Hola! Is it Monday again? How does that even happen? These weeks are just flying by... also how crazy is it that it's already June!?
Anyway!
This week was so good. So many miracles. So many tender mercies. So much greatness.
I only have time for one story, but let me tell you, it's a good one. This is the story about Dulce.
On Saturday, we were waiting for a call from our ward mission leader. We have to have a coordination meeting once a week, and we hadn't had one in awhile! We were waiting for him to call us back so we could plan our day around that meeting because they are usually 2 hours or so. After about half an hour of waiting (and let's just say missionary time is way too precious..) w decided to call our scheduled dinner appointment for the night. She told us that she had forgotten she would be out of town when she signed up, but that she wanted us to do her a favor and go visit her daughter in the hospital. Of course we would!
Her daughter's name was Dulce, and neither of us had met her before. We made our way up several flights of stairs, through the hallways, and finally found her room. We said a prayer before we entered, asking that we would be led by the Spirit, mainly because we had no idea what to expect. When we went in, we saw Dulce, lying in bed, watching Harry Potter. She was hooked up to an IV, and her tiny body was covered in several blankets. There was something really special about her, she was so beautiful.
We casually talked for about 20 minutes or so, with several moments of silence. She then turned to us and asked, "So can we talk about God?" We instantly perked up, and said, "Of course!" We ended up talking about God for 2 hours. This amazing 23 year old woman opened up to us about her relationship with God. She had fallen too far away from Him, she just wanted to come back.
We talked about who He is, what He has done for us, and how He has helped us all throughout our lives. We talked about our Savior, Jesus Christ, and how he conquered death. We talked about the plan of happiness, about the life before this one, and the life to come. We talked about temples and the gift we have of doing temple work for the dead. We talked about scriptures, the Book of Mormon, and the power that is found within the words of God. We talked about His love, His goodness, His grace. I can't even accurately describe the feeling that was in that room. The love of God was tangible.
All three of us were on the verge of tears as we bore testimony of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints to each other. She wiped tears away as she told us of her desires to return to church, to leave her past behind, to be closer to God because she missed Him.
Leaving that hospital room was hard. I know that God was there. He was in that room.
That experience alone has changed my life. I have never been so aware of the Holy Ghost before. I have never been so sure of the atoning power of our Savior. And I have never been so certain of our Father in Heaven's love.
A few days earlier, Hermana Grubbs and I had asked our bishop for blessings. In his blessing for me, he told me that I needed to preach the gospel with enthusiasm. In Spanish, the word is "entusiasmo." The Greek root in this word literally means, "Estar con Dios" or in English, "To be with God." And if you didn't know, the word gospel actually means "good news."
So.
To preach the gospel with enthusiasm literally means to preach the good news with God.
This is what this work is about everyone. To go about, talking about God, helping people feel His love, telling people of the good news, about our Redeemer and our Savior, and all the while having God by our side.
This week was amazing... it was hard, there were so many ups and downs, but I know that I am constantly being refined. This work isn't about me. This work is the work of our Savior. If we truly want to become like Jesus Christ, we must learn to teach in the way He taught. We must be humble and kind; we must be bold and loving. We must teach by example, and we must never, ever be ashamed of who we and whose we are.
Anyone can come back to God. Anyone. I promise you.
I love you all so much, but I know that God loves you even more :)
Be good this week. Make Him proud.
Mosiah 24:14
xoxo
Hermana Brie Gould
beautiful and spiritual!
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