So, one time I lived in California. And my cousins and little brothers were hanging out with me. And we made a video on my phone of a dinosaur swimming in the ocean of a blue bedsheet. With the background music of a song by the band Imagine Dragons, called "On Top of the World." That song was a good description of that happy sailing dinosaur. Also a good description of HERMANA HEWITT!
This week was one of a lot of hard, hard, HARD work.
We tried new things.
Oh yeah, I'm still in Pro with Hermana Pinto.
We were obedient.
We made mistakes.
Many mistakes.
We had a few creative discussions.
They all ended well.
Eventually.
We spent a lot of time on our knees.
We then spent a lot of time on our feet.
We invited a multitude of people to be baptized.
We exercised some faith.
The power went out in our house for about 24 hours.
We dealt every morning at 5 with the 16 parakeets of our landlady outside our window and on Saturday night wtih an extremely loud party across the street until 4 AM.
WE SUFFERED.
WE FOUGHT.
WE MADE UP.
WE PRAYED SO MUCH.
WE HAD SO MUCH OPPOSITION.
AND STILL WE PUSHED ON.
And only three nonmembers came to church yesterday.
I felt sad.
Really sad. But, we discussed things we would do to be better the next week and decided to move ever onward.
So we were sitting through the last 15 minutes of Relief Society when one of the brothers in our ward tapped me on the shoulder and told me he had a job for us. We followed him outside and found a darling, 50-something-year-old couple. Francisco and Leoncia. They were looking for the right class to be in.
To make a long and glorious story short and sweet, we found out that they live in our area - super close to our house, in fact, and we went to visit them in the afternoon. Turns out they have been married civilly for 35 years (the fact that they're married at all is a miracle here) and have 4 sons (hahaha I am really sorry I just have to share with you that I typed "sins" instead of "sons" the first time. CHILDREN ARE NOT SINS THEY ARE GIFTS APPRECIATE THEM) between the ages of 25 and 35.
Francisco and Leoncia told us a little bit of their stories almost without provocation. They both have been searching for a really long time for the truth - they want to be where Heavenly Father wants them to be, and they want their family to be able to follow the principles of righteousness. Leoncia has a sister who is a member of the Church, and she is a GREAT member missionary! She was always telling them that they should just go and see what the Church is like, and sharing with them her testimony of how the Gospel has blessed her life.
So Leoncia is Peruvian and she had a dream after kneeling and praying a short while ago, that she should come and visit the Church. And Francisco has gone to like a thousand different churches but never found the peace he has been searching for. So the Spirit taught these two wonderful people and one of their wonderful sons about the wonderful Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Before we had even invited them, Francisco was asking when we would be holding a baptismal service! So, they have a baptismal date.
Please, please pray for this family! We are going to work with all our hearts to help them prepare to be baptized, and I know that the power of prayer is very real. This is such a special family and I want them to have the fulness of joy that they have been yearning for.
The Lord always blesses us in the moment when He knows we need it most, and when we will truly be able to appreciate it. Sometimes we have to just act on our faith, hoping that our diligence will be taken note of in the Heavens, and be obedient to the words of God through the scriptures, the prophet, other Church leaders, our parents, and those quiet whisperings of the Spirit which we receive personally. On many occasions the Lord desires that we humble ourselves and really work to obtain His will, and just when our hearts are depressed and we are about to turn back, the Lord comforts us and promises that He will grant unto us success in His work. (Alma 26:27)
I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is His Church. We have the power of God on the earth today! And the Holy Ghost testifies to the hearts of men of the truth.
We are so blessed.
Remember the truth, and give thanks for it. If you haven't found it yet, Ask The Missionaries! They Can Help You!
From Lima with love,
Hermana Hewitt
OHHHHH P.S. My companion is practicing her English, right? So we were having a discussion about the correct amount of times you can wear an article of clothing before having to wash it. I told her that, to help preserve the fabric and structure of my clothing, I will often wait to wash it until after a few wears if it is still clean. And she told me that we sweat on all our clothes and therefore we must wash them after every wear. She called me a pig! In Spanish. And jokingly. So I started singing (like I do) in English, "My companion calls me a pig and I don't like it!" She was quiet for a few minutes, pondering, and then came into our bedroom with a smile.
"But..." she responded, "you is a pig niiiice!"
I LOVE HERMANA PINTO
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