Amad a Otros

Mi Familia!

So Grandma and Grandpa are home! Wow! I can't believe that that day I said goodbye to them in the MTC was 18 months ago! Where does the time go? Also, it's been more than a year since I got my call. Texas, San Antonio has been a part of my life for more than a year! Super cool.

It's been raining a lot here, too! Although it sounds like not as much as in Mexico, or even in Utah! I've been enjoying it though. The thunderstorms are one of my favorite things about Texas. That and the giant sky.

This week was hard in a lot of ways, but it was good. It was hard because we struggled finding people who were interested in listening to us. I've had such a different experience in Del Rio than in Riverside. People are just happy where they are and most of the people we teach aren't willing to make us a priority. Not that they couldn't or that they won't change, but it's been frustrating. We spent a LOT of time this past week biking around from house to house, trying anyone we could think of and talking to people in the streets, but we didn't have a lot of success, at least not that we could see. So it was hard, and exhausting. For the first half of the week I was super discouraged and down, but for the last half I decided I'd had enough of that and chose to be positive. It made such a difference! I realized that this is Heavenly Father's work. He's not messing around or wasting time. Whatever I'm doing day to day, it IS worthwhile and it DOES make a difference.

On Saturday we prayed for a miracle. We had just gotten to that point. We decided to go see some menos activos we didn't know, la Familia Hernandez. When we got there there were a million cars in front and our branch mission leader, Hno Cardenas, and the Relief Society President, Hna Riojas, were just pulling up. They told us that Hno Hernandez's mom passed away and they were having some kind of funeral party thing. So we decided to go in. We were welcomed warmly but we felt super awkward and out of place. We offered our condolences to people we didn't know and tried to talk to a lot of people to see if we could find any nonmembers. I was praying that we could figure out whatever it was we needed to do there. Right when we were about to leave because we felt like we didn't have anything else we could do, we started talking to three women in their 20's, the daughters of Hno y Hna Hernandez. They told us they live up in South Austin, in Riverside! I was so excited and we got to talking. They said they used to be really strong in the church but fell away. They've been wanting to come back for a while and they've even tried to wave down the missionaries in Austin before, but they just need some support to go back to church. I was able to invite them to church just like old times (On Oltorf and Parker, right behind the Super Burrito!) and I gave them the missionaries' number and took down their information to give to Hna Rodriguez and her companion up in good old Riverside. Then we saw them in church the next day! It was so exciting! It was cool because at the party they kept saying to us, "I'm so happy! It's finally time." We may not have found people for us to teach, but it was definitely a miracle! 

I've decided I need to have more faith in miracles. Missionary work is a big deal and Heavenly Father's more serious about it than we are. We don't have to convince Him to help us with His own work. But at the same time, we are expected to ask for His help in prayer. I think sometimes I don't pray for something, or at least I don't pray hard enough, because I figure that He's just going to do His will anyway. Just because I don't pray hard enough for someone doesn't mean He's not going to help them. Plus, I don't want to ask for something that's against His will. But if nothing else, me praying for miracles with all my heart gets me on His side. It helps ME focus on His children and believe that miracles can happen for them. That's something I've learned: it's ok to pray for specific things as long as I'm sure that I'm on His side, that I'm not trying to change His mind but that I'm trying to secure blessings that He already has in store for me and my investigators, but that are conditional upon me asking for them (Bible Dictionary right there). Actually, specific prayers--when said with a spirit of "Thy will be done"--are the most powerful and they help you align your will with God's. 

Anyway, prayer is real. I'm starting to realize just how close Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost are to us all the time. And not just missionaries! They love us all more than we can comprehend, and they work for nothing other than our immortality and eternal life. 

I hope you know I love you, but I hope even more that you know Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost love you. Do all you can to let them be a part of every aspect of you life. Like I've said a million times before, do the little things. Draw near unto Him and He will draw near unto you. And read 3 Ne 17:20 together. Or just read the whole chapter. It's definitely one of my favorites. 

I love you all! Have a great week!

Mucho amor,

Hermana Lund