Que es la fe?

Mi familia,

 

My goodness, this week started out slow. We had nothing set and just went by people and knocked and contacted and drove and drove and drove...But it ended up being a good week. We've found some neat people. Some are truly interested and some aren't yet, but we've noticed that a large percentage of the people we talk to show signs of being elect, of being people who will accept the gospel. Maybe not while we're here, but someday. We really are being led to the elect, even if they don't know that's what they are. They are being put in "favorable contact with the gospel" and will recognize it someday.

 

This week I tried to follow anything that even might be a prompting. Because the worst thing that can happen is nothing. One day we were driving down a highway in the middle of nowhere trying to find a referral. We passed the street and had to turn around in front of a trailor. I said, before really even realizing it was a prompting, "We're gonna knock this trailor."

 

So we did. It was really run down. As we walked up to the door we heard some woman yelling that she was going to throw something at someone's head or something. We knocked and a little woman came out. We talked about a living prophet or something and asked if we could come in and teach her and the other people in there more. She said they wouldn't be interested, but ended up letting us in. When she opened the door we smelled smoke and alcohol. There was a little old lady and two men, one of which was completely drunk. As we walked in, I thought to myself that we must be crazy. I even whispered out of the corner of my mouth to Sister Regan, "I'm scared!" Don't worry, we really do try to stay out of dangerous situations. We skip doors when we even kind of feel like we should. But sometimes you just know you'll be protected.

 

Anyway, we went in and sat down. The drunk man was mean and mocking and loud. But I felt strongly impressed to teach them about repentance. It was a powerful lesson. We taught and testified with power and the Spirit was strong. That run-down trailor was a holy place for those couple minutes. We gave them a Book of Mormon and set a return appointment, but we didn't invite them to baptism. I felt constrained from doing that; the drunk man was just too irreverant.

 

It wasn't until we left that I realized how much we had truly been guided and directed there. From stopping to knock on the door, to actually getting in, to teaching and testifying with power, it all felt almost effortless. Like a dream, almost. I have learned that that only happens when divine assistance is involved. We went back for our appointment and they weren't there. I don't think we'll end up teaching them. But I know we were meant to be there that night.

 

Another time this week I felt like we should stop and knock some doors in the middle of nowhere. We found and incredible woman who is totally prepared. We hopefully have another appointment with her tonight.

 

My whole mission seems to have been centered on one thing: faith. I keep thinking I've finally figured out what faith even is, and then I realize there's so much more to it. Or that it's so much more simple. Somehow those two ideas work together perfectly. This week President gave a training called "Faith in Finding." He expounded on an analogy he shared a while ago; I might have already shared it in an email. But I'm going to share it again.

 

Say you're standing at the edge of a cliff. A huge wind comes and blows you off the edge. You manage to grasp a branch sticking out from the cliff and hang there. Then you hear God's voice saying,

 

"Do you believe I made the wind that blew you off the cliff?"

"Yes, yes! I believe, Lord!"

"Do you believe I made the branch that you're holding onto right now?"

"Yes, or course, I believe!"

"Do you believe I can make another wind to blow you back up onto the cliff?"

"YES, of course! I believe!!"

"...Then let go."

 

That's the difference between belief and faith. Are we willing to let go? Do we trust enough in God?

 

President added this part in his training:

 

So you let go. And you fall. And you think, "Hey! Where's the wind?" And you hit the ground. Where is your faith now?

 

We don't have faith in future events. We have hope in future events, and that is important to the growth of our faith. But we have faith in God. Period. When we do exactly what He says and things don't work out the way we had hoped, we STILL have faith in and trust in God. When we're at the bottom of the cliff with two broken legs, we still trust Him. Our faith is outside of our situation. We trust that His ways are higher than ours. And we can always retain the final hope that we will one day be perfected and have eternal life.

 

That really changed the way I think. It's ok to hope for miracles, to hope that today we will find a family that is ready to be baptized. And it's ok to pray for that. But I don't put my faith in that. I put my faith in Christ. I have faith that those things can happen, through Him. But if they don't, my faith isn't shaken. Hope comes from faith and faith comes from hope, but my faith is in Christ and nothing else.

 

I thought that was neat.

 

I love you all! Have a fantastic week and put your faith in the one true source of truth.

 

Con mucho amor,

 

Hermana Lund 

Just Out With It!

Mi Familia,

What a fantastic week. I heard from President 3 times! On Tuesday we had a zone meeting/President interviews, which is always really nice. Then on Friday we had MLC and on Saturday he spoke at our stake conference. He wanted us to be there because we were doing some role-plays with the members, right there in the chapel. Anyway, it was a really good week.

At Stake Conference he showed us really simple, easy statements members can use to share the gospel, with friends and strangers alike. There are: "Would you be willing to listen to a brief message about_____?" (The key words being "willing" and "brief") and "We would love to have you and your family join us at church this Sunday!" Easy, right? And he talked about how we make it SUCH a bigger deal than it is. We think we need to "prepare" our friends for the gospel. But, as Preach My Gospel says, the LORD is preparing his children. We need to have faith that He will put them in our path. 

He told a story about a woman (actually one of Sister Regan's converts) who was working at a blood bank. She was complaining about relationships or something with the man who was giving blood, who was a member and had brought his Ensign to read with him. He said to her, showing her the cover of the Ensign which had a picture or a happy couple, "You need a husband like THIS. You need to come to our church!" And she did! And she got baptized soon after. 

He also talked about his 15-year-old son who felt prompted to invite a rough-looking boy at school to church. When he did so, the boy told him that he was also Mormon, but that he didn't go to church because his dad wasn't a member and he didn't allow him or his mom to go. But the two boys planned together to have the missionaries come over and teach his family. They did come over, but the dad stormed out of the house. A little later, however, the missionaries got a text from him saying that he was sorry, and that he was ready to listen to them. He got baptized this Saturday. 

And President himself talked about an experience he had at a restaurant. His server was a Mexican man who introduced himself as Jesus. President said, "Jesus. I like that name. I've taken that name upon me. (leave it to President to say something like that) Would you be willing to listen to a brief message by some of my missionaries?" The server left the table and came back with his address and phone number written on a card. He said, "I haven't gone to church in a long time. Thank you for inviting me!" See? It isn't that weird! Y'all can do it, too!! 

He also talked about what to do if they say no. Just make it natural! Just say, "Ok, that's fine! How 'bout those Spurs?" (even us missionaries know the Spurs are killing it right now) or, "Ok! Well, just know the invitation's always open." It's only as big of a deal as we make it. And more people will say yes than you'd think.

Switching gears, I wanted to share a couple of my journal entries. The first one was written on November 5, 2013. About my 9-month mark.

"I cannot believe how slowly the work is going here right now. We're honestly about to sipe our investigators completely off of the board and start over. (I then proceed to write a long list of all my investigators and the woes we're experiencing with them.) I feel at a complete loss. Planning and setting goals is awful. I feel like we're scraping the bottom of the barrel. It's impossible to not think you're doing something wrong, especially when the Elders, who work in the exact same area, are thriving. What?! It's hard."

