Diligencia

May 5, 2014

¡Hola Familia y Amigos!

Well, this week has been a pretty good one. It’s weird how it can feel so long, but pretty short at the same time. Anyways, I’ll just start off with the spiritual stuff, because I am really learning so much spiritually right now. 

Trust in the Lord and listening to the Spirit. That, mis amigos, is what I am learning now more than ever. This week I tried my absolute hardest to LISTEN to the investigators rather than think the entire time about what I was going to say and how I was going to say it in Spanish. Man is that a hard thing to do. Be still, and listen. There were so many times I would hear something the investigators would say and then I would say in my head, "Oh this is what I´m going to say and I’m going to say it like this, etc, etc." In those times I had to literally tell myself, Hannah - Hermana -, Stop and listen to what the investigators are saying. When I was successful and only listening, the Spirit prompted me with exactly the words I needed to say and I was able to communicate just what I wanted. The Spirit is truly the teacher, I am not. Now, I am so far from perfect at this. I get caught up in myself and my abilities a lot, but I am trying so hard to acquire this skill of listening. It’s definitely a process. 

Trusting in the Lord to give me the words I need has been a big theme of this week. And will continue to be a big theme in my mission. I am very lucky to be learning this skill at the beginning of my mission. Yesterday was fast and testimony meeting and was the day I was supposed to be introduced to the ward....scary! Well the bishop didn’t mention it again before hand, but I just took initiative and bore my testimony anyways. I really didn’t know what I was going to say when I got up there. I just knew I wanted to bare my testimony on the Atonement and to tell the ward I loved them. I prayed soooo hard to have the Spirit with me. When I got up there I felt the spirit so strongly. I mean, total tears as I was bearing my testimony in Spanish. I felt the love of the congregation and I felt power in the words I was saying. When I got done, I had several people come up to me and tell me my testimony was very good, and that the Spirit doesn’t need words. One guy, Joel (you’ll hear about him in a second) told me he loved my testimony and it made him cry. This was just a testament to me that the Spirit is the real teacher and testifier. I’m just an instrument. It was an amazing experience. 

So Joel, he’s funny. We had lunch a couple times at his apartment this week. One of those days he was talking to me about my accent. (He tries to speak in English to me, it’s pretty funny.) He then proceeded to give me a little test. Jaja. He started making me repeat words that are hard to say or something like that. I don’t know, I was just repeating what he was saying the best I could. After he was satisfied with his little test he told me that I’m an Argentine, but I’ve just forgotten how to speak Spanish. Jajaja!! That seriously made me laugh so hard. It definitely made my day. :)

I finally dreamt in Spanish for the first time!! However, I didn’t like it very much. I´ll explain. In my dream my companion and I were practicing the lessons over and over and over. I woke up and my mind was exhausted from doing the lessons all night in Spanish in my dream. Jaja, it was pretty funny.

So basically I get called Rubia a lot. I mean, even by people on the street. Like one guy once said, Rubia, come pray with me or come teach me, or something like that. It’s funny. One particular day this week, a lot of people were calling me Rubia. We were walking home that day and there was this guy driving by and he yelled out the window and was like ¡Me encanta Rubia! It was a funny way to end the day.

Right now we don’t have a single investigator progressing. We are preaching the gospel like crazy, but no one is progressing. We just can’t find those golden investigators and its so frustrating because we are working so hard. This is where diligence is so key. I know that God must be testing us in our diligence. I know that we will have success and there are those golden investigators out there, but we just have to be excited, diligent, and hardworking. I know the Lord will guide us to those investigators in His time. It’s just hard being patient sometimes. 

So, the first week I walked into a glass door right? Well, it looks like some kind of ridiculous accident is going to happen every week. (Even though this is only my second week jaja). One night, my pillow fell off my bed and I didn’t want to get down (I’m on the top bunk) so I tried to maneuver myself in a very clever way so I could get my pillow. Well, that didn’t work and I ended up falling off the bed and landing on the back of the chair. I now have a HUGE bruise on the back of my thigh. Like one of the biggest bruises I’ve ever had, which for me, is saying something. Anyways, it was pretty funny, but man did it hurt.

Well, I need to be closing this letter. It was far long enough jaja. I’m so grateful for the opportunity to serve the Lord and share this glorious gospel. I love you all to Argentina and back!! Remember, love the way the Savior loves and miracles will happen. And of course, Stay Anxiously Engaged.

xoxo,

Hermana Van Wagoner