Well my mind currently can’t wrap around all
the things that have passed in the last week! It’s safe to say it’s been an
interesting one, from district leaders’ flip out because we found 10 new
investigators all in one day....to our district leader, for the first time ever,
being completely speechless, "simply stating, wow you can’t catch a
break!" So where do I begin with a week like that?!?! Well with my
testimony, I know that everything that we go through is this light truly makes
us better people, BUT only if we choose to let it do so! I know that the plan
of the Lord is perfect for ALL his children, ALL OF THEM, and He will never
simply leave us to suffer. If we turn to Him, He will truly send angels
to protect us and to keep us standing when our knees become to week to stand! I
truly believe in the ministry of angels both seen and unseen!
This week our new mission
president arrived and it has been one of the funniest experiences of my life!
He couldn’t be any more lost if he tried but he is so willing and wanting to get
to know everyone and just be a part of everything so I know he will do great
things! We had a multi-zone conference on Friday and everyone was ecstatic because
there were so many friends there. He started off the conference asking if
anyone had any questions, so we started in....and then when no one had any more
questions that was the end of the conference.....interesting! But they are
sooooo very different from the Kuschs that there will never be comparing that’s
for sure. We feel just a little sick and Hna Avila (the President’s wife)
is ready to turn the mission home into our personal hospital. We leave our area
and they want a direct phone call when we leave and when we get home safely.
They just want to talk to all of us and they could care less about the line of
authority (district leaders call zone leaders, zl call APs, APs call
president). Hna Avila was super worried Sunday because no one had signed
up to feed us, "Is that normally a problem hermanas?! I can totally feed
you whenever you need me to, I hope you guys know that, just call me!" And
I was like, aren’t you always gonna be gone like the Kuschs?? THIS IS GONNA BE
AWESOME!!!!! I think the greatest part about the Avilas, if that wasn’t already
enough, is that they brought with them one of their sons who has Downs syndrome.
His name is Sammy and he reminds me so much of Sara Bailey that I just want to
squeeze him!!!!! He soooo sweet and just awesome! During church on Sunday he
sat across from me and every time he looked up I just smiled at him, he
blushed, looked down, and then would peak back at me, so I naturally just kept
smiling during the whole class!!!! I’m so excited to have them here with us!!!
Truly they are a great light during a rather roller coaster kind of week....
So for the roller
coaster....On Friday night we stopped by to see Lucio, the greatest miracle of
my mission, and he was crying. What on earth is going on, was all I could
think?! He then filled us in on the fact that the court case that we all
thought had been settled a month ago when they dropped the charges had come
back up. Because he still didn’t have the 31,000 pesos he was officially going
to jail Monday morning for 8 years on false charges, despite all the
testigos....so naturally his tears were not the only ones shed. I couldn’t
believe my ears, but what followed was the most powerful testimony meeting of
my life. This dear old man who I just happened to sit next to one day on
the bus for 2 minutes has stolen my heart and showed me that our Heavenly
Father knows us much more personally then we can ever imagine! I have had the
marvillosa pleasure of watching Lucio transform in the course of a month from a
man who knew nothing of God or how to read, to someone who now can read AND
UNDERSTAND, but more importantly has a faith in God that cannot be shaken! We
started talking about faith and he shared his testimony that he knows that His
father in Heaven is looking out for him. He told us that he knows it for
sure because that same God sent his "angels" (us) to him. In
that moment I was so thankful for the family Palmas (my district: the office
secretaries and the assistants) and their ability to react fast. I called
Elder Jenson instantly to come give Lucio a blessing and they dropped
everything and came running just by listening to my voice. It was a
powerful blessing and the spirit was just burning as we left his house. So that
imposing doom is still hanging over our heads 13 days before his baptism.....
It was a rough day/night,
but we woke up Saturday morning with our dreams big cause we had so much to do
and we were crazy excited about how good our day was going to be! But naturally
you shouldn’t count your eggs before they hatch, the day quickly became
something that none of us were expecting! Everything fell through so we decided
to go visit Jose (a 72 year old recent convert of Hna Chynoweth who we visit
about every day because he’s amazing) early. We sent him a message to
tell him we were on our way but when we arrived he wasn’t waiting for us
outside....that’s a first! The door was open and there was Jose, hunched over
in a chair unable to breath. Luckily, missionaries are trained to react
super well in crazy situations so we kept our calm really well. Jose was
able to get air and started showing us how swelled up his legs were and telling
us about his other horrible symptoms. For a man that has been smoking
around 20 cigarettes every day of his life for the last 60 years, he’s
basically a living miracle. He didn’t want us to tell anyone, just to
sing him a few hymns. We naturally did not follow the first request, the
second one we followed through with. The other week I made him a disk of
the music and lyrics of every hymn, which he has now listened to 50 times
through. He loves the “Spirit of God” so we sang him that one as we
waited for the APs to arrive to our aid (we decided to give Elder Jenson and
Elder Morales a break because they had saved us last night). The APs
dropped everything and were there in minutes, love them! Jose was shocked to
see them but happily received the blessing. Afterwards he said, "I
already feel better. Do we want to have the lesson here on the patio or in my
house?" YEAH RIGHT, there was no doubt in my mind that he needed to get to
the hospital. We all went to work trying to find a member to pass by to
help us get him there but nobody answered so we just went to work. The
elders carried Jose down the mountain where he lives and I ran way out in front
to find a taxi. A taxi was the first thing that passed by, can someone
say miracle?!?!?, but the guy apologized saying he didn’t have time and needed
to repair something in his car first. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! Was all I
could think to say as he drove away. I said a quick prayer and out of
nowhere there was the same taxi driver backing his car down the same road he
had just driven away on. "Okay.....I’ll do it!" We later came
to find that as he drove away a huge feeling to go back came over him that he
said he just couldn’t ignore, THANK YOU HEAVENLY FATHER!