Sorry if that depressed you. Here's one from June 7, 2014, about 7 months later.

"Phew! Missionary work's been a bit rough lately. No progressing investigators, all the members are too busy for anything, and it's HOT. But I've never loved missionary work more. It doesn't hurt that we had MLC yesterday and that I went on an awesome exchange with Sister Breakall, either. Or that we just got back from an INCREDIBLE Stake Conference where President taught. I love being a missionary! I will always be a missionary. It's just the best! It's crazy that you can feel so good and successful with so little to show for it. But we work hard with faith every day. We talk to everyone. We are obedient and strive to improve. I feel successful, and that's because I am!"

Same kind of situation, completely different attitude. What's the difference? I think it's my faith. I have such a stronger conviction now that God is working miracles, even when I can't see it. I trust that He's with me and that He will give me the strength I need to do His work. I know that this church is Christ's church and that I am literally His representative. I still have my moments. I can do more and I can trust more. But my goodness, am I a changed person. It's my constant plea that I can keep what I feel and only build off of it when I get home.

I have so much more I could say! I can't wait to just sit and talk to y'all when I get home. I love you all! Have a fantastic week.

Love,

Hermana Lund

Texas Tornados (almost)

Mi Familia,

What a week. Really long..and short. I should probably just stop trying to fill you in on how time feels. It doesn't ever make any sense.

It rained quite a bit this week! On Tuesday there were tornado warnings. For a little while we were knocking a little neighborhood and it seriously looked like a tornado was forming right above us (I'm slightly exaggerating, Mom, don't worry.) and there was lightning striking within a couple miles all around us with super loud thunder. It was crazy! I was really hoping to see a tornado, but I was disappointed. 

We've been talking to EVERYONE and we're finding people, but they generally aren't sticking around long. That's ok, though. We're looking for those who will receive us, and we'll find them. We did find a really sweet, sincere couple this past week, though. He read 9 chapters of the Book of Mormon in 2 days! And they've been looking for a church! Perfect. It's hard here though, because, since it's so spread out, you can't visit people as often as you can in other areas. So we're hoping to see them again soon and keep teaching them! 

Mari bore her testimony in church yesterday! It was such a sweet, sincere testimony and that soul-filling joy that I've been so spoiled with these past 16 months hit me again. I was grinning from ear to ear. It reminded me of a quotation from Heber J. Grant:

"I believe there is nothing in all the world that can compare with the joy that a man feels when he realizes that he has been the instrument in the hands of the living God of reaching some honest heart, inspiring in it a love of God and the desire to serve Him."

Truth.

I've been surprised to see that, the further I get into my mission, the more I've knocked and contacted. It's not that I've stopped doing those other more effective things, it's just that we've learned how to teach shorter, more powerful lessons and to fill in the time talking to anyone and everyone. I don't make excuses and I actually want to talk to everyone. That's not to say that there aren't times (daily) that I just really don't feel like talking to another stranger on the street, but I've become a missionary who talks to everyone, and for more than just because I know I should. Which is really cool because I specifically prayed and fasted for that a month or two ago. God really does hear you and He will change you into the person you desire to be. It starts with a lot of "fake it til you make it," but He'll always make sure you make it. Honestly, I'm still not there. There's a lot I still want to add and become before my mission ends. And I'm sure I won't feel completely "fulfilled" when I go home. But that's ok, because I won't be! There will still be so much to do and learn. 

Life's good. I'm tired, I'm uncomfortable, and I'm happy.

Love you all! Have a good week!

Hermana Lund

My Heart Belongs to Texas

Mi Familia,

Good week. It's been raining quite a bit lately, which is good because it's been really humid. The air is finally just braking and letting it all go. Oh, yep...there's the thunder, just now. :) Thank goodness. Heat is one thing but humidity can be just downright uncomfortable. 

Our mission has some very specific goals for this transfer since a ginormous group of missionaries will be going home this transfer and the next. President has scattered all us old people all over, even creating some split zone leaderships where the zone leaders are in two separate companionships, so we can "spread our music" before we're all gone. It's pretty smart, actually. 

Anyway, as a mission we're focusing hard on 3 things in exchanges, district meetings, zone meetings, and other trainings. We're focusing on effective and meaningful nightly planning, effective and meaningful morning studies like Preach my Gospel outlines, and on teaching short & powerful lessons, especially the Restoration. When the Mission Department visited our mission they taught us how to teach the Restoration with the pamphlet in less than 10 minutes, asking them what they see in the pictures and teaching according to their answers. It's POWERFUL. I used to think teaching simply meant making sure they understood every little detail. But simplicity means focusing on short, clear declarations of pure doctrine, cutting out the fluff so the Spirit can testify. It has made such a difference in our teaching. We've had a lot more opportunities to teach people we meet on the street right there and we can see very quickly if they're interested or not. Usually they're not. But that's ok because the sooner we figure that out, the sooner we can move on to find those who truly are ready to receive us.

So all this rain and thunder outside is reminding me of a couple weeks ago after I was so sad to be transferred. We were driving home and it started just down-pouring. We were both in kind of a bad mood and, even though we both would always talk about how much we loved the rain and wanted a Texas thunderstorm, we just weren't in the mood for it at the moment. We ran out of the car to get the mail and I was annoyed to be running through the rain. But then I thought, "Wait a minute, I love the rain!" and suddenly I realized how cool it was to be out there stuck in the rainstorm. Such is life, such is the mission. You love it when you're not stuck in it, when you're looking back on it or looking forward to it. But the trick is to learn how to love it when you're in it. It's the storms that make life meaningful and interesting. It's the storms that make it a challenge, that make it fun. 

Anyway, the mission is good. Exciting and monotonous, heartbreaking and overflowingly happy, frustrating and miraculously smooth, way too slow and way too fast. And all good.

Love you all! Have a fantastic week and find the good in the bad.

Hermana Lund

Stereotypical Texas

Mi Familia,

 

I'm in Pleasanton! It's a middle-of-nowhere, 300-square-mile area south of San Antonio. I'm with Hermana Regan, who was in my MTC district! We cover an English ward and a Spanish branch. It's the first time I haven't shared a ward with other missionaries. We are literally the only missionaries for everyone within the enormous bounderies of our ward and branch. It's fun!

 

This area is completely different from any other area I've ever been in. Right now we're actually living 30 miles out of our area so we drive a TON. In a truck! So fun. I can't begin to tell you how beautiful it is. There are quaint little towns like Lytle, Von Ormy, Pleasanton, and Poteet, and there's lots of country. There are horses, donkeys, goats, and cows (lots of longhorns, even) everywhere. It's the stereotypical Texas area, the area I always wanted to serve in but didn't think I ever would. It's great!

 

 The people are great; the English speakers aren't necessarily hicks--more like bumpkins, as Hermana Regan calls them. I LOVE all of them will all my heart already. The Spanish branch is tiny. There were maybe 20 of us in sacrament meeting. There were 6 of us in Relief Society, including us missionaries. I have already been appointed piano player for everything, and one of the leaders of the primary/nursery pulled me out towards the end of Relief Society to play some music in there. There were 2 leaders, 3 kids, and a baby. We along with the leaders, one of the girls, and the baby all gathered around the piano to sing songs while the other girl cried and clung to the dress of one of the leaders and the little boy threw a little fit on the other side of the room. Haha, it was so different and fun. I've excited to get to know everyone in the branch really well.

