Blog: New Be-grinnings in Chile
More and more I am recognizing the Lord's fidelity to Ether 12:6--"no recibis ningun testimonio sino hasta despues de la prueba de vuestra fe." (ye shall receive no witness until after the trial of your faith" or something similar.) The first half of our week was dry--few lessons, zero new investigators, and January 1st topped it all for the trial. It was the lonnnnnnnggggggest day of my entire mission. We were tired, hot, appointment-less, and the very few people in the street all told us "no." The rest were sleeping or out of town. I can't describe how discouraging it was. We prayed all day for strength and guidance, but it felt like we were sinking into the abyss. Night mercifully fell and we had ten minutes left before curfew. The temptation to return early was great, but I knew it would do us no good. So we did what we could and started knocking doors. From the second house emerged a widow, smiling! She recognized us immediately and told us that she is a member, unable to attend church because she takes care of a bed-ridden man. Her records are not in our list, and we never would have found her if we had given up the faith. I counted this tender mercy of the Lord as the witness that came after my faith.
But that wasn't all. The next day, Heavenly Father poured out his blessings upon us without restraint. We received five new investigators by finding and teaching 3 different families (as opposed to individuals)! No one told us "no." The two following days, two Sisters overcame their fear and accompanied us to lessons. These same Sisters brought our investigators to church, and each said they'd be happy to go out with us again! It truly is powerful to teach with members. We plan on involving them more and more in the work.:)
Reviewing the week, I cannot deny the Lord's infinite mercies and blessings. He is in control of His vineyard; I just have to trust Him and do what He has asks of me--walk in the heat, pray in the difficulties, and testify in the streets and homes.
We lost two of our main investigators, Monica and Luis, because of month-long visitors that they have, but on the bright side we found out another investigator, Betty, really IS married and so we won't have problems with the law of chastity. :) She fell asleep during her first time in church yesterday, but she's still so excited to be baptized. Her granddaughter, Dariela, made friends right away in Primary. How grateful I am that she is 8 years old...there would be no way to tell her that she isn't old enough to be baptized if she were only 7. :)
Returning to Ether 12. If you find yourself in a rough spot, remember that trials are part of the Father's Plan of Happiness. Keep the faith and I promise you'll be blessed eventually. The Lord won't let us suffer more than we can bear--He will comfort us in the perfect moment, and that way our faith will be strengthened to withstand the next trial. This verse for me describes the roller-coaster of life:) Trial, comfort, trial, blessings, trial, strength, trial, blessings. In the end it's always blessings.:)
Love and light, looking forward to a great year,
Hermana Sharp
P.S. The photo is the view from our apartment. With the construction outside, plus the busy streets, it's always noisy. But the Spirit is still there inside. ...Can you see Las Vegas?
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