Week 38 - Woodland

Querido todos de mis amigos!!

This week has been a pretty fantastic week. Missionary work isn't for the faint of heart but I do love being a missionary.

On Monday we had a bit of an adventure. Elder Crowley has some Trinidad scorpion chiles that are said to be like the second hottest in the world. My companion and Elder Osorio decided they wanted to eat one whole. As for me I'm not that dumb I dipped my finger in some of the crushed up chile powder and ate that. And it was hot, I probably could have breathed fire.

Elder Osorio and Hermana Dorny however chewed a whole one and immediately started crying. To make a long story short Elder Osorio threw it all up and Hermana Dorny sucked on a frozen waffle so she could regain feeling of her tongue, for me it was all quite entertaining.

I didn't feel too super great this week though I caught a cold that we think is going around! So we got to travel to the missionary doctor and get some meds, and it was right by a Chick Fil A so of course we got lunch there and it was awesome.

I was able to eat a piece of the biggest mango I've ever seen in my life and was asked to give a talk in sacrament meeting, and yes it will be all in Spanish and yes I did kind of freak out a bit. We also met with Maria and on Wednesday we were able to have such a powerful lesson with her. Fun fact the spirit can be emotionally draining but it's so cool!

The Lord has just been with Maria so much and it's amazing to see the change that's happening in her and the perspective change she has had! She is recognizing that the Lords hand is in her life and has such a huge desire to change her life! We have so much love for her!

This week was a big week with repentance and it's just such a beautiful thing that we can repent for everything big and small. We can be forgiven of everything and that feeling of knowing we don't have to live in our mistakes is so amazing! The enabling power of the atonement that helps us to change is also so powerful and basically just the gospel is super rad.

Thursday our new district leaders played some pranks on us and thought they were super funny. They pretended to be the APs and tell us they needed our car, we figured out that it was them though.

We did meet some homeless people at service as well who accepted a Book of Mormon and we learned how to jump a car because the elders left theirs playing music. I'm also pleased to announce my futbol playing is getting a tiny bit better!

The Book of Mormon is just seriously important and it really has such great stories in it! As I was reading some talks this week on the Book of Mormon there was one quote that I really liked: "Moses never entered the promised land. Joseph Smith never saw Zion redeemed. Some of us may not live long enough to see the day when the Book of Mormon floods the earth and when the Lord lifts His condemnation. (See D&C 84:54–58.) But, God willing, I intend to spend all my remaining days in that glorious effort."

This week was also the general women's session! It was so amazing to hear from some of the general authorities their words are truly inspired by God. One of my favorites was Elder Uchtdorf who talked about faith. He talked about how we just always need to continue going. I think sometimes having faith is hard because things don't always make sense.  He said we need to keep going and push through because one day everything will make sense.

We are promised in the scriptures that if we knock we shall receive, but that doesn't mean that our answer will be behind the first door that is opened. We are here to come to find God which means we must work to find him.

So let us all preserver and have faith to have faith because God is with us all always! Espero que sus semana fueron muy bien y que este semana es bueno! Les quiero mucho!!

Don't forget this week is general conference where the apostles and the prophet will speak to us! We have this amazing opportunity and I encourage you all to take advantage of it! Find the questions you don’t have answers to and pray to have them answered and also ask what you can improve on and I promise the Lord will help you know! I'm so excited to be able to listen to the words God needs us to hear! Love you all!!

Que le via bien,

Hermana Foster

Branch President in Woodland

Spanish District

Laura's Baptism