 

And Mari's in this ward!! She's living with her mom right now and I saw her yesterday in church! It was her first time coming to this ward. It was so good to see her again. I'm so lucky!

 

This area requires a different kind of work. It's hard to visit and find people because everythings so spread out. And if you find someone but they don't have connections to members it's hard to get them to go to church because it's a good 50 miles away for some of them. We're trying to get to know all the members and work through them by stopping by for quick 20-minute lessons and helping them do their own missionary work and to learn about their family & friends, and in the meantime we knock whatever doors we can when we get to an area that actually has more than one house every 20 acres. But even most of those are gated and have very scary dogs and NO TRESPASSING signs that must be taken seriously. These people are private folk and it makes it a little difficult. But I have no doubt it can be done. I can see that there's a ton of potential here. My goal for this area is to never get discouraged and to just keep working hard. There isn't enough time for anything else; I'm leaving soon!

 

And we have been working really hard. It feels so good. I don't know exactly what happened, but Lake Austin was the area where I finally became the missionary I always wanted to be. It took about 15 months of non-stop effort and prayers, but I feel like I'm there. Obviously I have plenty of ways that I can improve, but my mindset is where I want it to be. I have no fear of talking to anyone. I WANT to talk to everyone. I have faith in God's promises and know we'll see miracles. I know that I have the constant companionship of the Spirit, and I know I have power and authority to do what I'm doing. And I recognize the miracles that happen every day. The mission is fantastic and I'm so happy to be here. 

 

I love you all! Have a fantastic week.

 

Hermana Lund

Never Feel Comfortable

Mi Familia!

It was so good to talk to you yesterday! It felt totally normal. I'm afraid that when I come home it will just felt like I've woken up from a crazy, crazy dream. :)

I'm being transferred. I can't believe it! I did NOT see that one coming. Sister Egbert is staying for her 5th transfer here! This will mean that, best case scenario, I'll have three 2-transfer areas right at the end. 

I am SO sad to leave Lake Austin. By far my favorite area. I love these people so much more than they will ever know! I wish I could stay here and gain stronger relationships with them. But I guess there's more to missionary work that making friends. 

It's ok, though. I know and Heavenly Father knows that my greatest, purest desire is to serve Him in any way that He wants.I know He knows that I will do ANYTHING He wants, no matter what it is. I mean it with all my heart! So, I guess I'm leaving. 

You better believe I'll be giving it all I have in this new area. I want to squeeze all the juice I still have out of me these last two transfers. I'm leaving it all on the court. I'm excited!

I love you all! Have a fantastic week!

Hermana Lund

Seeing All the Colors

Mi Familia!

I have seriously been feeling guilty lately. It feels like P-day is every day; I'm taking too many breaks! Time is just flying too fast. Plus, we had MLC on Thursday and tomorrow we're having our first ever sisters' conference almost all day in San Antonio. We get to go to a temple session with President and Sister Slaughter! I feel way too spoiled. I think it will definitely be an adjustment going home. I'm going to have to find a lot of people to visit and to give Book of Mormons to if I'm going to feel of any use at all.

MLC this week was incredible. Two representatives from the church mission department came and spoke to us. They gave our mission a lot of praise and opened our minds to better ways of doing missionary work. Basically they told us to get back to the basics. It's ridiculous--as missionaries we are taught and trained in the beginning how to plan, work, and study in a very simple and thorough way. But somewhere along the way we decide that we have a better way of doing things and start doing it that way. But they showed us how the simple ways we were taught are really the best ways. And since most of us are pretty seasoned missionaries, we were able to see how much more effective it really is to do things the way we were taught in the first place, since we have months of experience of doing it "our way" to contrast it to. 

Also, Sister Slaughter shared an experience about when she was younger. She's almost completely color blind, and when she was learning ROYGBIV in school she was surprised to learn that the rainbow had 7 colors. She had always thought that it had only 2: blue and yellow. But her mom assured her that, yes, there really were 7 colors. And she just had to take it and believe it. She says she remembers taking her test at school and spelling out "red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet," just taking in full faith what her mom and teacher had taught her. 

That's what it often is like for us. We don't see all the colors and we have to trust those who do. She compared it to the apostles who wrote Preach My Gospel. They know and see far more than we do, and the source from which they got that knowledge knows even more than that. But it applies to everything. Is it really necessary to read from the Book of Mormon every day? To have Family Home Evening every week? To actively share the gospel with those around us? To pray always? To go to church and be faithful in our callings? To stay away from coffee and tea, to keep our thoughts and words pure, to stay away from television or music that doesn't uplift, to dress modestly, to have food storage, to listen to Conference, to do Family History, to pay a full tithe? Is it really important? Yep, it is. Why? Because prophets and apostles counsel us to do it. Because God said to do it. Sometimes we don't get much more of a reason than that. But we have faith in God and trust His judgement. And we do it His way.

I have prayed so many time on my mission for things I didn't end up getting. I still have progress to make, but now I'm much better at accepting God's will because I've seen how His judgement has always been better than mine. I don't worry about transfers anymore because I know that He knows what I want more than I know what I want. Sometimes it takes some serious self-talk to convince myself that I trust God's judgement, and I have to remember the simple truths I know for sure: God loves me, He wants me to be happy, He always answers prayers, and He always keeps His promises. 

Missions are hard and, I'll admit it, I think about going home at least a little bit every day. But I've gotten to the point in my mission (15 months tomorrow!) where I can really look back and see the hand of the Lord. I have felt more pure joy on my mission that at any other time of my life. It's not something you feel all the time, but it comes up often enough for you to fall on your knees and just thank Heavenly Father for everything, good and bad. I've received so much more than I've given, and I know that that will become more apparent as time goes on.

We doubt not the Lord nor His goodness; We've proved Him in days that are past. :)

I love you all! Have a fantastic week!

Hermana Lund

And...The Heat is Here!

Mi familia!

This week has been good and eventful. And hot. The heat is here and no one has, or at least uses, air conditioning. I had gotten comfortable and begun to forget last summer. Now it's all coming back to me. At least I won't get the worst of it, come August!

