Recognizing Him‏

Life changing thing I learned this week

In the church we are asked to pay tithing, which is 10% of the money we earn. This money goes towards building temples, churches, publishing the Book of Mormon, etc. All good things. Compared to how much the Lord has blessed us, 10% is nothing. So... compare this to a mission. The typical age of a missionary when they first leave is about 18-20 years old. A mission is either 18 months or 2 years, depending on if you are a sister or an elder. This amount of time spent serving the Lord is consecrated time. It is meant to be given wholly to the Lord - all efforts, all attention, all thoughts into the mission to serve our Heavenly Father. So in an essence, we are giving up 10% of the life we have already gained on this earth back to our Father. It needs to be done faithfully, willingly, and lovingly, just as with tithing. And the blessings are beyond comprehension :

ALLLLLLRIGHT now my week!

We had zone training AND a trainer/trainee meeting this week! So I was pretty much bombarded with revelation and the Spirit. Amazing. I left both meetings with a determination to step it up, to work harder, and to love deeper. This gospel is just the best EVEERRRR.

We had two amazing lessons this week with Flor, Esmerelda's sister. The first was last Monday, where we focused completely on the Book of Mormon. We actually weren't planning on visiting her, but when our appointment fell through and nobody else was home, we both felt super prompted to stop by and visit Flor. Turned out to be just what all of us needed! We read from the introduction of the Book of Mormon and used the Bible to show Flor just how much God loves us by giving us another book of scripture. We testified of its truthfulness and asked her to read it. The spirit was just so strong - mainly, I feel, because Flor is just so willing. She has real intent, a sincere desire, and faith. She's amazing! We came back a couple days later, and we taught the gospel of Jesus Christ. We talked all about faith and repentance and baptism. We talked about the gift of the Holy Ghost and what that means for us. We talked about how we endure to the end. The spirit, again, was so strong, the question of baptism almost exploded from my mouth! She told us she that wanted to be baptized, that she wanted the peace we talked about, and that she wanted to be clean from her sins... BUT.. that she wasn't ready to set a date. GAH. Her desires are so pure, though, we have no doubt that she will be baptized within the next couple months or so :)

We also had an awesome lesson with Andreina, a member of our ward. She has been through a lot, but she is just now getting up on her feet and it's amazing. To see her come so far has been an honor - I'm so grateful I have been able to witness the Atonement in action. When I first met her, she was at her lowest of lows, and now she's talking about wanting to serve a mission! It's just amazing. But there are those creeping fears that come back, and she finds herself doubting her potential to be someone great. Dang adversary. So we talked about fear and the Atonement, and how ever since the fall of Adam and Eve, God has been trying to subdue our fears by replacing them with confidence in His son, Jesus Christ, and the redeeming and atoning power he has. As we talked, I felt prompted to open my scriptures - to what, I actually wasn't sure - but then my finger landed on a set of scriptures I had previously marked as, "How to live a happy and successful life." PERFECT. We read them together, and Andreina looked up at me and said, "How in the world did you know I needed to hear that?" Honestly I just said, "God." If nothing else, I have learned that you just need to put yourself in a position where God can use you to help someone in need. If I hadn't had studied my scriptures, marked those specific ones, and prayed to have the Spirit guide me that day, who knows if I could've helped her! The Spirit has been doing this whole teaching thing a lot longer than I have - I just need to be worthy of the gift and always follow promptings. 

Update on Jose - HE IS NOW A PRIESTHOOD HOLDER. He came to church yesterday, all dressed up in a nice white shirt and tie, and honorably stood to be recognized as a priesthood holder. I can't even tell you how big my smile was, probably too big.

GOD IS GOOD AND HE IS REAL AND HIS LOVE IS REAL.

I so testify.

also I love you all.

xoxo

Hermana Brie Gould