Hello family and friends!
Holy crow this week has gone by so fast! And it has continued to be an adventure. I had an awesome first cumplemes in the field (your birthday each month of when you entered the field--mine´s the 15th), the other Hermanas were so cute and threw a little surprise party for me, it was great. :) Here are a few more items to add to the list of things I now have a greater appreciation for: non-boxed milk, Cool Whip, Ranch dressing, powdered sugar, cheese sticks, waffle makers, ovens, toilets that you don´t have to pour the water in by hand and flush, whisks, hot water, and Clorox wipes. By the way, I´m typing on a Spanish keyboard at a very fast pace, so I apologize for my spelling!
On Wednesday, we woke up at 4:30 am to head to the temple in Santo Domingo. We only get to go twice a year, and because of some not-so-smart Elders, we don´t get to go with the branch for their trips anymore. Hermana Flake, my CCM companion, was there with her zone!!! We were so happy, it was like a mini CCM reunion because one of the Elders in our district is in my zone now and was at the temple as well. Only 9 temples in the whole world have a Solemn Assembly Room, and the DR temple is one of them, it´s the only temple outside of the U.S. with one, and we got to wait in there before the endowment session. Wow, you could really feel the power of the Spirit and the sacredness of the temple.
In one week, we went from having 7 investigators with baptism dates to 3--Analuisa moved to Bani unexpectedly, Santiago´s ´wife´ refused to marry him (gotta be married before baptism if you´re living together), and Chany and Julissa aren´t attending church or progressing at all. It was really sad, but I hope that one day, they will all be more prepared to hear the message of the Gospel and can commit to the saving ordinance of baptism. On the other hand, some of our less-actives have been totally stepping it up, and 7 of our investigators came to church on Sunday, wahoo! We´ve been looking for whole families to teach, and we found 2 adorable young couples with one child each, we´re really excited about them!
Yesterday, we hiked up a mountain again to teach the less-actives in La Parra. My mission president said we might do a trial run and provide transportation to church for them for a few Sundays, these people need the sacrament! And to feel the Spirit! Plus, attending church is a commandment! Speaking of church, I got asked on Saturday if I could give a talk in sacrament meeting the next day. So that was stressful, but I made it through my first talk in Spanish! I spoke about the Holy Ghost, and I felt his presence--Spanish has never come out of my mouth so fast and fluidly. Sacrament meeting here is normally not terribly reverent, but the people actually listened to me, like everyone was staring and quiet, and I hope they felt the Spirit like I did.
On the way back from La Parra, though, we ran into a bit of a problem--the small stream we normally cross turned into a GIANT river. The picture I´m sending shows what it used to look like, imagine if all the other dirt and rockers next to it and more land were covered with muddy, rushing water. Totally freaky, so we spent 2 hour walking around the river and up a bridge till we got home. Thank goodness we were with the ward mission leader, and we´re safe, so yay!
My thought for the week is from Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of teh Twelve Apostles about what sets The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints apart from other churches. He said, ´´Jesus Christ has given us 1) The fullness of the doctrine, 2) the power of the priesthood, 3) a unique testimony of Jesus Christ. It´s a LIVING church.´´ He also talked about how we have the revealed truth of our relationship with God and the Articles of Faith, especially number 1: We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost. Many people believe that they are one person; they are three separate beings, but one in purpose. I´m so grateful that we have prophets and scriptures to testify of that, especially the First Vision, where Joseph Smith saw our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ as separate beings, and the account of Jesus´s baptism in Matthew 3:16-17 where Christ, the Holy Ghost, and God the Eternal Father are clearly three separate beings. I am so grateful for the knowledge of the restored Gospel. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is not a building--it´s an organization founded upon the earth by Christ himself. This is Christ´s church with His correct and proper authority and His doctrine. I will not and cannot deny the truthfulness of the restored Gospel. I love my Savoir, His sacrifice, and His message. May we all come unto Him and feel of His love.
--Hermana Randall
I wrote this new song about the Savior´s forgiveness and His Atonement. I know that if we reach out and seek Christ´s mercy, He will lift us up and encircle us in the arms of His love.
´Reach´
His outstretched hand
Is offered to all
His redeeming love
Is for all who fall
His grasp is firm
He´ll carry you through
The trials, the pain
All that you do
When no one understands
Your pain
Know that Christ is with you
Every step of the way
(Chorus)
Hold onto Him
Let Him lift you up
Trust in Him
He´ll unchain the cuffs
Of all the sin
That´s binding your heart
The crushing weight
He´ll release, pick up
All can be
Forgiven, left behind
Reach out to Him
And believe in Christ
His loving words
Comfort and beckon
His relieving touch
Heals and strengthens
His arms are
Open to us
Waiting to
Embrace, encompass
Take that first step
And run to Him
He´ll catch hold of you
And never be forsaken
(Chorus)
When the grief
Is too much to handle
When the suffering
Is unbearable
He´ll extend His
Love and mercy
Dry our tears
And set us free
(Chorus 2)
Hold onto Him
Let Him lift you up
Trust in Him
He´ll unchain the cuffs
Of all the sin
That´s binding your heart
The crushing weight
He´ll release, pick up
All will be
Forgiven, left behind
If you reach out
And hold fast to Christ
Reach out to Him
Hold fast to Christ
Holy crow this week has gone by so fast! And it has continued to be an adventure. I had an awesome first cumplemes in the field (your birthday each month of when you entered the field--mine´s the 15th), the other Hermanas were so cute and threw a little surprise party for me, it was great. :) Here are a few more items to add to the list of things I now have a greater appreciation for: non-boxed milk, Cool Whip, Ranch dressing, powdered sugar, cheese sticks, waffle makers, ovens, toilets that you don´t have to pour the water in by hand and flush, whisks, hot water, and Clorox wipes. By the way, I´m typing on a Spanish keyboard at a very fast pace, so I apologize for my spelling!