This week we found 3 people/families who are that type you only hear stories about, the Justin/Mari-type who accept it without reservation. Two were referrals from members, and one we ran into on our way out of a member's house..they literally were right there. We've passed two of them off to the English wards after teaching a first lesson and setting them with baptismal dates, but that's totally fine with me. We're also teaching Rocio, a referral from a family in our ward. Rocio cuts Hermana Gutierrez's hair and last week at her salon Rocio was asking all kinds of questions. I guess the los Gutierrez gave her a Book of Mormon about a year and a half ago and they've always tried, but it wasn't until this week that they told the missionaries about her. Hermana Gutierrez told us that we HAD to go get our hair cut by her immediately, that we couldn't wait until P-day. (It probably would have been easier for her to have just invited us all to her house, but whatever. Haha.) So we went the next day to the salon, and she cut our hair as we talked about the Restoration. She told us to meet her at Hermana Gutierrez's house the next day at 12:30 to teach her more. So we did! And she told US that she would like to be baptized before we could even invite her! We had another lesson with her this morning and she told us that it all fit with what she already believed. She was raised Jehovah's Witness but never really believed it whole-heartedly. She is incredible. She also has a 10-year-old daughter and a husband who we haven't met, but are trying to meet. Her husband apparently isn't that interested, but we'll see. ;)

Being a missionary is the coolest thing. When it's done right, you see that you really haven't done anything at all. Heavenly Father is doing all of it, and He's just nice enough to give you a front-row seat every once in a while. Every day, actually. It's the greatest.

Oh! And I just found out that Seth, the one from Del Rio who was so close to baptism, FINALLY got baptized! Somehow Sister Ludeman got to be there and she sent me pictures.

Also, I went on exchanges with Hermana Rodriguez this week! She and Hermana Clark are companions. :) It was so nice to spend the day with her and be able to communicate to her in Spanish so much more smoothly. It was a good day for me to see my progress. She is an incredible missionary. We had a good day.

I love you all! Go out and be missionaries yourselves and tell me all about it next week!

Mucho amor y besitos,

Hermana Lund

We've Proved Him in Days That Are Past

Mi familia,

It's been another great week. It's a good time of year to be in Austin..minus the allergies. Thank goodness for Zyrtec, Afrin, and Benadryl. 

This week we found a lot of new investigators! One is Erika's sister-in-law. She and Erika's brother (who is a member, but only because his sister agreed to pay him $20...which she never did, by the way..hahahaha) are really trying to turn their lives around. She told Erika she wanted to be baptized before we even met her. We've only been able to meet with her once, though. But we're seeing her tonight, so we'll see how they're doing. 

We also have begun teaching a family who's been taught a lot in the past. Hermana Morales is a member but not active. Her husband and 2 teenage kids aren't members but know a whole lot. Both Hermana y Hermano want to be sealed with their family in the temple. So...you'd think they'd just get baptized. I guess they've had some bad experiences at church before so it isn't clicking that easily in their heads. But we had an incredible lesson with them this week and they love having us over. We just need to get them to church and feel the Spirit and they'll be set.

We found another family of 5, all over the age of 8. We had a good lesson with them. We have another lesson tonight with them, so we'll see how that goes, too.

We had a zone conference this week. President didn't have a lot of structure for the meeting, we mostly just discussed things that were on our minds and he taught us like you wouldn't believe. I learned so much about revelation and following the Spirit and it's changing the way I work. President is incredible. I'm edified every time I'm around him.

I got to go on exchanges with Sister King! It was fun to teach with her now that we both have so much more of a grasp on the language, the doctrine, and the teaching skills. And it was so great to be together and talk about good times in Riverside. It's so crazy what we did there together! We were both so new when we were left on our own--she had only been in Texas for 10 weeks and I had only been out for 6. We didn't speak Spanish and we didn't know almost any techniques for missionary work. We were SO scared driving home from that transfer meeting. But we just worked! We worked SO hard. And we had so much fun! And we saw miracles. Now looking back I can see how unqualified we were to do what we did. But it didn't matter. God made us instruments in His hands and He did His work through us. I still don't feel qualified to do what I'm doing. But somehow it always seems to work out. 

Last night I had a thought: if there's 84,000 missionaries, that means there's 42,000 companionships. If every companionship taught or talked to 5 people yesterday, that's more than 200,000 people who were taught about the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. And that doesn't even count the members who talked to their neighbors or posted something on Facebook or gave someone a Book of Mormon. Hundreds of thousands of people come closer to Christ each day. I'm beginning to understand that I'm such a small part of this. It isn't about my mission, about how many baptisms I have or how many lives I change. We're all on the same team. God's team. Yes, He could do it if I wasn't here. His work of salvation would still roll forward. But Iam here. He lets me be a part of His work and He lets me see the blessings of it. I'm part of bringing to pass His work and His glory, and I'm being changed along the way. Pretty cool.

I love you all! Have a great week and be good.

Love,

Hermana Lund

FINALLY, Some Texas Thunder!

Mi Familia!

It's been raining SO hard this morning and thunder is cracking outside. I LOVE it. Reason #784 why this is the greatest mission in the world. 

It's been a good week. We haven't had a lot of action going on, but we work hard anyway. And yesterday we got a ton of referrals from Erika's family. Apparently her sister wants to meet with us and already wants to get baptized. And her brother, who just got out of jail, is turning his life around and was at church yesterday. His "wife" and daughter want to learn more, too. And Erika's husband's heart is softening a lot. Also, Yoanna and Melvin fasted with us yesterday to be able to get married soon so she can get baptized. Since she's 17 (yep.) her dad has to be present, I guess. And they don't know when he'll be able to come down here. But she's so ready and it's totally going to happen. 

I've learned so much these past couple days. Somehow the weekends are always my time for epiphanies. I've praying for help with a lot of things lately. They're righteous desires, and I've had complete faith that there can be immediate change. But..it just hasn't happened that way. I've learned that faith is more than a confidence in seeing miracles. It's also being confident in the Lord and His timing. Sometimes I can't see a good reason why He wouldn't answer my prayers right away and in the way I want. But then I look back and I can see the wisdom in it. He truly knows. He gets it. And He gives us what's best for us. 

This morning I was re-reading David A. Bednar's talk from this Conference. It hit me hard then, but it meant just that much more reading it this morning. I love this quotation: "Most of us know that when we do things wrong and need help to overcome the effects of sin in our lives, the Savior has made it possible for us to become clean through His redeeming power. But do we also understand that the Atonement is for faithful men and women who are obedient, worthy, and conscientious and who are striving to become better and serve more faithfully?"

And then when he says, "The Savior has suffered not just for our sins and iniquities--but also for our physical pains and anguish, our weaknesses and shortcomings, our fears and frustrations, our disappointments and discouragement, our regrets and remorse, our despair and desperation, the injustices and inequities we experience, and the emotional distresses that beset us.

"There is no physical pain, no spiritual wound, no anguish of soul of heartache, no infirmity or weakness you or I ever confront in mortality that the Savior did not experience first. In a moment of weakness we may cry out, 'No one knows what it is like. No one understands.' But the Son of God perfectly knows and understands, for He has felt and borne our individual burdens. And because of His infinite and eternal sacrifice, He has perfect empathy and can extend to us his arm of mercy. He can reach out, touch, succor, heal, and strengthen us to be more than we could ever be and help us to do that which we could never do relying only upon out own power. Indeed, His yoke is easy and His burden is light."

He talks about us learning to pray for strength to "learn from, change, or accept our circumstances rather than praying relentlessly for God to change our circumstances according to our will," thus becoming "agents who act rather than objects that are acted upon." The Atonement is not meant to magically wipe away all sorrow and responsibility. It is meant to change us, to enable us to reach our potential. Christ literally went before us when He descended below all things. He has already been there, He experienced it first. And as we take His yoke upon us by making and keeping sacred covenants with Him, we are only joining Him, and He will see us through.