The hospitals here are
sponsored by the government so the care is all free.....which means the lines are
hours long....and the care isn’t the best....but it’s free. For yet
another miracle, the mile long line parted ways as the elders carried Jose in
and he was immediately attended to. Elder Estrada went in with him while
we sat outside with Elder Corven. It was probably the worst three hours
of my life! We had no idea what was going on inside. All we could do was
sit there and watch all the sick and horribly battered bleeding people standing
patiently in line trying to get care. At one point an old man who was
waiting in a chair had a heart attack...he was dead before the doctors even got
to him. When he arrived he hadn’t been bad enough for the doctors to have
to rush him in so they had told him he had to wait an hour. And that’s
how I passed my Independence Day and I have to say that I am proud to be an American!
I have never felt so thankful for my country then I did in that moment. A
good part was that I stick out as an American so a ton of people stopped to ask
me what I was doing there and I had a ton of opportunities to share the gospel
with hopeless people who just needed hugs. With a few calls the elder quorum
was on top of things. From that moment till today, there was a member of
the elders quorum at Jose’s bedside 24/7 all of the brethren taking shifts :)
it was a tender mercy and one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen.
The night finished with
little news of Jose and even less of Lucio. Elder Jensen tried to share
words of comfort but just felt hopeless. Safe to say Sunday was a
welcomed blessing. Everyone canceled about coming to church an hour
before everything started and we couldn’t find Lucio anywhere...stress.
We walked into the chapel with our heads down, and found Lucio sitting there waiting
for us with a huge smile on his face! It was a needed tender mercy. We sang the
Spirit of God....and I was in tears thinking of Jose. And from that
moment on it became one of the greatest sacrament meetings of my life! I don’t
think I have ever heard more powerful testimonies. There was a unity in
the ward, there was a powerful spirit in the air, and there was simply love
flowing from every individual! I left truly happier as if I had shed a
burden. As we were sitting in pricipios del evangelio when Hermano Javier
called us out. My comp and I were a little surprised but we followed him
out of the room to a lady who was waiting in the lobby for us. He simply
said, "she’d like to hear about the church so I thought you guys could
help." I almost started crying on the spot, but a giant smile won! In my
entire mission I have never had the experience of someone just showing up to
church and I couldn’t stop thanking the Lord. It was needed. It was
as if the Lord was telling us, "Everything’s going to be okay. Here’s a
family of 8 of my precious children who need your spirit and help. Go strengthen
them and I’ll take care of the rest!"
Sunday night ended on a
horrible note. We arrived home and instantly called Elder Estrada to see
what he knew about Jose. He told us he would call us in a few
minutes...but after an hour we tried calling him again...still didn’t
answer. The meeting that our district was in with president lasted till
10 pm...so Elder Jenson called at about 10:20 for our data and to see how we were
doing. In the middle of the phone call the assistants called so we hung
up really fast from him. To hear Elder Estrada crying on the other side
of the line was all I needed to know....Jose had been put into induced sleep because
his heart was overworking, and then his lungs had failed, he had fallen into a
coma a few hours before. I broke down like I haven’t in a while and
instantly called Chynoweth....it was a hard conversation. After that
Jenson called to see how we were all doing....safe to say it was a really late
night for the Family Palmas......
All I know is that
despite everything! I have unfailing confidence in the plan of the Lord! Jose,
Lucio, Margarita, every one of them was a blessing from the Lord and I know
that I wouldn’t be the person I am today without their help and support! I’m so
glad for the knowledge I have of the gospel. I know with all certainty
that there is no other way to happiness then accepting and following the gospel
of Jesus Christ. He is my rock and my Salvador. One day I’ll have
the chance to thank Him for all He has suffered for me and for all the tender
mercies I have received at His hand. This work will never end, because it’s
the work of an Almighty God and it will truly change the world, as it has truly
changed my life! In the words of Elder Holland, "we cannot quit, we cannot
go back!" So forward we go! With the shield of faith ready to destroy all
the doubts and traps strewn in our path by the adversary!
Oh and what a change up it will be. I think its going to take a couple of weeks for my mind to wrap around the idea of washing machines, technology, hot water coming directly from the pipe, not having an aisle dedicated to oil in the super market (and then another aisle dedicated to mayo, another to beans, and another to rice), not having to shower out of a bucket, flush toilets, everyone having their own cars, asking for water and not getting flavor options, and about a million other things that I just crazy love about Mexico. I can honestly say that the mission grants us a chance to feel a love so full and so pure that it can only be called charity. Never in my life have I ever been so concerned about the older women trying to carry her groceries or the young man sitting alone on the street corner. Never have I gazed at a family and instantly thought how much happier they would be if they had the gospel in their lives and then walked right over and shared it with them. The mission doesn’t just make us believers, it makes us doers! Doers of good continuously, in every situation, in every thought. We make the good out of everything and even if all of our last plans fall through, we just keep smiling and think of a thousand more people we could help with the magical extra time the Lord has given us.
