Hello Family and Friends!
So, we had an exciting week, it went by REALLY fast, becasue we went on exchanges (swapped companions for a little bit) with the sister missionaries in Clovis and Portallis this week! It was really awesome to learn from other missionaries, and help them to meet more people in their areas! It was also really sweet to actually have investigators to teach lol. I had the opportunity to teach the Plan of Salvation lesson with one of the sisters in Clovis, and it was so awesome, becasue we didn't really have too much time to prepare together, and we really had to RELY on the Spirit so much! After the lesson we kind of just floated back to the car, and I laughed a little and told her that was the first time I'd taught that lesson... ever. And, oh man, it was just so great. I was able to have a few opportunities to teach the restoration on a few doorsteps, so that was also way awesome! My favoirte part of our time though, was the last day when we were in Clovis. We were trying to just talk to some people on the street when we saw a man smoking on his front stoop in the apartments we were going to have a lesson in, and we walked up and introduced ourselves. He saw our name tags, and we talked about where he's come from, religiously, and he's been looking for a church to go to, becasue he knows that God has blessed his life so much. He told us that it was a miracle we ran into him becasue he actually lives in a different city, but he was so happy to talk with us. He said that he was trying to quit smoking, because it was just "not the way I want to deal with my stress", and I taked to him a little bit about the word of wisdom, and the 12-step program. While we talked about this, my companion and I were able to also talk with him about the restoration, and blessings that come from keeping the word of wisdom. I told him that addictions are hard to overcome, but that Heavenly Father WILL help us with our righteous desires, and that our weaknesses can be made strong, becasue I've seen it in my life, and in the lives of many around me. It was so cool, I felt impressed to give him my little 12-step wallet-card I've had for the past couple of years, and I wrote 2Nephi 4:15-35 and Ether 12:27 on the back so he could remember to read them. I was actually kind of sad to lose the card, but at the same time, SO happy that there is even the slightest chance that those steps will help him stop smoking.
Monday night we had two fantastic lessons with some people we knocked into the other day when we were on splits with the awesome future missionary Mikayla. We had a great lesson and read in the Book of Mormon with Joe, who is just so full of life and honesty. Afterwards, we walked down to a house where we'd left a copy of the Book of Mormon and Ralph answered, and his brother Israel, who lives with him was there too, and we kind of had a split lesson on their door step. It was so cool, and we invited both of them to read and pray about the Book of Mormon to know if it was true. We were sooooo tired when we finally came home from exchanges on Thursday night, but we went right back out to work for the last couple of hours we had, and it was soooo amazing! (Can I just say it was really awesome to be having such a great time in Clovis and Portallis, but still miss Dexter, and not be grossed out by the slufer-y smell?)
Heavenly Father truly blesses us when we are doing His work. There is a little windmill in town where you can get non-sulfer smelling drinking water. We ran into the mother of a girl (about my age) we taught yesterday. It was a miracle that we were able to speak with her and talk about our faith in Heavenly Father to help us through trails, and she asked us "How would you deal with someone who has a drug or addiction problem?" That was so crazy, my companions and I got to bear testimony again that through Christ we can overcome everything. We talked for quite a while actually, and we we prayed with her (I love that it isn't weird to pray in public here, becasue everyone is religious), and we were able to bring her, I think, a little bit more comfort.
Afterwards we had a lesson with Israel more about the Book of Mormon and the Restoration, and it was SO great! working hard is such a blessing, even if the bugs come out at night to eat us a bit more. We worked hard on Friday and Saturday too and then on Sunday we had three of our investigators come to church! Which is awesome, because we weren't really here too much this week lol.
Also one last thing, Sister Johnson foudn this scripture that almost PERFECTLY describes Dexter (Alma 26:36):
"Now if this is boasting, even so will I boast; for this is my lifeand my light, my joy and my salvation, and my redeemption from everlasting wo. Yea, blessed is the name of my God, Who has been mindful of this people (of Dexter), who are a branch of the tree of Israel, nad has been lost from its body in a strange land (there was a Dexter branch/mini-ward here for awhile, but it was lost); yea, I say blessed be the name of my God who has been mindful of us wanderers in a strange land."
I know with all of my heart that Heavenly Father is so mindful of His children, whether they are wandering in dusty New Mexico or walking around Temple Square in Salt Lake City (I figured that's probably the best metaphor of this tree trunk). But He truly knows His children, and he wants us to come to Him in prayer, to believe in His Son Jesus Christ, and to accept his Atonment into our lives, to help change, strengthen, and empower us! It is such a blessing to be able to know our Savior better every day, to talk to our Father in Heaven, and to feel His Holy Spirit testify that He is listening to us, no matter how strange a place we feel we are wandering.
All my love,
Sister Lagrosa
P.s. I do send a lot of bug pictures huh? And to answer Mom's question: I toatally have seen tarantuals! I accidentally picked up a dead one that was on the doorstep of a member's house! ...I thought it was fake. I got so scared after I realized how FUZZY it was that I kind of had a little bit of an asthma attack in their lawn later... and I have always carried my inhaler with me since that moment lol. But apparently there are tarantulas all over down here, but they can't hurt you at all, and don't really ever bite people. And if one of their legs breaks they die, so don't hurt tarantulas! They eat all the other nasty bugs... like flies, and mosquitos!
Pictures:
1-- The beautiful New Mexico flatness
2-- My future home (in Portallis)
3-- The least effective way to brush your teeth
4-- another AWESOME BUG! ...I don't know what it is yet... if someone finds out, let me know?
5-- Clouds this morning! It's 70 degrees!! :D
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