I love my Savior more now than I ever have in my life. I know His Atonement is real. There have been several times on my mission when I have literally called down His strength from His Atonement. And every time I have received it, in that very moment. It is real, it is always there, for every person and in every moment.

I'm so grateful to be a missionary. It's exactly what I need at this point in my life. I wouldn't want to be anywhere else. 

I love you all!

Hermana Lund

An Attitude of Gratitude

Mi Familia!

I think someone is stealing days out of the weeks. Last P-day was no more than 2 days ago. What a week it was, though. Especially Conference. My goodness, it's better than Christmas. I can't wait to read the talks again. I especially loved President Uchtdorf's talk. An attitude of gratitude. That concept makes so much more sense to me now. Sometimes it truly is hard to find things to be grateful for, and you don't really feel like thanking God for the air. But just learning to be a grateful person, to be constantly praising God for His goodness, to always have an eternal perspective and faith that all truly is well is what will lead to happiness. As he spoke, I was overcome with thanksgiving. I offered a prayer that consisted of nothing other than the words "thank you." That was all I said, but it was one of the most powerful prayers I've ever experienced. There really is no reason to do anything but rejoice. 

I loved the theme of obedience that seemed to weave it's way into everything. God's way never changes. There's the right and the wrong to every question, and the right always leads to happiness. How many times did we hear the 3rd Article of Faith? "We believe that, through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel." And like Elder Bednar said, as we yoke ourselves to Christ through sacred covenants, we are enabled to obey, to press forward, to repent, to change, and to return to our Father in Heaven to live in eternal families. 

Sorry, I don't have a whole lot else to say today. I know the priesthood and church of Jesus Christ have been restored to the earth. I know that He paid the price for our sins so we can be forgiven and receive eternal life. I know the Book of Mormon is the word of God and that Joseph Smith was his chosen prophet to restore His gospel. 

Love you all! Have a good week!

Bluebells, Indian Paintbrush, and the Giant Texas Sky

Mi Familia,

I. Love. Texas. I have fallen head-over-heels in love with it. My goodness, you wouldn't believe how beautiful it is here. There's some big, wide-open places out here, with bright green glass, a huge blue sky, and wildflowers of blue, red, and yellow scattered everywhere. Texas has my heart.

We got transfer calls yesterday...and we're both staying!!! We are SOOO happy. Seriously, we are such a good companionship. We work hard, we expect miracles, we are obedient, and we have faith. We're ready to just break through the ceiling this transfer. Especially being in this area. It is white and ready to harvest. I am so excited for this transfer.

Jose did get confirmed yesterday. Apparently his step-dad (he's actually not even that, since he's not even married to his mom) offered to take him to Chuckie Cheese during church. He's 13, what do you think he's going to pick? But he felt really bad afterwards. But anyway, he's confirmed and will be an incredible missionary someday. Also, Carlitos bore his testimony in sacrament meeting. They both have an incredible future ahead of them.

We were able to go to the temple on Friday with Erika, Carlitos' mom who was baptized in January. The bishop and his wife, Hno. Sanchez, Hna. Castor, y Hno. y Hna. Aguilera went with us. We had planned to take a huge group of recent converts but no one else could get work off. But it was still so worth it just with Erika. She is pure and strong. She had such a good time and recognized the Spirit she felt. 

Did all you women watch Women's Conference? If not, watch it this second on lds.org. I loved it. It was especially neat since Hermana Egbert and I have been studying covenants lately. Covenants are such a blessing to us. They give us an opportunity to use our agency for good, and to increase in doing so every day. The more we keep our covenants, the more we are blessed with the Holy Ghost and the more we learn. The more we learn, the more power and joy we receive, until we have obtained all the Father hath. If we could only comprehend the blessings that await us, I am thoroughly convinced that we would not be able to contain ourselves from praising God and proclaiming His gospel in every moment of every day. He sure does love us. 

This week has been hard for me, and consequently, very rewarding. I have learned the importance of CHOOSING to have faith. Truth never changes and we are to hold onto the rock that is the source of all truth: Jesus Christ and His gospel. We are to hold onto the things we know, the things that never change. I know God loves me and that He always answers prayers. I know that He has promised that He will grant me anything I pray for as long as I am being obedient and it is according to His will. I know He always keeps His promises, and I know He has promised me all that He has. So, I will push aside everything else that holds me back. I will press forward and work hard with a sure confidence that He is there and He will help me. Let Him answer my prayers in the way and timing that He thinks is best. The greatest blessing of obedience is the conviction you receive that GOD WILL KEEP HIS PROMISES WITH YOU. And he already has for me, more than I can explain and more than I'm sure I understand.

I can't wait for Conference. Better than Christmas. Everyone watch it and write me back what you learned! 

I love you all! The mission is the best and I don't want to be anywhere else. 

Hermana Lund

What is this, like week 60 or something?

Mi familia,

Once again, the fastest week of my mission. This is getting ridiculous. We missionaries have absolutely no perception of time. Someday I'm just going to find myself at home and I'm not going to know what happened. I've been having dreams about going home, actually. Last night I dreamed that I had classes at 11 and 12, but I forget to go to them because I wasn't used to having school. I was sooooooo frustrated! I also had a dream that I tried to do everything I could to keep busy at home, and then I looked at the clock and it was only 6:30 in the morning. Haha, hopefully the adjustment to home will be a bit better than that.

The baptisms went well on Saturday! Carlitos' and Jose's moms shared some really powerful testimonies. Erika, Carlitos' mom, is incredible. She was baptized in January. We're taking her to the temple on Friday along with some other members of our ward to do baptisms for the first time! She got her recommend yesterday and was so proud to show it to us. She is a strong, strong woman. Now we just need to soften her husband's heart more so he can get baptized and be the priesthood leader in their home, so they can be an eternal family. Seriously, being a missionary is incredible.

The baptisms went great, but yesterday Jose and his family never showed up for church for him to be confirmed. Erika got a text from him that said he couldn't go to church that day, but didn't say anything else. We still have no idea what happened. We wonder if it could have something to do with Clara's husband...Jose is fine and we'll get him confirmed. We would just like to know what's going on.

Saturday was SUCH a crazy day. We had our baptism and then we had to go to a child-of-record baptism later that day to play piano. They both started really late because we were waiting for people to get there, and I just played piano the whole time. Between the prelude, the musical numbers, and the hymns, I probably played every song in the Children's Hymnbook and the normal hymn book. And then yesterday we had to play piano for primary. I seriously never wanted to play piano again. Which is saying a lot because I love playing piano for that kind of thing! 

Oh! And we're teaching a piano class on Thursday's now! This Thursday was the second week we did it. We get quite a few people there; we had 11 on Thursday! Haha, we had to teach it in the overflow room because EVERYONE was there that night, from people planning for a ward garage sale to cub scouts to a relief society activity. But it went well and people loved it! We're really only teaching members right now but we're trying to get them to bring their friends so we can use it as a finding activity.

