Week 50: There can be miracles! If you believe!

My testimony of miracles has increased so much this week. And you know what is crazy, nothing majorly huge happened this week. Last week I talked a little bit about change. Change never is easy, but it is worth it. This gospel is a gospel of change. and in the words of Joy Hurst, "The gospel is sufficient." Change is worth it. It helps us grow and stretch and push in new ways than ever before. As we humble ourselves before the Lord, He shows us how we need to change. Then we commit to it and He helps us change. The process of change is an interesting one. It starts with faith.

1. Faith is the desire to change. Faith that we can change and that the Lord can help us and the desire to change.

2. Is repentance. this is how we change. We act on what we want to change and try to be and do better.

3. the Sacrament. The sacrament is where we change. We go to church and partake of the sacrament. this is us recommitting to the Lord our desire to change. Our desire to become more like Him and as my dad said this week, "We have to change everyday if we want to get closer to being like our Father in Heaven and getting closer to being like Him is how we get closer to Him."

4. The Holy Ghost. or the Spirit. This is what helps us to continue to change. It teaches us what we need to change. It sanctifies us. It leads us by the hand. It teaches us.

5. Then the process starts over. We learn from the Holy Ghost what we need to change and we develop the desire to change (or in other words faith that God can help us change Step 1) We start to change and do everything that we can to change. we act. (repentance Step 2) We to go church on Sunday and take the sacrament which is us telling the Lord and committing to him that we will change (step 3). Then the Holy Ghost helps us on our way through the changes and keeps showing us what to do to be able to become more like our Heavenly Father (step 4).  And then we repeat (step 5)

This process is called the Doctrine of Christ. It is through this process that miracles are seen. Miracles are happening every day whether we see them or not. It is us changing and being humbled that allows us to see miracles.

So here are a few of the small miracles I saw this week :)

Tuesday: We didn't have our car so we biked all day long we went a total of 14 miles and at the very end of the day we went to go visit a less active family. They all were there and they had a couple of their nonmember friends there with them too! We taught them the Restoration and the less active family testified so powerfully of the truthfulness of this gospel! This is the Osuna family.

Wednesday: We had our zone temple trip. So I was able to take a break from the world and go to the temple. That in itself is a miracle because we don't get to go to the temple very often as missionaries.

Thursday: After a looooong day of planning we went to visit a less active Oscar Perez with a member. A quick summary of his life. His wife and him were baptized and sealed in the temple about 7 years ago. Not long after that his wife got diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and passed away 5 years ago. This took a hard beating on him. He became frustrated and with time has lost all remembrance of the hope that the gospel brings. When we visited him and taught him you could see the flicker of a light in the back of his eyes. That flicker of hope. Oscar came to church on Sunday for the first time in 5 years.

Friday: Went to go visit a lady at the Seniors home. We taught her about the Restoration of the church and set a baptismal goal for her for the 5th of March. After that we took Hna Osuna out teaching. It was the first time she had come out with missionaries. She did amazing!! (this is the same sister from Tuesday:) She connected wonderfully with our investigator and helped her tons!

Saturday: We were on bikes again. but instead this time we biked 21.15 miles! I thought my legs were going to fall off when we finally got to a less actives home. He was outside and we quickly said hi. He was one of the funniest people I have ever met. He made me laugh time and time again! And in that moment I needed a good laugh to get me through the day. He was a miracle. By the end of that lesson I was Hna Shakira and he was Hno Ricky Martin :) So funny!

Sunday: We had branch correlation (the first one since I have been here). Our branch mission leader is Hno Romero. He is one of the funniest 70 year old men I have ever met. He looks like a mix between a mouse and a monkey and is about 6'4". He dances every time his phone rings and is always cracking jokes. He talked about how we cannot fall of the boat. We cannot
go home from our missions and stop doing the things that we teach every day. He talked about his son and started to tear up. (this guy isn't prone to show emotion) you could see the pain that it caused to know that his son was not doing what he should be. Our parents loves us are really want the best for us.

I think the biggest miracle of all happened last night though. I got a text from the Stillwater Hermanas and this is what it said, "#1 Rosi passed her interview and is on for the baptism and #2 Bartolo is in Kansas  and went to church today" I read that and tears welled up in my eyes. Bartolo is still holding on to the iron rod and Rosi is going to be baptized this coming Saturday :)

These are just a few of the small miracles that I saw this week. I know that miracles our happening every day. They may be big, them may be small, but they are there. I am forever grateful for the people that have changed my life. Those here in the mission and those back in Idaho. Yall are amazing and I know that this gospel changes lives for the better. There is nothing better :)

Hermana Hilton

This is little Gabby!  She is an Angel!!!

And crazy little Emmie! (I met her on my first day and we both gave eachother nicknames, hers is Emmie and mine is Hna Princesa) She told me this Wednesday that I am the coolest sister missionary that she has ever met! #score! I love her so much.

Biking for DAYZZZZZ!!!!!!

The miracle text from Bartolo!