Week 79: La Rosa (Part 1)

I am home.

I finished my full-time mission on July 28, 2023. It's hard to believe that my time serving the Lord as a full-time missionary is over for now. The hardest thing I've ever had to do is leave my mission. The last week was very special. I had some beautiful experiences that I never want to forget.

Highlights:

-On p-day, we had a bbq at the park with HBN! We played spikeball and had a great time.

-HBN Devotional! I was able to share my departing testimony with some of my favorite missionaries:)

-President Galotera called to tell me I would no longer be an STL. Even though I was expecting that, it was a tender experience. I felt Heavenly Father's love through Him. I miss that special role of being able to serve and love the sisters.

-I went to my last leadership training meeting. I went to 9 leadership trainings, 16 Mission Leadership Councils, trained in 36 zone councils, and led over 40 companion exchanges. The beautiful thing about it is I learned so much, but there is still so much to learn. In the MTC, I was taught "the greatest leaders are the greatest followers." I know that regardless of whether or not we have a formal assignment, as we are followers of Jesus Christ, we will naturally lead others to Him.

-President and Sister Galotera came to HB Zone Council and we had a great conversation about the importance of asking questions and listening, both to the people we teach and to the Holy Spirit.

-I spent time with one of my favorite senior missionary couples, the Wrights. I love them so much! Afterwards, they were available to come with us to teach Noel.

-My departure interview with President was on Thursday morning. He asked me to say the opening prayer and I couldn't even choke the words out. Among his advice, he assured me that the best is yet to come and counseled me to fast regularly and trust in the Lord and His timing.

-Departure dinner with the Galoteras. It was special to spend time with them and the other missionaries who were leaving. We bore our testimonies, reflected on the time we spent serving the Lord, and talked about the good things to come. I especially loved being there with Hermana Young and Hermana Votaw, two of my former companions.

Milagros:

-We were able to see Lucas again! We had a sweet lesson about prayer and why we go to church. Although he has enfronted so much opposition, he is determined to continue forward and sincerely wants the blessings of baptism. I hope that one day he gets there. He is someone who is so sweet and sincere. I know God has lead him to this point in his life.

-Brenda and Enrique (from Cerritos) came to HB and took us out to eat. We had fun catching up. They are preparing to get sealed in just a week and a half, so of course the Adversary is working really hard on them. We felt inspired to share with them the account of Joseph Smith's vision. Just before he had his miraculous experience where he saw God the Father and Jesus Christ, he was attacked by the Adversary. But he didn't give up. He prayed as hard as he could, and God rescued him. It turned out to be exactly what Brenda and Enrique needed:)

-We had a lesson with Noel and the Wrights in a park. Noel is still struggling quite a bit. We taught him about the commandments and how following God is what leads to true happiness. He still isn't on board with religion; he believes that personal spirituality is better and doesn't really understand the concept of an unchanging God with unchanging truth, but the miracle with him is that he wants to grow his faith. Even though he is struggling, he is still willing to pray, read his scriptures and go to church. He says this last week he's been praying for a restored relationship with Christ and seen some progress.

-Heydi is back from Deleno! A few weeks ago, she texted us and said: "Hermanas, yo necesito mi bautismo urgentemente." She sacrificed to live the commandments and come here so she could make a covenant with God. We had a lesson with her and Hermana Menendez on baptism. SHE ACCEPTED THE INVITATION TO BE BAPTIZED AND RECEIVE THE GIFT OF THE HOLY GHOST on Sunday, August 13! We are so happy for her. At the end of the lesson, we sang "Cuando Me Bautice" and she loved it. Please pray extra for her these next few weeks as she prepares for her baptism.

-We had a really spiritual lesson with Cathy. Cathy is Baptist but she's felt like God has been leading her to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints her whole life. We had given her a Book of Mormon and invited her to read and pray about it the time before. Right before our lesson, we asked her if she had any questions and she said she wanted to know what makes our church different from any other church and how she could know if she was receiving an answer from God that this was true. We taught her that the church Christ established when he was on the earth, with prophets, apostles, and proper authority, had been lost for a time, which is why so many different churches emerged, but Christ didn't want us to be confused, so he called another prophet in our day, Joseph Smith, and gave to him the lost authority and teachings. As we shared the story of Joseph Smith, she felt the spirit and recognized it! It was a beautiful experience for us, Cathy, and the Quesadas who were there with us.

-We taught one last lesson to Erika. It was so sweet. She told us how grateful she was that God had sent us to find her. We went over her baptismal covenants that she will make and she is so excited to be baptized at the end of August!

-The last hour of missionary work before the departure dinner on Thursday night, our lesson fell through. We felt inspired to visit a less active family we have been ministering to but haven't had success contacting in about 3 months. By a miracle, Edith and her children were home and we were able to read the Book of Mormon with her!

I am so grateful for the time I spent in La Rosa. God gave me the experiences I needed to be shaped and changed. He taught me patience, charity, and faith.

I can say a truly love the members in La Rosa, my companion Hermana Echeverria, and all of our friends. Loving some of those people has taken a lot of work and help from God.

At times, I asked myself why this was so hard, why we weren't seeing success, why everything wasn't working out. But I know that when we submitted our will to the Lord, He was able to make something beautiful. He was able to transform our area and ourselves.

We got news two days before the transfer ended that Hermana Echeverria would be transferred to Raymond and La Rosa would receive two new missionaries, Hermana Maldonado and a brand new one from the Missionary Training Center.

At first, I was sad and worried about our friends continuing to progress. Then I felt God tell me that they are His. I know He will take care of them. He always had a better plan than we do because he sees so much more.

One of my favorite talks to listen to on my mission was "As Many as I Love, I Rebuke and Chasten" by Elder Christofferson.

He tells the story of President Hugh B. Brown, who had a farm in Canada. One day, he pruned down an overgrown currant bush that wasn't producing fruit. Looking at the bush, it seemed to be crying and wondering why he would cut it down. He told the currant bush that he was the gardner, and knew what the bush could become.

Years later, President Brown was denied a promotion in the Army because he was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints. He said:

“I got on the train and started back … with a broken heart, with bitterness in my soul. … When I got to my tent, … I threw my cap on the cot. I clenched my fists, and I shook them at heaven. I said, ‘How could you do this to me, God? I have done everything I could do to measure up. There is nothing that I could have done—that I should have done—that I haven’t done. How could you do this to me?’ I was as bitter as gall.

“And then I heard a voice, and I recognized the tone of this voice. It was my own voice, and the voice said, ‘I am the gardener here. I know what I want you to do.’ The bitterness went out of my soul, and I fell on my knees by the cot to ask forgiveness for my ungratefulness. …

“… And now, almost 50 years later, I look up to [God] and say, ‘Thank you, Mr. Gardener, for cutting me down, for loving me enough to hurt me.’”

God is the master gardener. I am grateful that he loves me enough to cut me down and help me live up to my full potential as a daughter of God.

I invite you to seek to submit your will to God's. I can promise you that as you do so, you will be happier and be a better instrument in the hands of God.

Love you all!

Hermana Dudley

PS. I will send another email about coming home.

1. HBN Pday activity at Mile Square Park

2. Last videocall lesson with my family on pday

3. California Anaheim Mission (half of it at least)

4. Brenda and Enrique

5. Vendedores

6. HB Devo Planning

7. Cathy and the Quesadas

8. Maria Aldrete

9. Erika