These past couple weeks have seriously been so good for me, looking back. I have learned so much about who I am and what on Earth I'm doing out here. I don't even want to try to explain what I've felt and learned, because it's just impossible. Let's just say that the mission is a miracle. The Spirit is literally constant. I've gotten to the point where I can honestly feel and recognize it in every moment. I am constantly being refined and sanctified by His influence. There is no other way to describe it than as a miracle. 

I know without a doubt I'm going to be different when I come home. In the way I talk, the way I dress, the music I listen to and the TV I watch, the way I spend my time...none of this was bad before my mission, but I have such a deeper understanding of and conversion to this gospel. I want to keep every commandment because I've seen first hand that the only way to happiness is through obedience. I want to do everything in my power to obey the Lord in all things. I've seen the Atonement work in so many different instances throughout my mission, but the life in which I've seen it make the most changes is my own. I am so grateful for that.

I love you all! Keep the commandments and be happy! Have a fantastic week.

Love,

Hermana Lund

Un Ano en Texas

Mi Familia,

Good week. We had one exchange (Mom, tell Sister Turpin's mom she's doing great; she's already an incredible missionary!), President interviews, and the Elders who are also in our ward had a baptism on Saturday. Our area is really doing well. That was the 4th baptism this month in our ward. 

And Hermana Egbert and I are having 2 more on Saturday! They're both kids. Jose is 13 and has been coming to church for a while. His mom, Clara, is a member but his dad isn't and he only just barely got permission. His dad isn't a bad man (or so I've heard, I haven't actually met him), he just isn't interested at all. But anyway, we were having a lesson with him, his mom, and his little siblings the other day. Clara's sister Erika was there, along with her 3 young kids. Erika was baptized last month and is incredibly strong in the gospel. Her husband is not such a great man and has refused for a while to let 10-year-old Carlitos get baptized. But in our lesson we were talking about baptism and Carlitos said something like, "When can I get baptized?" We said, "Oh, you know, someday you'll get baptized.." but we looked at Erika and she said that her husband had given permission! Yay! So both boys are getting baptized together this Saturday. We're so excited! We really wish we could teach the dad, but he really just won't have it. Not yet, at least. I met him for the first time yesterday when we went over and we just shook his hand and were really nice. Little by little. Erika's faith is incredible and she'll see miracles.

It blows my mind how strong some of these members are. This is definitely the highest-functioning Spanish ward I've seen. Stronger than a lot of English wards I've seen. There are a lot of people who have next to nothing, but they are so humble and so converted. They are always willing to help one another. We have a lot of returned missionaries in our ward, even the women. The converts usually stay strong and really add to the ward. It's so fun to get to know and love everyone. 

Last night we went to visit Hermana Castor, one of the members we're really close with. She just had surgery. We were at the Espinosa's trailer with Hermana y Hermano Espinosa, Hermana y Hermano Aguilera, Hermana Castor, y Hermano Sanchez. All are strong, endowed members; Hermano Sanchez just went through the temple on Saturday. We sat and talked about temples and stuff. It was so great! Just being in a room with people like that was so humbling and made me really excited for heaven.

The language is getting a lot easier. When I got here I feel like I had all the potential energy boxed up from stuff I had learned while in an English area. It took a while for me to access it when I first got to Lake Austin, but then it just started spilling out. I can understand and speak with very little trouble. I understand what people are saying, so when I hear them say something differently than i would have, I can learn from it and apply it when I speak. Except for some reason I still have the hardest time understanding Spanish on the phone! That's the next step.

Oh my goodness, and guess what! Justin got baptized last week and Mari is getting baptized this Saturday! They broke up; I don't know all the details. But I am SOOOO happy!! Mari wrote me and said she reads her scriptures first thing every morning and she's memorizing scriptures so she can always have them with her. Oh my goodness, I'm so happy. I love them so much. 

It's neat when you get this far into your mission and can see the delayed fruits of your labors from earlier in your mission. From what I hear, Carlos is doing well. He moved back to San Antonio so I don't see him when I go to Riverside for exchanges. Robert isn't doing well, though. It breaks my heart. But he'll be fine.

Wow, this letter got really long really fast. And I'm not writing even close to all the things I'd like to tell you. We will just have to spend hours sitting and talking when I get home. At the cabin, of course.

Love you all! Have a great week!

Hermana Lund

Ocupadas!

Mi Familia!

Wow. What a week. We had two exchanges and MLC in San Antonio. And a

baptism on Saturday! Gigi got baptized. :) She's part of a giant

family from the Riverside ward that I got really close to while I was

there, so it was fun to see all of them again.

MLC was fantastic. Seriously, President Slaughter is incredible. No

doubt he'll be an apostle someday. He's so focused on us and helping

us become completely firm in the gospel. His view goes so much past

the mission. He's making is into life-long church leaders. He expects

perfect obedience, but he leaves a lot up to our judgment. Just about

always, when someone asks him is something is okay, he says, "Is it in

harmony with the sacredness of your calling?" He's an incredible

example to us. Haha, I just have to laugh at all the elders. They

respect him SO much. They all want to be him. They want to have the

same scriptures as him, study the same way he does, and they ALL want

to be dentists like him. They have game plans of how they can know as

much as he knows in 20 or 30 years. The elders in our district say

that, when they have a question about if something is okay, like with

what they wear of something, they think, "Is it good enough for

President Slaughter?" and they act accordingly.

President keenly understands that there just isn't room for nonsense

in the church anymore. We can't be only partially in it any longer.

It's like President Holland said, we have to pick a team and stop

dribbling out of bounds. There's no more room to just go through the

motions, to grow and learn at a natural, slow pace. We've got to pick

it up. The whole church has got to pick it up. I've never been firmer

in my testimony and conversion than I am now, but I will never, ever

again be at this low of a spiritual level. I will grow more and more

every day. I'm nervous to come home because it's not as easy to

actively serve God and keep His commandments, but when August 7th

comes, I will still be working to be better, to know more, to have a

stronger conviction than I had the day before. I'll hit the ground

running and I'll never turn back.

I can't begin to express how much I love my Heavenly Father and my

Savior. They have done so much for me and the people I love, and I

will do anything for them. When I see them again I will stand tall in

confidence that I have honored Them and served Them and loved Them

with all my heart, might, mind, and strength.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is God's kingdom on

earth. Jesus Christ is the Savior of all mankind. Joseph Smith was a

prophet of God, through whom Christ restored His church. The Book of

Mormon is the word of God, containing the fullness of the gospel. The

Priesthood of God is restored to the world, making possible the saving

covenants and ordinances of the gospel. We have living prophets and

apostles today, with the authority and power to direct God's work.

There is no doubt anywhere inside of me that all this is true.

I love you all! Have a great week, and make sure to be better than you

are now the next time you write me! :)

Con amor,

Hermana Lund

Day #361

Mi Familia,

What a great week!! Definitely the fastest of my mission. It was so fast that I didn't even have time to think that it was going quickly before it was over. I had my first exchange as an STL on Saturday. We had a really good time and worked hard. We're going to have an even faster week this week: we have exchanges on Tuesday and Thursday (I get to go back to Riverside--my first area--on Tuesday!!), MLC (the monthly meeting for STL's and Zone Leaders with President..I am SO excited) in San Antonio on Friday, and a baptism on Saturday. We have a ton of lessons on Wednesday and we don't even have any room to do our weekly planning! It's going to be crazy and I'm so excited!

