skirt for 10 dollars and I am going to by a watch because my other one broke and it is for 18 dollars so I hope that is ok! So if you see charges on my account it is from me!!!

PURA VIDA!