Chocolate here is bland, if you can believe; but I was still incredibly, surprisingly grateful for the few chocolate huevitos I receieved from some members after church. The people are giving, giving, giving. Charitable beyond belief. Veronica gives us breakfast and lunch on the days we help her organize her house, and the young family Hinojosa offers to feed us lunch once a week instead of just once a month. The only way I can express my gratitude is to work harder in that which I have been called to do.
Autumn has arrived, and the streets were deserted this weekend because everyone was on vacation. A homeless man gave us dried flowers and we knew he, too, is a child of God.
The conserjes (men who call the apartment you want to visit to ask permission for you to continue on to the apartment) are usually hard and blank. But Enrique asked us who we were, and Hna. Camargo proceeded to share a bit of our message to the world. He listened intentely, then turned to me and asked, "And what would Y[OU like to tell me?" I knew that it was a golden opportunity to bear my testimony. I paused, then opened my mouth, and the Spirit filled it. I am amazed by how much more fluently I am able to speak Spanish when I am teaching or testifying. As long as I trust in the Lord, sentences spill from my mouth like a cup, overflowing. I bore my testimony that our message is true, that it has blessed our lives, and that as long as Jesus Christ lives we will share this message of joy and peace with all of God´s children. Since I have been here I have not seen someone´s eyes glisten with the Light of Christ so much as Enrique´s did at that time.
I see the same Spirit in the eyes of the members of our ward. It is often said that the Church is the same all around the world--it is--and how it feels like home even in a ward that it not your own. I never knew the profound truth of this until I came here. The Bishop, who sang "I Know that My Redeemer Lives" on Sunday, is like a friend I´ve known all my life. Hermano and Hermana Gomez remind me of my grandparents (in their eyes, their food, and their devotion to attend the temple each week.) And the Young Women are like sisters.
But just as I´ve learned more of the Spirit, I´ve also seen more of the darkness in the world. A woman passed us on the street, asked us who we were, and proceeded to tell us how no one can know what is truth. She accused my companion of being a soothsayer and me of capturing people with my blue eyes. How sad it is that people can´t see the truth when it is presented to them. We bore testimony to her, yet she stayed in her own world of confusion and darkness.
In other words...during dinner (´"once," pronounced own-say) with a member, her daughter and friend joined us and they ultimately asked us questions about the meaning of life and of Christ´s Atonement. We taught them the Plan of Salvation and I extended the invitation to read the Book of Mormon to the friend, 50 year-old Irma. She was elated to recieve it:)
Also, we walked past an investigator´s house one night before our scheduled visit. I had a thought to stop by an confirm our time for the next day, and instead she invited us to teach her right then and there. Just as Elder Bednar has said, sometimes you won´t recognize right away that the Spirit is inspiring you to do something. But if you are keeping the commandments and living worthy of the Spirit´s companionship, you don´t need to worry if a thought is of the Spirit or simply your own thought. Act on it, and you will either be re-directed or blessed for choosing the right. In my case, this day, we were blessed with a lesson after an entire day of walking and walking.
Lastly, we hiked the Andes today. :) Check that off the bucket list! Beautiful, and much like the Rockies, except for the cacti.
Until General Conference!!
Hermana Sharp
P.S. This week´s challenge--Read Moroni 10 and pray again to know that the Book of Mormon is true, that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God. I promise Heavenly Father will answer, and no matter where your testimony is right now, it will increase. I know because I did this on Tuesday and had a beautiful experience.
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