I LOVE Hermana Egbert. We have so much fun. And we work so hard. It feels incredible. We relate really well to each other, and we talk & laugh a lot. And our district is amazing. I've served with all but one of them before (he's brand new); it's like a mixture of all my favorite districts I've ever been in all in one. I'm just happy where I am in my mission. I'm not wishing time away (usually, haha), I'm just happy were I am. I love it.

Last week a man and his wife came to church randomly. He's a member but he's never been active and she isn't a member. They have a tiny baby. He's 35 and she's 19..which I guess is much more normal in Honduras. They live in a tiny, dirty, old RV on the property of some pretty sketchy men off of the highway..but they're moving into an apartment next week.  Anyway, they just moved here a couple weeks ago and they looked up the church online and came. They said they'd been wanting to for a long time. Melvin (the husband) says he has a testimony of Joseph Smith, the Book of Mormon, and of the Church being the true church of Jesus Christ. She just believes everything we tell her. She really wants to be baptized. They came to church yesterday again. Considering they really are married, she should be baptized in a couple weeks. She's so sweet and genuine and I love her! 

The people here are so nice to us, and they feed us non-stop. At least the Sisters. They love us, for some reason. It probably doesn't hurt that Sister King was here last. Anyway, we have dinners planned almost every night, and on the rare day we don't have one we still don't plan a dinner at home because we ALWAYS find food. One day this week we didn't have a dinner planned but I said to Hermana Egbert, "God will provide." Haha, we had chicken soup (we asked for un poquiquiquiquito and she gave us a whole bowl with a drumstick just sitting in there) when we visited a less active. Then in our next lesson we had a full-on meal of two chicken dishes, rice, and beans. THEN we stopped by another member's house and she fed us MORE chicken, beans, rice, and biscuits. It was rediculous. And just to add to it, we had gone to Chik-fil-a with some sisters we're over for lunch that day. We definitely got our protein. And we got 100000000000x the necessary daily intake of oil.

I loved our mission Book of Mormon study this week. That book is powerful. It's purity and truth just ooze from it's pages. The Spirit is present every time I read it. I love it. There's so much material you can study, but all I ever really want to do now is read the Book of Mormon.

I love you all! Have a fantastic week!

Love,

Hermana Lund

La Luz de La Verdad

Mi familia querida!

It's been a good week. Things were pretty crazy there for a while, but we've been able to get most of it figured out. Thank goodness. Anyway...Justin and Mari and Richard are doing great!! They were at church again yesterday (or course), Justin and Richard wearing white shirts and ties that I'm pretty sure Richard and Mari's dad gave them. They just fit right in. 

We had one of those unforgettable lessons with them on Thursday. We had been praying and thinking a lot about it before we went, because we've just about finished the lessons and it's really time for them to make some solid decisions. Justin and Mari scared me almost to the point of a heart attack when they said they had something to say. I would never have survived if they had said it wasn't worth it anymore. But they didn't say that, thank goodness. They said that they have been thinking and praying a LOT about what they should do. One of them can't very easily move out because they're all starting a business together, plus they're already basically a family with Mari's daughter and everything. Mari still wants a pretty, well-planned wedding, but she says that she knows she can't put that before being baptized. We talked a lot about prayers and the Holy Ghost and receiving answers, all of which was what we had planned, but we taught it completely differently according to what the Spirit prompted and what they were telling us. (I LOVE lessons like that.) 

Richard also opened up a lot about how he really believes it and wants to be baptized, but something keeps making him want to put it off. He said he just really needed to talk to his dad. (Sometimes I forget that he's just 20.) His dad was up this weekend to work in the temple so I hope he did. He really should get baptized soon. Oh yeah, and he's gotten to be really good friends with one of our ward missionaries, Brother Cook. He's texted him some questions he's had. Exactly what a missionary wants to see, because we aren't here for long.

That night Mari and Richard texted us to say that they're thinking about getting married in April. That's such a big step from a year!! And honestly, a huge sacrifice for Mari. I'm so proud of her. But I don't think they understand just how much this ward would help them with a wedding. They both really want us to be there when they get married; we've gotten really close. So..we're kind of hoping we can convince them to move it closer, since the chances we'll both be there in April are pretty slim. But it doesn't matter a whole lot to me, since I'm DEFINITELY going to be there in a year when they get sealed. And THAT is the beauty of a state-side mission.

So that's them. Keep praying! I'm not worried about them at all. They'll be just fine. It's been such a blessing to teach them. Especially because we really aren't teaching anyone else right now. Haha.

So I've decided that all I ever want to study again on my mission, and probably forever, to be honest, is the principles and ordinances of the gospel. I just got through an incredible study on faith, including Elder Bednar's visit. Now I'm studying repentance. It's been incredible to study the basics of the gospel. They really do bring you closer to Christ better than anything, because they are clear, pure truths. 2 Nephi 31 has become my favorite chapter in the scriptures. It's incredible to me how clear Christ has made it for us to receive eternal life. He knows exactly what it takes and every commandment we receive is only to make it simple for us to walk that path. It's genius! There is one way to eternal life, and that is Christ and his gospel. Any other way simply won't get you there. Why doesn't the world understand this?! It's incredible how things can seem so simple and clear, but without the Holy Ghost you'll never understand it. 

I know with all my soul that this is Christ's church and Christ's gospel. Faith, repentance, baptism, receiving the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end...that's the way to eternal life. It's simple, pure, and beautiful. And it never, ever, fails!!

I love you all! Have a great week!

Hermana Lund

A Heavenly Texas January

Mi Familia,

Wow! What a week. I'm learning things this transfer I've never had the "pleasure" to learn before. I swear. My mission has been a non-stop furnace. Just when I seem to be figuring it out, I get t-boned by something else. All I can say is this better make me the best wife and mom the world has ever seen.

But anyway, Justin, Mari, and Richard are still doing really well. Mari came to church for her 4th time and Justin & Richard for their 3rd yesterday. The ward has been awesome, too. Without us even knowing it, they invited Richard to church ball and he went! They say hi to people in church and always tell them that they will definitely be back (it never gets old to hear that). Richard and Mari even told us that they've been telling people that they're Mormon now. Ha! They have been getting a bit of persecution, but they hold strong because they know it's right and they already see the blessings. Yesterday the gospel principles lesson was on the Fall and afterwards Mari said that she just wishes she could show the Book of Mormon account (in 2 Nephi 2) to everyone because people outside this church just don't understand. They're awesome.

Richard was previously set with a date for the 1st, but we're not sure that he's onboard with that right now. Not exactly sure why. He's really hard to get to the bottom of things with. Justin and Mari--especially Justin--would get baptized now if the whole chastity thing wasn't in the way. We've been fairly bold with them and they understand what they need to do. It's just a matter of them wanting it badly enough to sacrifice. They will. I know they will.

