In chile when someone says that their "sacándose la mugre" it means their working super hard, and that´s exactly what me and Hna. Cottle have been doing this week! This week still had it´s challenges, we were able to return to our apartment and leave injured Hna. Casique at the house of a member so me and Hna.Cottle could go out and work, but about an hour later she called us to come back cause she felt horrible, she took the wrong medication and was shivering and throwing up, and as I helped her out of the bathroom she fainted on top of me, it was totally crazy, I thought we we´re going to have to call an ambulance or something, but we layed her down in the bed and she knocked out the rest of the day. The next day Hna. Jhonson from another area called San Felipe who was sick with the flu came to stay with her and then Hna. Cottle got the stomach flu and was throwing up, but she really wanted to work so we went out and while making some copies of our progress reports for our meeting with the branch mission leader she felt super light headed and couldn´t even ride her bike. So I insisted we go home and she slept from 5pm until the next morning at 7:30 am. So instead of being Hermana Ibarra missionary extrordinaire saving souls one house at a time, I was nurse Gladys stuck at home with 3 sick sister missionaries, oi vay! It was totally crazy, but it did give me a lot of time to write letters :D The next couple days Hna. Jhonson & Casique left for San Felipe to be closer to the doctors and me and Hna. Cottle have been able to work the hardest we ever have this whole transfer now that Hna. Casique isn´t holding us back. We love her to death don´t get us wrong, the Lord has helped us develop patience and compassion with her, but she still has a lot to learn about missionary life and it´s been hard but we´ve been trying to teach her by example. Even though we had all these crazy challenges the Lord blessed us this sunday with 3 invetsigators at church and this week we invited 3 more people to be baptized who all accepted to do so this month!!! We also found a wonderful family who is already married (FINALLY!) and the husband has drug problems and he saw how a close friend of his completely turned his life around with the gospel and is curious to learn more about how it can be possible for him. His wife seems less interested but I know that this is their shinning moment, he accepted to be baptized and keep meeting with us and he said that he didn´t know why he let us in his house, that he always rejects the people out on the street evangelizing, but that there´s something different about us and he is curious about the Book of Mormon. That was the greatest blessing this week! Something I learned a lot this week is that sometimes as a missionary I feel like I can conquer the world, I wake up with so much motivation and energy to teach the gospel and change peoples lives, I see all the wonderful talents the Lord has blessed me with and how so many events in my life have prepared me for this moment, but other days I go out and feel overwhelmed by our investigators who don´t progress, who don´t understand what we´re teaching them, who have so many personal problems I´ve never experienced, and I see how small the branch is and how much help they need to continue going strong so that they can have their chapel built, and at those times I feel like the dust of the earth, to lowly and piuny to help anyone and make a difference. But this week while I was studying my scriptures in the morning I came across Jacob 4:6-7 (I started reading the BOM again from the beginning and am learning so much!) and these verses just pricked my heart and the Lord explained to me why I have to go through these up´s and downs. He´s given me power and authority to command people in the name of Jesus Christ to act,show their faith, and be baptized, but at the same time he gives me experiences that humble me, that I may know that it is only through Him that I can make these miracles happen and not by my talents or knowledge of the gospel. What a beautiful thing it is to be a humble servant of the Lord at this time. I´ve learned more these 2 months than any EFY, girls camp, or sunday at church combined. The Lord is molding me to be a Gladys I didn´t even know I could be. Before the mission I knew with all my heart that I not only wanted this experince, but that I needed it, and I didn´t know why, but now I understand the why. My patriarchal blessing tells me that I have the potential to become an elect lady, and I never understood that, I thought I already was elect that I was living the gospel and doing everything I possibly could to be a righteous person, but I never could have imagined how much potential was still left in me until now. The Lord has big plans for me, he´s promised me that I´ll be an instrument in his hands and I am allowing Him to mold me and change me into that elect lady he knows I can be, so that I can be an amazing wife, mother, and magnify my callings in church and help serve all those around me. In summation, the mission is challenging, but oh so rewarding, and I love it :)
Prayers your way,
Hna. Gladys Ibarra
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