Week 53: La Rosa

Hi Everyone! Thanks to everyone who sends me emails. I love reading them and they give me encouragement and motivation and help me feel so much love from home. I am so sorry that I don't respond. Most pdays, I just have enough time to talk to my family and get the mass email out. But know that it means so much to me!!

Hermana Amézquita finishes her mission next Tuesday so we've started the "lasts." Last Wednesday was her last follow-up Zone Conference. She bore her testimony and it was really sweet. It's been amazing to see her determination to end her mission obedient and consecrated. At the end of zone conference, we always sing As Sisters in Zion/Army of Helaman. The Platts (the mission leaders) always stand up front and watch us and cry. It's the tenderest thing. I think their love is the purest, most Christlike love I've ever felt from anyone outside of my family.

Afterwards, we taught Maria a lesson about Family History. Maria is still struggling with living some commandments and prioritizing ehr time with God. There are so many beautiful promised blessings that our prophets and apostles have given us when we do family history, including power to resist temptation. Please continue praying for her!

Miracles this week:

-On Thursday, we had a packed day planned because we were going to have a meeting with the stake president and the mission president but last minute, the stake president canceled the meeting. Rearranging our schedule, we decided to meet the Zone Leaders at the church building off Slater to plan for Zone Council. We were sitting in our cars in the parking lot when we got a call from Sister Hill that she and Sister Clements had been on a bike accident off Slater, about two minutes down the road from where we were at. We were able to get there very quickly and help them. Turns out that going through a very narrow stretch of sidewalk between a metal box and the wall, Sister Hill crashed into the wall. Sister Clements didn't have any time to brake and her face ended up crashing into the back metal frame of Sister Hill's bike. Pobrecitas were pretty shaken up. They both got scrapes and bruises, and Sister Clements has a black eye and jammed fingers, but luckily they don't have any lasting injuries. We were able to get them back to the apartment and cleaned up. The zls took care of the bikes and came back to the apartment to give them a priesthood blessing. The Miracle of all this is we were so close by to help and they are OK. God sure does look out for his missionaries. 

-On Friday, we had a blitz (meaning Hna. Amezquita and I split up and both worked with them in their area) with the sisters who are over the Young Adult congregation. They have really struggled to find people to teach the last few months. But we were able to see lots of miracles this afternoon, including meeting 3 young women who are interested that they will start meeting with and a sweet Arabic family who wants to come to church!!

-Edgar is doing good. Last week, we had a great lesson where we watched the Restoration film and one of our amazing members, Hermana Menendez, shared her conversion story and testimony. The Spirit was so strong!! Then on Saturday, Luis (the ward mission leader) picked him up for fútbol and then just an hour after was the baptism of a child in our congregation, Grayson Lino. Edgar and Luis were planning on coming so Edgar could see what a baptism was like but they showed up just after the closing prayer was offered... Good news was, we could give him a tour of the baptismal font, explain what happened, and he was invited to the Lino's afterwards for lunch. But then, later in the day on Saturday we found out that there was going to be a baptism of one of my friends from Raymond, Wilmer, and his nephew Henry the next day so Edgar was finally able to see a baptism.

-Henry and Wilmer's baptism was such a huge miracle. Wilmer was found back in November. He requested a missionary visit online. Hermana Votaw, Hermana Garcia, and I were able to teach him about the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ and from that first lesson, we knew he was prepared to be baptized. Shortly after, we were transferred and Elder Garcia and Elder Clark began teaching him. Wilmer has a very unique story. He recently came here from Guatamala. He grew up in a small pueblo speaking a dialect very different than Spanish. Spanish is his second language too. When we met him, he was desperately in need of hope because he is battling cancer. He was supposed to be baptized a few weeks ago but it had to be rescheduled because he was in the hospital. He and Henry were finally able to be baptized and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost on Sunday afternoon. It was a very sweet experience. God has a lot of love for Wilmer and Henry. 

One of my favorite names of Christ is the Good Shephard. He numbers his sheep because each one is important to him. We all know the story in the Bible when Christ left the 99 to rescue The One. Something that I love about Christ's church is that each person is numbered so no one is forgotten. 

In the Book of Mormon, Moroni teaches about this principle:

"And after they had been received unto baptism, and were wrought upon and cleansed by the power of the Holy Ghost, they were numbered among the people of the church of Christ; and their names were taken, that they might be remembered and nourished by the good word of God, to keep them in the right way, to keep them continually watchful unto prayer, relying alone upon the merits of Christ, who was the author and the finisher of their faith. And the church did meet together oft, to fast and to pray, and to speak one with another concerning the welfare of their souls" (Moroni 6:4-5).

One of the reasons we need the Church is so we can be baptized and receive the Holy Ghost, which are essential to receive the gift of salvation. But it is equally important that we continue to go to church so we can be edified by prayer, the Scriptures, testimony, and of course by partaking of the sacrament so we can renew our baptismal covenants. 

I am so grateful to live in a time when the fulness of Christ's church has been restored on the earth. 

I love that I get to share this good news with everyone I meet. 

I love you all and hope you have an amazing week!

Hermana Dudley

1.I got to see mija at the baptism!!

2.Hermana Amezquita and I after zone conference

3.Zone Conference

4.The Wrights, Hermana Cotaw, Hermana Garcia, y Hermana Rivero

5. Hermana Garcia and I with Wilmer and Henry at their Bautismo

6. Mi compa!

7. With Hermana Amezquita, Sister Harding, and Sister Hall on the blitz

8. Missionaries at Wilmer and Henry's baptism! These are some of my favorite missionaries (Hermana Amezquita, Hermana Young, Hermana Echeverria, Hermana Garcia, Hermana Rivero, Elder Garcia, and Elder Clark)

9.with Hermana Hall on the Blitz. We walked a lot and it was so fun!

10. Mis Hermanas <3