On Wednesday, we woke up at 4:30 am to head to the temple in Santo Domingo. We only get to go twice a year, and because of some not-so-smart Elders, we don´t get to go with the branch for their trips anymore. Hermana Flake, my CCM companion, was there with her zone!!! We were so happy, it was like a mini CCM reunion because one of the Elders in our district is in my zone now and was at the temple as well. Only 9 temples in the whole world have a Solemn Assembly Room, and the DR temple is one of them, it´s the only temple outside of the U.S. with one, and we got to wait in there before the endowment session. Wow, you could really feel the power of the Spirit and the sacredness of the temple.
In one week, we went from having 7 investigators with baptism dates to 3--Analuisa moved to Bani unexpectedly, Santiago´s ´wife´ refused to marry him (gotta be married before baptism if you´re living together), and Chany and Julissa aren´t attending church or progressing at all. It was really sad, but I hope that one day, they will all be more prepared to hear the message of the Gospel and can commit to the saving ordinance of baptism. On the other hand, some of our less-actives have been totally stepping it up, and 7 of our investigators came to church on Sunday, wahoo! We´ve been looking for whole families to teach, and we found 2 adorable young couples with one child each, we´re really excited about them!
Yesterday, we hiked up a mountain again to teach the less-actives in La Parra. My mission president said we might do a trial run and provide transportation to church for them for a few Sundays, these people need the sacrament! And to feel the Spirit! Plus, attending church is a commandment! Speaking of church, I got asked on Saturday if I could give a talk in sacrament meeting the next day. So that was stressful, but I made it through my first talk in Spanish! I spoke about the Holy Ghost, and I felt his presence--Spanish has never come out of my mouth so fast and fluidly. Sacrament meeting here is normally not terribly reverent, but the people actually listened to me, like everyone was staring and quiet, and I hope they felt the Spirit like I did.
On the way back from La Parra, though, we ran into a bit of a problem--the small stream we normally cross turned into a GIANT river. The picture I´m sending shows what it used to look like, imagine if all the other dirt and rockers next to it and more land were covered with muddy, rushing water. Totally freaky, so we spent 2 hour walking around the river and up a bridge till we got home. Thank goodness we were with the ward mission leader, and we´re safe, so yay!
My thought for the week is from Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of teh Twelve Apostles about what sets The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints apart from other churches. He said, ´´Jesus Christ has given us 1) The fullness of the doctrine, 2) the power of the priesthood, 3) a unique testimony of Jesus Christ. It´s a LIVING church.´´ He also talked about how we have the revealed truth of our relationship with God and the Articles of Faith, especially number 1: We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost. Many people believe that they are one person; they are three separate beings, but one in purpose. I´m so grateful that we have prophets and scriptures to testify of that, especially the First Vision, where Joseph Smith saw our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ as separate beings, and the account of Jesus´s baptism in Matthew 3:16-17 where Christ, the Holy Ghost, and God the Eternal Father are clearly three separate beings. I am so grateful for the knowledge of the restored Gospel. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is not a building--it´s an organization founded upon the earth by Christ himself. This is Christ´s church with His correct and proper authority and His doctrine. I will not and cannot deny the truthfulness of the restored Gospel. I love my Savoir, His sacrifice, and His message. May we all come unto Him and feel of His love.
--Hermana Randall
I wrote this new song about the Savior´s forgiveness and His Atonement. I know that if we reach out and seek Christ´s mercy, He will lift us up and encircle us in the arms of His love.
´Reach´
His outstretched hand
Is offered to all
His redeeming love
Is for all who fall
His grasp is firm
He´ll carry you through
The trials, the pain
All that you do
When no one understands
Your pain
Know that Christ is with you
Every step of the way
(Chorus)
Hold onto Him
Let Him lift you up
Trust in Him
He´ll unchain the cuffs
Of all the sin
That´s binding your heart
The crushing weight
He´ll release, pick up
All can be
Forgiven, left behind
Reach out to Him
And believe in Christ
His loving words
Comfort and beckon
His relieving touch
Heals and strengthens
His arms are
Open to us
Waiting to
Embrace, encompass
Take that first step
And run to Him
He´ll catch hold of you
And never be forsaken
(Chorus)
When the grief
Is too much to handle
When the suffering
Is unbearable
He´ll extend His
Love and mercy
Dry our tears
And set us free
(Chorus 2)
Hold onto Him
Let Him lift you up
Trust in Him
He´ll unchain the cuffs
Of all the sin
That´s binding your heart
The crushing weight
He´ll release, pick up
All will be
Forgiven, left behind
If you reach out
And hold fast to Christ
Reach out to Him
Hold fast to Christ