Week 55: La Rosa

Hi everyone:))

On Tuesday morning, we woke up at 4 am and drove to the mission office. I gave last goodbyes to Hermana Amezquita and the other departing missionaries and they were off! It was bittersweet. I am very grateful for the opportunity I had to be companions with her. A few hours later, I met up with my new companions, Hermana Echeverria and Hermana Storm, at the mission office. It's been a hectic week getting them settled and getting adjusted to the trio routine again but it's been really fun and I'm excited to see the growth we experience this transfer!!

Milagros:

-We were walking to visit a mom and daughter we had met a few months ago (Laura and Aylin). On the way, we stopped to talk to Juan who was sitting in his garage. We taught him for about 15 minutes about the Book of Mormon, prayer, and the Holy Ghost. At the end he said we could come back and teach him more. We asked him where he lives and turns out he is the dad of that family we were going to visit!

-Araceli has been taught for years but still hasn't been baptized because there is a commandment she has trouble living. We were finally able to determine that the Primary problem is she has never actually received an answer that the Book of Mormon is true and that Joseph Smith was a prophet. So know we know how to help her progress. Please pray for her as well as her mom in México who is very sick.

-We were able to start teaching two more of Rosendo and Maria's kids, Pedro and Jasmine! We had a great lesson on the Restoration!

-Edgar accepted to live the Word of Wisdom and give up coffee!! He is so faithful and has a strong desire to be obedient to God. Yesterday, we had a Book of Mormon reading with him and Hermana Margarita Perkins after church and the Spirit was so strong. At the end he bore his testimony. Each of us had a prompting to invite him to be baptized after the lesson had ended but we didn't do it! So we've repented and plan to invite him to be baptized at our lesson this Friday. Please pray for him that he will accept!

-We were able to teach the Gonzaga family from Sao Paulo, Brasil. The mom, dad, and four kids just moved here from Utah but the parents don't speak English so they go to the Spanish branch. They are all converts and we are going to help Hermana Gonzaga go to the temple again! They also gave us a delicious Brasilian dish called Torta.

-When we went to the gas station to get quarters for the laundromat, the cashier, Javier asked us if we have a church in Santa Ana. We told him there are several and he said he'd seen them before! He lives in Garden Grove and is interested in coming to church!

This week I've been thinking about seeing the needs of other people. As a missionary, I am constantly worried about time. Getting lut of members homes within an hour, being on time to the appointment, making sure we are using primetime to find people to teach, etc. While it's good not to waste the Lord's time, I've realized that stopping to serve God's children along the way is the greatest time fulfiller. The other night, we were walking down a street by the church. We walked past a homeleds person. Normally, I just say "hi" or "God bless you" but my companions saw deeply and began to have a conversation with thid person for 30 minutes. This person desperately needed a listening ear and to know God loves them. It made me realize that I need to always be thinking about what Jesus would do to minister to those around me because I am His hands.

Michelle Craig, a church leader said:

"Even in our busy lives, we can follow the example of Jesus and see individuals—their needs, their faith, their struggle, and who they can become...With all of my heart I do not want to be like the priest or the Levite on the road to Jericho—one who looks and passes by. But too often I think I am."

The Savior had the most responsibilities and demands on his time of anyone He spent every minute of His life fulfilling His mortal mission to establish His church, Preach His gospel, and pay the price for our salvation. But he always had time for the hurting, hopeless, forgotten.

I invite each of you to pray for eyes to see deeply and minister to those around you.

Los quiero!

Hermana Dudley

1. New HB Zone

2. With Hermana Midence, Hermana Jackson, Julie, Hermano Marco Sarco, y Hermano Luis Palacios at the Taqueria the week before

3. Mis compás at the Donuterry on Beach!

4. Hermana Echeverria y Hermana Storm <3

5. Hnas setting up engagement from last week

6. Con los Chacon at In n Out

7. Mis compás en el carro

8. Saying goodbye to Hna. Amezquita

9. We left a pass along cards for a lady that speaks vietnamese