Besides that we don't have a whole lot of investigators. Not progressing, anyway. We've been working a lot with the Relief Society President and Bishop, visiting anyone and everyone they want us to. I like it because it keeps us busy. This ward is incredible. They blow my mind all the time. We have 15 stellar ward missionaries and the greatest Ward Mission Leader I've ever seen. It's the easiest thing to get members to lessons and they always take it upon themselves afterwards to befriend the investigator. If I ever move to Texas this is definitely where I'm going.

I love you all! Keep me updated with how your missionary work is going at home. I'd love to hear your stories!

Have a fabulous week!

Hermana Lund

Sana, sana, culito de rana. Si no sana hoy, sanara manana.

Mi Familia!

My new companion is Hermana Arteta! She's got a great sense of humor and a firm desire to always improve. I don't have my card reader with me today, so I'll have to send a picture next week.

This week has been leaps and bounds better than it would appear from the outside. Transfers and changes are always hard for me, and I miss Sister Arche a ton. But I'm really happy. I credit it to two things:

First of all, Elder Bednar came on Friday! It was an absolutely incredible experience. I sat on the 3rd row, right front and center. I even got to sing in the musical number! Sister Hill had volunteered to put something together weeks ago, and the Assistants called her the night before. So 5 of us sang Sweet Hour of prayer, including the 3rd verse that's only in the Spanish hymnal. Elder Peterson played the piano and jazzed it up very nicely. It was a really neat experience!

The whole time Elder Bednar spoke with us rather than at us. It was really special, and a great example of how we should teach our investigators. A few weeks ago he sent us a few of his talks for us to study before he came. On Friday he asked us to share what we learned. I raised my hand and shared an answer to a question I had received after a lot of pondering and prayer, that learning by faith means that we display righteous actions, which open our hearts to be taught spiritual truth by the Holy Ghost. Really simple, but really profound and eyeopening to me. Elder Bednar looked me right in the eye, had me repeat what I said, and fullheartedly confirmed it. He made me promise to never forget it, especially as a wife and mother. It was a really cool experience to have an apostle of the Lord confirm something I had received through my own revelation. 

Second, something inside me clicked this week. (I feel like I say that so much that it's probably losing effect, but just go with it.) My whole mission I have been told--by people, the scriptures, other missionaries, Ensign articles, everything--that I just need to chill out, focus on the good things I do, and let the mistakes go. I've tried several times, but it has always been halfheartedly since, if you don't focus on your mistakes, how are you supposed to ever get better? Such was my thinking. But I finally just got it, and i honestly have focused on all the good things I do. I don't worry about whether or not it is something any missionary would do, or whether or not I wanted to do it, I just recognize it as a good thing that I did. I do a lot of good things! It has completely changed the way I look at myself. I feel more motivated and more able to go out and work because I'm not so afraid. It's been very freeing. I just pray that I'll be able to hold onto this, that I'll be able to continue thinking this way throughout my mission. I still want to improve, but in a positive, building way.

I know this is God's work and I know He leads it. I know He is omniscient and knows our hearts better than we do. He loves us and only lets hard times happen if it will make us happier in the long run. He is good.

I love you all. Have an incredible week.

Hermana Lund 

11 Months

Mi Familia!

Today I've been out exactly 11 months. Crazy! It's so weird how the mission goes so agonizingly slow and so uncatchably fast at the same time. I'm kind of excited to hit a year; if I can do a year I can do a year and a half.

So..Sister Arche is being transferred to be an STL. I'm so sad to lose her! We really didn't expect it at all. We were sure we'd stay together. Really, I'm so bummed. I really hope God knows something I don't know. He does. In fact, He knows several things. Oh! And Sister Isham is going home (so sad) so Sister Hill is going to be our new STL leader, living with me. :) So you can tell Katie that. 

Guess what! Elder Bednar is coming to our mission this week! I'm so excited. If I were going to pick a favorite apostle--which I'd never do, of course--it would be him. So I'm excited.

We went to the temple on Thursday. We--especially Sister Arche--just felt like we really needed to go. Missions are hard. How many times have I said that? Anyway, Sister Christensen and Sister Isham went with us, along with Sister Slaughter. It was a neat experience. Also, as we were leaving, we ran into Sister Payne from The District! She and another missionary she had served with were there for the sealing of someone they had taught. Haha, she's a missionary celebrity! 

And we're still teaching Justin, Mari, and Richard! Richard is Mari's brother; I don't know if I mentioned that. They're all about my age, give or take. Oh my goodness, they are a missionary's dream investigators. I still can't believe it's real. We taught them 3 times last week and they LOVE it all. Their dad has talked with them quite a bit and they were prepared before we even met them. Richard accepted a baptismal date for February 1. Justin and Mari fully plan to be baptized, but they're not married or even engaged yet. Mari wants to be engaged for a year before they get married. Ahh! But who knows, minds can change.

They've all just been eating it up. In our last lesson Richard felt bad for only reading 3 chapters since Mari had read 8 and Justin had read 12. I'll take 3 chapters any day!! And Mari asked if we could teach Word of Wisdom, so we did. Apparently Justin is a big coffee drinker, but he found out about the Word of Wisdom last week before we met him and dropped it cold turkey. He says he's had headaches ever since, but he's kept to it! All 3 of them have felt the Spirit and have recognized that that's what it is. 

They even went to a baptism on Saturday. They loved it, especially Justin. He told Sister Christensen that when the man went under that water he felt peace, and that he knows he needs to be baptized. And I overheard him tell Elder Cottle that he loved the service and he can't wait to be baptized. When I asked him how he liked it he said very excitedly, "I felt the Spirit! I know that's what it was." And they all came to church yesterday! All 3 hours. From what I could tell they really liked it. And Mari's coming along with her daughter to a party a few of us missionaries are having with our investigators and recent converts tonight. They're SO solid. 

The only concern for Just in and Mari is the marriage thing. But honestly, either way, they're going to the Celestial Kingdom. I just know it. Even if they do get baptized in a year and a half, it is cool to be a little part of it all!

Richard doesn't seem to have any concerns. The only thing is that he doesn't talk much, while Justin and Mari have tons of questions. It's easy to just focus on them and assume Richard is doing fine. He seems to be, but we're trying to give him more focus and attention so he can be prepared for baptism soon. 

Also, we had our President Interviews and I talked to him about the thing that seems to always be on my mind: Spanish. I told him how I've felt somewhat limited in my learning since I'm, you know, in America. He thought about it pretty hard and then told me that he didn't think there were any limits on me. He said I can learn Spanish as well as I want to, and that it's a good desire I have and that I should take advantage of this time when I have so much of His help to learn it. It was so nice to hear that. Just knowing that it's not hopeless for me to learn it like I want to and that it's not selfish to want it helped me a lot and motivated me to work even harder for it. It's been so nice to have Sister Arche to speak with me. Heavenly Father truly does love and know us and works according to our desires.

How on earth do I write such long emails. Well, I love you all. Have a tremendous week!

Mucho amor,

Hermana Lund