This week rain welcomed in the winter. It`s rained almost everyday which makes proselyting super fun because it`s something different and because not just anyone is walking around in the rain, only the super special souls the Lord has prepared for us to preach the gospel to! But of course with the drop in temperature I caught a cold and lost my voice so it`s been a little hard to contact and teach. I don`t know if the people are looking at me all wide-eyed because I`m teaching with such power and authority or because they`re trying really hard to understand what I`m saying, hahaha! Nonetheless, whenever my voice gives out my trusty companion Hna.Thomas jumps in and saves me, this is why we preach in two`s!!! Also I`m happy because my feet haven`t hurt at all this week, so either your prayers are working or it`s so cold my feet are numb and I can`t feel the pain, either way it`s awesome! Also, we got a letter from the owner of our house so we have 30 days to find a new place and move or were homeless...awesome! It`s been a good excuse though to talk to random people and contact!
This week we did a couple exchanges with the sister`s in our group. Our first was with Hna.Carhuas from Peru. It was an incredible experience because originally her companion was gonna stay in my sector to work with me but they got confused and Hna.Carhuas brought her stuff to spend the night so we just went with it, little did we know it was a blessing in disguise from the Lord. We went to several appts that night and Hna.Carhuas` powerful testimony and personal experiences helped our investigators and converts so much, they were so grateful for her words and were so uplifted! I knew then it was no accident at all! Then Hna.Quintana came to Renca, she`s my homegirl so we had such a blast together! She`s been struggling with some depression but it did her so much good to work somewhere new and I was able to see that she truly has the ability to do the work, she just needs a companion to love, support and motivate her. Love her to death, she rocked in our lessons!
Besides that this week I`m working on the attribute of Hope which is perfect cause there`s been several challenges with our investigators that were GOLDEN and I need to increase my hope that they`ll progress. David has stopped progressing and has been going out with his buddies to drink and smoke and hasn`t come home until the next morning and things like that. Carolina is super upset and they were thinking of sepperrating. I read Moroni 7 with them about having chairty and loving eachother with the pure love of Christ and that sepperrating was not the solution to their problems. That night I went home feeling guilty...I told myself "I didn`t convince them to get married so they`d get sepperated! Maybe I made a mistake. Maybe I shouldn`t of told them to get married. Now they`re gonna get sepperated and it`s probably my fault in the first place!" I really didn`t know what to think, but I prayed that the Lord would help them look beyond their immperfections, forgive eachother and have the pure love of Christ. The next morning during my personal study the Lord answered the secret pleadings of my heart when I read Ether 12:36-37 "And it came to pass that I prayed unto the Lord that he would give unto the gentiles grace, that they might have charity. And it came to pass that the Lord said unto me: if they have not chairty it mattereth not unto thee, thou hast been faithful; wherefore, thy garments shall be made clean. And because thou hast seen thy weakness thou shalt be made strong, even unto the sitting down in the place where I have prepared in the mansions of my father." I knew then that I didn`t do anything wrong, I invited them to keep a commandment of the Lord and that I did was I was suppossed to do as a representative of Christ and that I shouldn`t feel guilty about that. It`s always a special experience when the Lord speaks so directly to me through the scriptures. It`s happened to me countless of times and each time it`s another testimony that I have a Heavenly Father, He hears and answers my prayers, He loves me and guides me, and the Book of Mormon is His word.
Today for p-day we went bowling with other sisters in the mission, it was so hilarious, we`re all so rusty! It was even funnier to see the latina girls try to play, it was many of them`s first time ever bowling so I was trying to teach them how to throw the ball down the alley. After a couple of gutter balls, slips, falls, and laughs we finally got the hang of it again. My goal was to get one strike which I did so I was happy after that! Hna.Quintana got like 3 and we we`re joking about how this is good preperation to go dating again haha! Oh dear! Can`t even think about that right now, so much to do, so little time! We have a conference with a member of the quorum of the 70 this week, 3 exchanges, and Chile is playing in the World Cup so we have to go in early that night incase they lose or win and the people get CRAY in Renca. People here get drunk on weekdays so I don`t even want to know what it`s like when a soccer game`s on!
This is the last week of the transfer so I`m pretty nervous! I really love where I`m at and my companion Hna.Thomas and don`t want any changes, but it`s what the Lord wants not me, so I`m just trying to enjoy every second I have this week and opening my heart to change for the last time in the mission...kinda nervewrecking to think it`ll be my last transfer. I just want an awesome companion who can work hard and push me even harder to give every ounce of spirit and testimony I have left to these people!!! Love you all!
<3,
Hna.Ibarra
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