me, Hna. B, Hna. Watkins, Hna. Taufoou.
In this letter:
- First Mexico City Temple trip
- Jessica bears her testimony of how God directs our lives
- Hermana Henrie and Hermana Broadhead got to teach the message of the restoration of the gospel and how to pray to a lady who came to the CCM to be taught for the first time
Les amo mucho, familia y amigos. It`s fun to experience each week twice - once for myself, and once for you.
Thank you so much for your letters and emails! I love hearing from you! I hope all is well in your lives - most of the news I get from you is a few weeks old. :)
We got to go to the temple today! It was SO amazing. I love that the Church is the same anywhere in the world you go. Well... the same except for which language everyone is speaking. But no matter what the language, you can still feel the same peace, and the Spirit that testifies you`re hearing truth, even if you don`t understand every spoken word. The Mexico City Temple is so beautiful. There`s a fountain out front, and a giant painting of Jesus Christ visiting ancient America just as you walk in. Best start to a day ever. My companion and I accidentally lost each other just before we had to leave, which is why I only got one photo of the temple.
The view of Mexico City from the bus on the way to the temple.
I don`t think there is a choir at the CCM, but if there was, I`d be interested in it. I did play prelude in sacrament meeting on Sunday, but other than that (and singing in the shower, which I actually rarely do), I haven`t had any other musical opportunities.
1 Nefi 1:20 came up a lot again in my life this week. I have seen the Lord`s hand in my life more and more. I know He is present in each of your lives too, even if you don`t recognize it at the time. Look for Him. It will help you realize how much He loves you, each of you, individually and perfectly, without judgment and always with a desire to bless you more if you only ask Him for it. Tambièn D&C 58:3 came up a lot in my personal study and even some lessons. That verse talks about how man can`t see God`s design, but we can trust that God knows what He is doing. Even when we have tragedies, difficulties and challenges in life, there`s something we can learn from all of them.
Hna. Broadhead and I had a challenge this week when we went to the Teaching Resource Center (TRC) for the first time as a district. I`ve volunteered at the TRC at the Provo MTC several times, so I had certain expectations going into the TRC at the México CCM. I expected every volunteer teachee to be a member of the Church already, but to pretend not to be members so we missionaries could practice teaching them. When we got there, I learned none of the volunteers are asked to pretend to be nonmembers, and the missionaries are charged to teach them just as they are, with their real histories, circumstances and needs. I also learned sometimes the CCM staff invite random people to come in and listen to the missionaries from the street outside the walls.
One by one, Hna. B and I watched our fellow missionary companionships get assigned to teach different members. I thumbed through my Libro de Mormon and Santa Biblia, thinking about what kind of spiritual thoughts Hna. B and I could leave with the member to whom we were assigned. Then the maestro in charge of the TRC beckoned to us and said, "Ustedes van a enseñar una investigadora. Ella nunca ha hablado con misioneros de nuestro Iglesia antes de hoy."
I thought he was joking and asked, "A real investigator? Are you sure she`s a real investigator?"
"She has never spoken with our missionaries before," the maestro repeated. "Nunca, jamás."
Hna. B and I looked at each other. The maestro saw our look and said comfortingly, "You`ll do fine. She`s right in here."
The last thing I saw before we followed that maestro into one of the classrooms was encouraging smile of Hermana Arbon, our district maestra in the afternoons. Then Hna. B and I were introducing ourselves to Carla, and Carla was introducing herself and her super cute little boy, Hiram. We spent a few minutes asking her about her family, what she already knew about the Iglesia de Jesucristo de los Santos de los últimos Días and the role religion plays in her life currently, said a prayer to invite the Holy Spirit to be with all of us and Hna. B went right into the first lesson about the restoration of Christ`s gospel. We told Carla about how Joseph Smith, Jr. lived in a time of great religious excitement and his confusion about which church to join. We explained how he took his question to the Bible and one day found himself reading in James, chapter one verse five. We turned to it in our Bibles and asked Carla if she would read the verse.
She started crying before she had even finished all of it. I wasn`t expecting it, and I guess she might not have either. I glanced at Hna. B and saw she was crying, too. I didn`t cry, but I knew, I knew, that there was power in that room. We were all feeling it. It was the Holy Spirit, testifying of the truth of what Carla had just read. "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth to all men liberally, and upraideth not." Still crying, Carla asked us a question. I caught some of the words but didn`t understand until she repeated it. It was an eye-opening question, something to the effect of, "If I pray, will God answer my prayer?"
Hna. Broadhead looked her in the eye and said, "Yes. I know God will answer your prayer."
Right then, in unspoken agreement, Hna. B and I started teaching Carla about prayer, that God hears prayers, and how He answers them. We didn`t even finish telling her Joseph Smith`s story. We didn`t know how much time we had, so we taught until we both felt it was time to return to class. (We found out later that we`d gone overtime, but I`m so grateful nobody tried to cut us short.) It was hard to leave. After the closing prayer, Carla shook our hands and kissed our cheeks. She promised to find the missionaries outside of the CCM and learn more of our message. The four of us filed out of the classroom, but the TRC maestro caught Carla before she and Hiram left and asked if she would stay to hear another set of missionaries. Her response was heartfelt, but I had to wait for Hna. Arbon to translate it before I really understood. She said, "I would be in heaven (if I could stay and hear more)."
Hna. B and I couldn`t concentrate in class all the rest of that day. All we could think about was Carla. I`m certain every prayer we said, be it personal or shared between us, included Carla. We knew we likely wouldn`t hear about her again, and we both wished we could continue to teach her, although I have full confidence in the `real` missionaries outside the CCM. We also wished we had brought a copy of the Libro de Mormon with us to give her. We hadn`t brought one because we were expecting only members. (You can bet your bottom dollar we`ll be taking a copy with us every week from now on!) Then, unexpectedly, we received one of those tender mercies of the Lord that Nephi talks about in 1 Nephi 1:20. We wound up sitting next to a companionship of sisters at dinnertime who were just going into the TRC when we left. They told us Carla and Hiram were taught by a pair of elders, who had a Libro de Mormon to give her, and that afterward she was talking to that TRC maestro. It was amazing to hear a little about what happened after we left, and although we haven`t heard anything since, Carla is still in my prayers and Hna. B and I have high hopes for her.
It was an incredible taste of the sweetness of this, the Lord`s work. The restored gospel can bring so much light, hope and happiness into your life if you only sincerely learn of it and apply its principles in your life. Writing about it now, I still almost can`t believe it really happened. I know God loves His children, and He has provided a way for all of us to be happy forever. And when I say forever, I mean it, for this life and after.
I am so blessed and so humbled to have had this glimpse of how God can work miracles in people`s lives. I know that lesson in the TRC was not taught by me, it was carried into Carla`s heart by the Spirit, and I have a strengthened testimony that God really does guide His missionaries. I hope to have many more experiences like this, teaching alongside the Spirit.
Love,
Hermana Henrie
Hna. Broadhead, Hna. Watkins, Hna. Taufoou, me, Elders Edson, Elowitt, Cutler, Sumsion, Wareham, Davis
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