FELIZ ANIVERSARIO JORDAN E CRYSTAL!!!!!! You’ve been married for so
long!!! Congratulations!!! Man, I just love you 2 and your large family that you’ve
already created! Love you guys!! :)
Don’t ask about the title...we made it up on the street. haha Pretty
much she’s the lovely, artistic, singer, artsy person, and I’m the athletic, go
beat up the bad habits of people, and running all over the place kind of person
and together we are Ninja Mormons...Yeah...we hit our breaking points this
week...haha
So let me try to explain a week full of some of the most exhausting
days that I’ve had, and the effects are still in play.
The week started out pretty great! We got all pumped for the week
when we showed up to Graciete´s house and she was singing `Go the Distance. `
Which couldn’t have been a better song to start the week! We sang with her and
just got us stoked to go and baptize!
Then I had to go to Mission Council, which was great!! This past
month we baptized 35 people and this month our goal is 45!! So we had really
great discussions about some of the things we can improve and the things we
should continue doing. It was truly inspiring! So I was feeling great! I was
going to `Go the Distance, ` and baptize 45 people...and then it all went
bizerk! We had 3 people marked for baptism for this past Saturday and may I
just say...Satan is really good at his job. I got back from Porto and Rafael couldn’t
see us so we had to call our member to cancel and she didn’t like that, but
then we went on the `Walda Search` again for Fátima...AND WE FOUND HER!!! And
of top of that, it was her BIRTHDAY!!!! She was super happy to see us! Such a
miracle!
On Wednesday we taught Graciete and Odilia about profetas using an obstacle
course and showing them the importance of profetas. They liked it and come to
find out Graciete is starting a crochet figure of the Salt Lake Temple!! HOW
ELECT CAN YOU GET?!?!?! 1 month after baptism and she’s making the temple. Yay.
I love her. Then we went to Augusta´s house and I don’t remember what I’ve told
you about her but basically her boyfriend is cheating on her with pornografia
and talking to other women. And she’s still with him. It’s such a sad
situation, but she’s strong and really likes the church so we visited with her
and she’s getting things figured out. Went to Maria José´s house to talk with
our investigator Maria José who was suppose to be baptized this weekend (she’s
83 years old and stubborn as can be) she’s sick and really just doesn’t want to
be baptized! Challenge accepted! So she refused even after testifying and even
taking the Elders over to interview her. She’ll get there!! From this day on,
we basically ran everywhere just to get these people to be baptized! So we ran
back to the chapel to teach Rafael before his interview with Elder Valentine.
Come to find out, he’s had a problem with the law so now he has to be
interviewed by president. So my heart was really heavy after Wednesday because
2 of our marks couldn´t/wouldn´t be baptized.
Thursday we had zone conference, which is always good. This day was
just a weird day...like we went and sat outside of Fátima´s house (Walda) so
that we could mark a time for her interview, and she wasn’t there. Then we ran
to visit the Elders recent convert Fatima and ran to a meeting at the church.
We get there for only 10 minutes and in those 10 minutes we had the Elders and
the ward mission leader doubting because they said we didn’t have faith. Yeah,
if anything the barriers of faith this week were with the missionaries
themselves. We went back to Fátima´s house and found her home!!
I feel like I’ve become quite the fighter of the person named Satan.
He truly loves to make my mission difficult. Fighting with Rafael´s paper for
the judicial stuff, trying to make an appointment for his interview was rough.
So the final outcome was just to postpone the baptism till we can get his
papers to be interviewed. Maria José wouldn’t accept our visits and Fatima
disappeared again. It was quite the fight this week but we didn’t win sadly. We
did see the Elders baptism and I played the piano and we sang (with me on the piano.
singing and playing) as well at the baptism. It was really good and I was super
happy to see his smile. Odilia went to the baptism and she just got so much
more excited to be baptized.
Sunday it started hailing and raining like none other! It was really
cool actually! It was actually a really chill day, just calm with spiritual
classes. Loved Sunday. Graciete received her first calling and even said the
opening prayer for Relief Society. Odilia admitted to being a member of the church
and those two will even help the
orphanage because of what they heard at conference. Such stellar women.
The lesson I learned is that even heroes and great nations need to
be brought down to be built back up even greater. Christ was bought lower than
low and then brought higher than high. We do this. We were running all week
long. I wake up and it feels like I just put my head on my pillow, the days go
by way fast and then by the end of the day, you feel the miles and the
contacts. I would get home and not have enough energy to eat or even talk. But
my conscience is clear because I know I did everything I knew to help these
people. There were days we didn’t get home till 10:20 trying to help these
people. We fasted and prayed. `My tears did wet my pillow because of them. ` I
love the work. I love these people and want nothing more than them to be
members of the church. I love Christ and the example that He is. I love this
work so much and thank you all for the prayers on my behalf. I love you all so
much!
Sister Hillam
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