The moment of truth... my new companion is MY MOM! Hermana McCracken AKA my trainer! Is it just me or does anyone else see a pattern where I go back to my previous companions? It's quite insane that we are back together serving as STL's but it's also super great and it feels so good to be reunited. I love Hermana McCracken dearly and am so excited for this transfer.
Sudley is such a great area, I met the members this week and I felt so loved and welcomed. This area recently baptized two families so there was a lot of time spent on them and now there isn't really anyone else that we are teaching so we do a lot of tracting and working with recent converts.
One of the families that recently got baptized is SO AMAZING. I love them so much already. We will call them the Incredibles. The mother of this family has family members in Peru that started investigating the church and were baptized last summer. They spoke to her about the gospel and she started becoming interested when BOOM! Two English elders from the Washington DC South mission knocked at her door with a Book of Mormon. The language was a barrier but she knew exactly who they were. She asked for Spanish missionaries and they came. The family was so prepared. They were all baptized within 3 months of being contacted by the Spanish Hermanas. It really goes to show that other religions prepare people to receive the fullness of the gospel. They were a happy family but always felt like there was something missing. They are the perfect example of what the restored gospel can do for families. I am totally paraphrasing this next quote: "The gospel makes sad people happy and happy people happier.
My favorite part of the week other than lots of contacting, meeting members and having leadership meetings was going to Young Womens the 3rd hour of church. Everytime I am in a new area I like to share my conversion story with the young women. I always share the picture of me at my baptism with all the young women in my ward who at the time were my very best friends. I shared how the Elders taught me and did an amazing job but how I also consider the young women to be my missionaries. It's always so fun to share how Rocio (my best friend that invited me to go to church with her) and I ended up being companions in the MTC. There is always gasps and "awwe"s when I show a picture of us together in the MTC. We encouraged them to pray about bringing a friend to an activity or to church and about the blessings that come from doing so. We also stress the importance of being united as young women and daughters of God. It's a great way to get to know them and help them get to know me. The 5 year anniversary of my baptism is coming up so it's a good time to reflect back on that day. I will never forget it and I still feel the spirit from that day every time I share it. We also got to make Salvadorean pupusas with the young women this week one night which was super good. The leader presented my pupusa to everyone and announced that it was a perfectly made Pupusa and everyone clapped. My inner Mexican tortilla making self was really proud. ;)
I am giving my first training at Zone Conference this Friday and I am kind of nervous but also super excited! More on that next week! Being an STL has been so great! I love it so much already.
My last Monday in Little River was really fun and also really... depressing. Hahaha! We had a huge Noche de Hogar with families in the ward, recent converts and investigators. At the conclusion of the lesson I bore my testimony on the topic of the lesson (personal revelation). Then out of nowhere one by one the people in the room thanked me for my time in Little River that later lead to hugs, tears, picture taking, an hermano asked to record my testimony... hahaha! And then CAKE AND FOOD! It was like an early birthday party for me since I won't be with them for my actual birthday. I was sad but I was also excited for the new ward and it has been great! Here are just A FEW more amazing people. ALSO GUADALAJARA IS ON DATE!! Yay! I love those people so dang much and miss them and feel weird not being around them but it's been an exciting first week in Sudley. Here are some pictures from the birthday party haha!
Spiritual thought:
I have been studying the death of Christ at the cross since Easter. Recently I came across this quote from Elder James E. Talmage who was a member of the Quorum of the 12 Apostles, he said: "death by crucifixion was at once the most lingering and most painful of all forms of execution. The victim lived in ever increasing torture, generally for many hours, sometimes for days. ... The welcome relief of death came through the exhaustion caused by intense and unremitting pain".
I realize now more than ever that I will never fully grasp how much pain Christ went through for all of us. Sometimes we see his death and Atonement as something distant that happened for the whole world. And while this is true it is also something very personal and special to each one of us. Something that can comfort us in time of need. To know that Christ loved us so much he went through excruciating pain so that we wouldn't have experience our pains alone.
I'm eternally grateful for this time I have to dedicate to Him and learn more about Him. I really feel like I am coming to know Him personally and it's brought me so much peace and understanding. I know I have said this many times in my email but I invite you all to gain a personal testimony of the Savior and His Atonement and consider how it could be of relevance in your lives right now and in the trials you are going through.
Missionary work is so hard... but SO great! I love you all and hope you have a great week!
Love siempre,
Hermana Tapia
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